All-
First, Mechanic688- point well taken. Politics for politics sake is probably more often than not counterproductive to what this forum is trying to accomplish. That said, bigburtchino has a point- the internet (and being able to afford it) is critical to this community and to all sorts of mom-and-pop operations that its members represent. In this sense, discussing Net Neutrality is no different than discussing the price of fuel, the buying habits of the Chinese or the effects the Federal Reserve's monetary policy have over the price of precious metals. It just has to be done courteously and, preferably, with and open mind and a few facts at hand. That's a tall order in this day and age, I know, but it's worth practicing.
Second, I think t00nces2 comment regarding Ferraris provides a good, a-political window into one of the misunderstandings surrounding this issue:
Would your car company charge you more for a Ferrari than they would for a Chevy Spark?
Yes, I would expect to pay more for a Ferrari. The difference here, though, is that there are dozens of car companies producing hundreds of models sold by thousands of dealers with hundreds of thousands of individual cars for sale. If I can afford to buy a Ferrari, I can buy a Ferrari. If I can't, well, there's always the Fiesta.
BUT, the internet is not a product like a car, it's like a utility. How many different companies can you choose from to deliver electricity to your house? Probably one. How many companies can you choose from to deliver natural gas? Probably one. If you use propane you can probably choose among a couple local suppliers who all get their gas from the same place. How many companies can you choose from to deliver your water? Probably none- you buy it from a local government. How many companies can you choose from to deliver internet service? In many places the answer is one, maybe two. If you live in a well-connected metropolitan area (or are satisfied using satellite or dial-up), you might have a couple more options.
And that's the crux of the matter. Utilities are regulated to prevent price gouging and discriminatory pricing because people *need* them. Frankly, I'm glad there isn't a CEO somewhere making money every time I wash my dishes. And, trust me, those utility companies are making plenty of money delivering natural gas and electricity under these regulations- if they weren't, they wouldn't exist. Internet service providers are in the same boat. Given recent consolidations, they are now in a position to begin dictating prices and content availability to customers, and the Net Neutrality regulations are designed to protect consumers from discriminatory pricing for something (access to the internet) that almost everyone needs and uses on a daily basis in order to make a living.
As far as I can tell, the government isn't charging anyone anything, they aren't making decisions on what you can and can't see on the internet, the point is merely to prevent the giant internet service providers from screwing their customers simply because they can (you don't like *my* internet service? Fine, go buy your own fiber optic cable!).
Again, relevant, courteous, fact-based communication. America needs more of this, not less, IMHO.
Cheers,
tbg
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