Economists have long recognized that technological innovation and enhanced communication increase productivity and reduce friction in economic activity. And never before has technology’s impact on economic growth been as evident as it is today.
At IPI, we focus on technology and communications policy not only because it’s critical to economic growth, but also because government’s inherent tendency to regulate prospectively poses an active threat to the economic gains and lifestyle enhancements made possible by technological innovation.
The communications and technology industries are among the country’s most competitive and the biggest capital investors in the U.S. economy, and are thus prime engines of economic growth and job creation. It is critical that public policy encourages continued innovation and investment in the tech sector, and that we don’t limit the innovation upside with counterproductive taxes and regulations.
The Clouded Judgment of Tax Authorities
Revenue agencies will often seek to extend taxes well beyond what was contemplated when legislation was enacted, in the name of securing ever more money for government, even to the detriment of innovation.
The Clouded Judgment of Tax Authorities
Revenue agencies will often seek to extend taxes well beyond what was contemplated when legislation was enacted, in the name of securing ever more money for government, even to the detriment of innovation.
U.S. IT Competitiveness Prediction: Cloud-y With Government Interference
Congressional inaction, municipal tax action, and administration bad action make progress difficult for the U.S. cloud computing industry.
Capitol Hill
IPI pressed Congress to overhaul the Electronic Communications Privacy Act with the release Monday of a publication from Bartlett Cleland.
Urgent For Congress to Secure Americans' Rights Through ECPA Reform
The U.S. Congress must reform the outdated 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to uphold Americans’ Fourth Amendment rights guarding against warrantless search and seizure of electronic data, says a new publication released today by the Institute for Policy Innovation (IPI).
Congress Must Update ECPA to Protect Fundamental Rights
James Madison, and George Mason before him, were clear in the language in the Fourth Amendment, that the people and anything they own must be protected from unreasonable and warrantless government searches and seizures. So why aren't we?
Growing Opposition to RAWA Bill To Ban Internet Gambling
Opponents of the Restoration of America’s Wire Act (RAWA) cited the Tenth Amendment, givings states the authority to determine whether internet gambling is allowed, and assert that proponents are empowering big government.
The Tangled Web Woven
The new normal for the technology industry interacting with Washington, DC seems to be to argue for niche pieces of the broad ecosystem which has left the industry open to being easily attacked, even by wholly false stories, by those who oppose a free market.
More Spectrum Needed to Avoid Wireless Traffic Jams
If the FCC would reallocate more of its time and resources to releasing spectrum and less of it to micromanaging the broadband industry, that would be a win-win for the U.S. economy.
New Push For Internet Sales Tax
Critics say the provision would allow states to harass businesses. "It opens the door to a grotesque expansion of state tax collection authority that is almost certainly unconstitutional, and places mandates upon the states that are probably unconstitutional as well," said IPI's Tom Giovanetti.