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.
Innovation, Not Legislation, Is Reforming the Health Care System
The stuff of science fiction is now becoming medical reality as innovation, rather than legislation, improves the health care system.
ALEC Eyes IP Regulation Laws, Municipal Broadband Reservations for 2013 Priorities
ALEC's Communications and Technology Task Force is examining "uber trends" affecting the telecom world, big changes that won't be easy to "crystallize into model legislation," as the heavyweight organization has often done in the past, said IPI's Bartlett Cleland, Private Chair.
Santa Clause Workshop
Over the last few years regulators seem to have been handing out gifts to those they deem worthy even as they bestow lumps of coal and switches to others who have not caught their fancy, most recently in Kansas City, Kansas. Call it a regulatory Santa Clause workshop.
The Back Room Sales Pitch to Raise Your Taxes on the Internet
Last week state elected officials swarmed Capitol Hill to pressure Congress to support the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act. Congress owes the country an open, recorded debate before risking the United of our United States.
The Fight Is Just Beginning for International Control of the Internet
The U.S. will need to hang tough in the global debate about who controls the Internet, stay committed to its fundamental principles, and perhaps convince the members of the ITU that only a unanimous vote will change the rules so that a block of repressive regimes cannot force a change. If not the only option may be a disconnecting from the global Internet.
Antitrust Troubling in an Innovation Economy
Just as competitors lobbied to have the government restrict Microsoft in the 1990s others are now lobbying to harm Google by trying to convince the iron hand of government to squeeze the company and limit its competitive abilities.
Coalition Letter Regarding Internet Radio Fairness Act of 2012
Believers in free markets seek to reduce, rather than increase, the government’s role in markets and price-setting whenever possible. Accordingly, we respectfully write to express our grave concerns about H.R. 6480, the misnamed “Internet Radio Fairness Act of 2012.”
Tech Issue Voting
Let’s start to put “tech” issues front and center in our national policy debates.
Government Far Greater Threat to Privacy Than Private Sector, Warns New IPI Publication
Privacy advocates and concerned citizens should be far more concerned about governments as potential abusers of privacy than the private sector because of government's unique powers, says a new IPI publication by Jim Harper.
Tax and Loot Policies
Governor Haslam of Tennessee was “surprised” to hear he had a failing fiscal grade and has argued that his tax increases were for the kids. When a politician uses kids as defense, grab your liberties and your wallet, as you are about to lose at least one. In this case, in the Main Street Fairness Act, politicians have found a way to take both.
Total Records: 501
