Reopen America - April 2020

Universal service subsidies keep the price of telecommunications service in hard-to-reach and high-cost areas on par with the price of service to inexpensive areas. Substantial reform for this system of wealth transfers is now politically viable. All universal service reform proposals should begin by facing the following economic reality: Consumers pay for subsidies. With this proposition in mind, the policy benchmarks that follow can be utilized to measure reform proposals.

The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has been an agent of tremendous change. New regulatory burdens, repeating cycles of litigation and few observable benefits to consumers have been its progeny. All of that is about to become history. An agile long-distance company with a ferocious appetite for new customers is prepared to defy Washington regulators.

Every high school civics student knows that two-thirds of the U.S. Senate must ratify any treaty before it becomes law. However, the Clinton administration is attempting to bypass the Constitution, encouraging state and local governments to implement the Kyoto Protocol, the recently-negotiated global warming treaty, before submitting it to the Senate.

After months of waiting, Council of Economic Advisors member Janet Yellen has revealed the administration’s cost estimates of the Kyoto Protocol. She claims that the cost of the agreement to the average American family would be no more than $110 annually.1 This figure, however, remains controversial and differs greatly from the analyses of responsible economic forecasting firms, such as WEFA, Inc., that put the impact to American families at $2,700.2

Every high school civics student knows that two-thirds of the U.S. Senate must ratify any treaty before it becomes law. However, the Clinton administration is attempting to bypass the Constitution, encouraging state and local governments to implement the Kyoto Protocol, the recently-negotiated global warming treaty, before submitting it to the Senate.

Urban ozone smog has declined nationwide for over a decade, with particularly strong gains in the Northeast (see chart1). Despite such improvements in air quality, the standard for ozone has been tightened, escalating fears among many states that increasing controls on local sources of ozone smog will fail to achieve compliance.

"Life is better here," claims a new advertisement for a telecommunications company. The slogan conjures images of individuals free of hassles and ready to tackle the challenges of the 21st century with technology as an ally. Unfortunately, today’s laws and regulations stand in the way. Life certainly would be better if American consumers could save more than $85.1 billion over the course of the next five years. Sound farfetched? Sadly, it would only require the introduction of a dose of common sense to federal telecommunications policy.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) is America’s number one killer, causing or contributing to more than 750,000 deaths each year. Over half of American adults have borderline or high cholesterol levels, which contribute to CHD. Studies have shown that certain types of fiber (as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet) can help lower one’s cholesterol levels and therefore reduce one’s risk of heart disease.

Consumers have an economic interest in the widespread use of strong encryption. Unfortunately, under the current political environment, either Congress or the administration may implement dangerous restrictions on the development, sales and use of this technology. Liberty is at stake, both economic and civil.