McCain: Government Subsidies Unhealthy to Economy

Telling Congress “we have built a new economy,” President Bill Clinton last night used his State of the Union address to map out his vision for the American economy of the new millennium.

Through a variety of subsidy programs and corporate hand-outs, Clinton thinks the government can do a better job of connecting Americans to the Internet than the private sector.

Last night in his address, Clinton proposed a massive new subsidy program that would get the federal government directly involved in the development and deployment of high technology in America. The E-rate program, or “Gore Tax,” already costs long-distance customers billions of dollars each year, and that program continues to escalate. New government subsidies equal new taxes on consumers and, inevitably, new taxes on the Internet itself.

The Clintonian vision that would guide America into the 21st century puts more control in the hands of government bureaucrats and punishes the very high-tech visionaries who sparked the high-tech revolution.

Presidential hopeful and Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain, however, told New Hampshire CSE activists Friday that he did not think massive government subsidies were healthy for the American economy. CSE director of technology and communications policy, Erick Gustafson, agreed saying, “We can give consumers the full benefits of high technology by removing obsolete barriers to competition and innovation – and not adding any new ones.”

Although the Internet economy is still in its infancy its phenomenal growth has already eclipsed all previous innovations. Politicians have adopted a hands off approach toward the Internet which has allowed it to evolve and respond to consumer demand much more quickly than government regulation would permit. Unfortunately as technology issues play a larger role in the Presidential elections and our country as a whole, some politicians are seeing a need to intervene and slow this incredible engine of economic growth.

Free from government intervention, the Internet has exploded.

The Internet has reached more households faster than any other new technology in history.

The Internet and related technologies have powered more than one-quarter of our nation’s growth in GDP.

Yet, Clinton and Gore want to lasso this amazing technological boom and put progress in the hands of bureaucrats, which would equate to higher prices and fewer choices for American consumers.

Gustafson said, “Rather than apply an archaic tax-and-regulatory scheme to this booming economy, we need to embrace the future, empower individuals and keep government bureaucrats and tax-hungry politicians at bay.”