Innovation is a remarkable thing. It makes everything faster, cheaper, and more accessible to average people. Innovation lifts all boats, but especially those of the underprivileged. The rich will always have access to the very best, but innovation levels the playing field by bringing formerly out-of-reach luxuries to the masses.

A growing number of economists are describing the current slump as a form of secular stagnation, where diminishing outlets for capital investment have slowed economic growth, reduced the demand for labor and stalled the economic recovery. While the technology sector remains one of the few areas of the economy where innovation and growth continue at a rapid pace, the Federal Communications Commission is moving forward with a series of new rules that may shackle this important part of the economy. From new mandates for municipal broadband to redefining what broadband means, to proposals to turn the Internet into a common carrier, the FCC is working to reshape how Americans connect to the Internet.