Net Neutrality: Capacity, Inefficiency, and Cost

The Consumer Cost of Inefficient Increases in Capacity Necessary to Meet QoS Expectations

Net neutrality1 will, almost certainly, increase the cost of end-consumer2 connections. The logic behind this is simple and requires only minimal understanding of economics; in short: requiring equal treatment of all data will mean that capacity increases will be the only way to ensure quality of service for important or time-sensitive data3; such increases in capacity will, necessarily, be inefficient4; increased inefficiency means increased operating costs5; and the consumer always pays.

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Modern Environmentalism

Rethinking Tactics

While there is no shortage of blame to go around when it comes to environmental issues and environmental policy, the over politicization of environmental matters falls squarely on the shoulders of those pushing the global warming (or climate change or whatever the term du jour happens to be) narrative. That the Earth’s climate is changing is undeniable, the science insofar as that is concerned is fairly settled and the conclusion well supported, but whether or not that change is an artifact of human industrial and technological advance is another matter entirely. However, arguendo, let’s assume that that anthropogenic climate change hypothesis is correct.

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Rising Prescription Drug Costs

A Simple Proposal for a Complex Problem

Prescription drug prices in the US are, to say the least, unpleasantly high. Now, there are a plethora of reasons for this (e.g., use of brand-name drugs over generics, long waits on approvals for new drugs), but one that could be easily addressed is blatant price gouging. Pharmaceutical companies routinely charge more in the US for the same drugs that are available in other parts of the world at vastly lower prices. Here’s a single sentence proposal for a law to address that problem:

“Any pharmaceutical company, or company offering products in the pharmaceutical category, operating in the US, or any territory or possession thereof, or which is subject to US law, must offer its products on an MFN basis to US consumers and businesses.”