Here's the difference: One is a powerful entity that can screw over your life, send you to prison, impose large fines, take away everything you have, etc; the other is not.
If private companies are collecting the data and if the government will pay good money to get it, then the private companies are likely to provide it. The government is just another customer.
Funny. I was just reading this. It's being cited to illustrate the benefits of technology for a for-profit business. Yes, I know: If a private company does it, it's good. If the government does it, it's bad.
sidewinder.fm: Music Festivals Are Ripe for Hacking: "Most organizers are making wristbands with RFID embedded in them that you can’t remove until the event is over. This would enable organizers to efficiently track the locations of attendees and supplement the festival experience with interactive technology."
Here's a scenario which I'm sure is already going on. A company collects as much data on people as possible. It then allows companies to compare potential hires against that data to screen out undesirables. It's a "service" made available for a fee. All private. No government involved.
More to the point. Everything we do is being monitored or will be monitored. Companies want to know where we shop in stores, what we look at, etc. If it is possible for companies to follow us in everything we do and link it to everything else we do, they will.
Whether by government paying private companies monitoring us, or by private companies monitoring us on their own, it is being done.
As someone pointed out about the for-profit prisons, don't assume everything that is done by the government is done for the benefit of government. It is quite likely a government contractor stands to benefit from whatever the government purchases.
And also, keep in mind that invasion of privacy is an issue with private companies, too. Don't focus on government without also focusing on what private companies are doing with our lives and making money with it, too.
I don't want government privacy issues to be used as a way to direct people's attentions away from private company privacy issues.
This article pulls in both what you all are saying here -- the negatives of patents and monopolies on innovation.
But also what I have been saying, which is that we are moving into a time of hypercompetition which will greatly drive down prices. Therefore I have been advocating new economic systems, primarily based on the ideas put forth in the P2P Foundation.
The robot economy and the new rentier class | FT Alphaville: "Our own personal view is that this is because we’ve now arrived at a point where technology begins to threaten return on capital, mostly by causing the sort of abundance that depresses prices to the point where many goods have no choice but to become free."
Google and Facebook launch war against abstract patents. Good! Kill these ones first: Google’s doodles!
US Patent 7,912,915, entitled “Systems and methods for enticing users to access a web site” protects Google’s inalienable right to provide “a periodically changing story line and/or a special event company logo to entice users to access a web page.” [Source: TechSpot]
I've been pondering the politics of this all and I said in a different post that I think the world was more likely to head toward left-leaning, commons politics rather than private property, libertarian thinking.
And now that I think about this even more, it occurs to me that we've got a lot of people, especially young people (even if they are well-educated), who don't have a lot of property to protect. If they live in the cities, they probably are renting. They probably don't own cars. They may not be involved in the stock market because that system seems to be rigged against the little guy. They probably don't own bonds because the interest rates are so low. If they aren't in support of IP laws, they don't consider that property either.
For a long time, there was support to get workers into buying cars and homes as soon as they could, which drew them into the property owner class. Now we've got many young adults who can't do that or won't do that because they face years of paying off college loans.
Entrepreneurship has drawn some young adults into thinking of their companies as property, but it will be interesting to see what the Series A crunch does to a lot of startups. Some are predicting that funds will run out for a lot of young companies come 2013.
Re: Re: The monopoly discussion is going to start getting more focus
Krugman is pro-monopoly (of the printing of money). I suggest forgetting every word you've ever read from him.,
That's sort of my point. If Krugman is raising the issue of monopolies as a problem, it will get attention. Whether or not one agrees with him, his columns trigger discussions.
The monopoly discussion is going to start getting more focus
Krugman has been writing over the last few days about economics and job growth (or lack of it). He just posted this and there's a link in his article to a much bigger article on monopolies and the growing concentration within industries.
Re: I think we'll have economic fixes before we have legal fixes
Just saw this, so I will highlight it. Thought it was interesting that Google was on the list.
The 10 Companies with the Most Patent Power: "The list spans 17 categories, including aerospace, biotech, computers, electronics and medical equipment. The rankings, based on patents portfolios from 2011, are dominated by familiar global giants like IBM, Google and Qualcomm, which have built up large patent collections that they are racing to expand."
Re: Re: Still not sure why you are singling out Hollywood?
Here's a follow-up to the Atlantic article. I pulled an excerpt but there is a lot more in the article.
Middle Class Political Economist: NYT Series Illuminates -- And Confuses -- The State of the Subsidy Wars: "Finally, as Phil Mattera at Good Jobs First points out, the deals database misses a number of large awards, leaving out Tennessee's $450 million (present value) subsidy to Volkswagen and an even bigger package for ThyssenKrupp in Alabama. It also underestimates other awards, including Apple in North Carolina and Boeing in South Carolina. I also found that it underestimated subsidies to Dell and Google in North Carolina by omitting the local subsidy portion of the awards, a problem Ms. Story is aware of, as I noted in my last post."
Here's another illustration why I think economically the world is probably headed more toward a left-leaning rather than a libertarian viewpoint. Protecting private property is one thing when everyone has a chance to accumulate it. But when private property/capital is increasingly out of reach of those who don't have it already, protecting it just means you're helping out the guy that has it, but not helping out yourself.
Rise of the Robots - NYTimes.com: "Better education won’t do much to reduce inequality if the big rewards simply go to those with the most assets. Creating an 'opportunity society', or whatever it is the likes of Paul Ryan etc. are selling this week, won’t do much if the most important asset you can have in life is, well, lots of assets inherited from your parents."
Re: Re: Re: Still not sure why you are singling out Hollywood?
Some environmental issues are triggering some interesting political alliances. The push for the pipeline, taking land from landowners in Texas and Nebraska, is gaining protests from traditionally conservative voters and politicians.
Keystone Pipeline Sparks Property Rights Backlash — Oil and Natural Gas | The Texas Tribune: "Former Perry gubernatorial rival Debra Medina, a Republican from the Ron Paul wing of the GOP, is another critic. She said the pipeline flight shows how 'crony capitalism' has stacked the deck in favor of big business interests while running roughshod over small business owners and average Texans."
Similarly here in Colorado, fracking is moving into heavily populated suburbs and there are a lot of protests from homeowners who don't want drilling within feet of their homes, schools, and parks. Even if safety issued are settled (and they won't be without adequate testing), there are still the issues of noise, traffic, dust, and water disposal that come with the drilling. That lowers the quality of life and property values for those living next to the drilling sites. Liability lawyers are just waiting for the accidents to happen to sue the hell out of any companies involved. However, the way these things tend to go is that any company that is involved in an accident will go out of business if sued, so the damaged property owner or victim won't get any money.
Re: Re: Still not sure why you are singling out Hollywood?
Short term, Hollywood is being very abusive with their funds and power. They are using our money to erode our rights. They cost us money and cultural freedom. It needs to stop now!
Hollywood doesn't bother me. It's the fossil fuel industry I am more concerned. Something that affects my health is biggest biggest concern. For example, fracking is happening next to elementary schools now in Colorado. Cities are passing laws to prevent fracking within city limits and they are being threatened with lawsuits for doing so.
Citizens are finding that they don't have much power against the oil and gas lobby.
On the post: Homeland Security Pays San Francisco To Buy Surveillance Equipment That Records Video AND Audio On City Buses
Re: Re: Re: Re: I'm a bit confused
We have corporations lobbying and influencing politicians.
What, exactly, is "public" about any of this?
On the post: Homeland Security Pays San Francisco To Buy Surveillance Equipment That Records Video AND Audio On City Buses
Re: Re: Re: I'm a bit confused
If private companies are collecting the data and if the government will pay good money to get it, then the private companies are likely to provide it. The government is just another customer.
On the post: Homeland Security Pays San Francisco To Buy Surveillance Equipment That Records Video AND Audio On City Buses
Re: A company is making money
sidewinder.fm: Music Festivals Are Ripe for Hacking: "Most organizers are making wristbands with RFID embedded in them that you can’t remove until the event is over. This would enable organizers to efficiently track the locations of attendees and supplement the festival experience with interactive technology."
On the post: Homeland Security Pays San Francisco To Buy Surveillance Equipment That Records Video AND Audio On City Buses
Re: A company is making money
On the post: Homeland Security Pays San Francisco To Buy Surveillance Equipment That Records Video AND Audio On City Buses
Re: A company is making money
Whether by government paying private companies monitoring us, or by private companies monitoring us on their own, it is being done.
On the post: Homeland Security Pays San Francisco To Buy Surveillance Equipment That Records Video AND Audio On City Buses
A company is making money
And also, keep in mind that invasion of privacy is an issue with private companies, too. Don't focus on government without also focusing on what private companies are doing with our lives and making money with it, too.
I don't want government privacy issues to be used as a way to direct people's attentions away from private company privacy issues.
On the post: Corruption Laundering: The Art Of Manipulating Regulations To Block Innovation
Read this
But also what I have been saying, which is that we are moving into a time of hypercompetition which will greatly drive down prices. Therefore I have been advocating new economic systems, primarily based on the ideas put forth in the P2P Foundation.
The robot economy and the new rentier class | FT Alphaville: "Our own personal view is that this is because we’ve now arrived at a point where technology begins to threaten return on capital, mostly by causing the sort of abundance that depresses prices to the point where many goods have no choice but to become free."
On the post: Corruption Laundering: The Art Of Manipulating Regulations To Block Innovation
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Google and Facebook launch war against abstract patents. Good! Kill these ones first:
Google’s doodles!
US Patent 7,912,915, entitled “Systems and methods for enticing users to access a web site” protects Google’s inalienable right to provide “a periodically changing story line and/or a special event company logo to entice users to access a web page.” [Source: TechSpot]
On the post: Corruption Laundering: The Art Of Manipulating Regulations To Block Innovation
John Battelle sums up with I'd like power decentralized
As Long As It's Legal, Corporations Will Act Selfishly | John Battelle's Search Blog
On the post: Why Copyright Shouldn't Be Considered Property... And Why A Return To 1790 Copyright May Be Desirable
Re: The decline of property ownership
On the post: Why Copyright Shouldn't Be Considered Property... And Why A Return To 1790 Copyright May Be Desirable
The decline or property ownership
And now that I think about this even more, it occurs to me that we've got a lot of people, especially young people (even if they are well-educated), who don't have a lot of property to protect. If they live in the cities, they probably are renting. They probably don't own cars. They may not be involved in the stock market because that system seems to be rigged against the little guy. They probably don't own bonds because the interest rates are so low. If they aren't in support of IP laws, they don't consider that property either.
For a long time, there was support to get workers into buying cars and homes as soon as they could, which drew them into the property owner class. Now we've got many young adults who can't do that or won't do that because they face years of paying off college loans.
Entrepreneurship has drawn some young adults into thinking of their companies as property, but it will be interesting to see what the Series A crunch does to a lot of startups. Some are predicting that funds will run out for a lot of young companies come 2013.
On the post: Fixing Copyright: Is Copyright A Part Of Free Market Capitalism?
Re: Re: The monopoly discussion is going to start getting more focus
That's sort of my point. If Krugman is raising the issue of monopolies as a problem, it will get attention. Whether or not one agrees with him, his columns trigger discussions.
On the post: Fixing Copyright: Is Copyright A Part Of Free Market Capitalism?
The monopoly discussion is going to start getting more focus
Technology or Monopoly Power? - NYTimes.com
On the post: Fixing Copyright: Is Copyright A Part Of Free Market Capitalism?
Re: I think we'll have economic fixes before we have legal fixes
The 10 Companies with the Most Patent Power: "The list spans 17 categories, including aerospace, biotech, computers, electronics and medical equipment. The rankings, based on patents portfolios from 2011, are dominated by familiar global giants like IBM, Google and Qualcomm, which have built up large patent collections that they are racing to expand."
On the post: State Subsidies To Hollywood: Almost Every Program Has Been A Dismal Failure, Costing Taxpayers
Re: Re: Still not sure why you are singling out Hollywood?
Middle Class Political Economist: NYT Series Illuminates -- And Confuses -- The State of the Subsidy Wars: "Finally, as Phil Mattera at Good Jobs First points out, the deals database misses a number of large awards, leaving out Tennessee's $450 million (present value) subsidy to Volkswagen and an even bigger package for ThyssenKrupp in Alabama. It also underestimates other awards, including Apple in North Carolina and Boeing in South Carolina. I also found that it underestimated subsidies to Dell and Google in North Carolina by omitting the local subsidy portion of the awards, a problem Ms. Story is aware of, as I noted in my last post."
On the post: Fixing Copyright: Is Copyright A Part Of Free Market Capitalism?
I think we'll have economic fixes before we have legal fixes
I've felt that the Hollywood/tech battles on copyright will self-correct at some point.
Here's how things are starting to play out in patents. Sometimes it is easier to find market solutions than legal ones.
Finally: Apple and Google said to bid $500M for Kodak imaging patents | VentureBeat: "Apple and Google have joined forces to offer more than $500 million for some of the 1,100 digital imaging patents from Eastman Kodak, according to Bloomberg, citing 'two people with knowledge of the situation.'”
On the post: State Subsidies To Hollywood: Almost Every Program Has Been A Dismal Failure, Costing Taxpayers
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
Rise of the Robots - NYTimes.com: "Better education won’t do much to reduce inequality if the big rewards simply go to those with the most assets. Creating an 'opportunity society', or whatever it is the likes of Paul Ryan etc. are selling this week, won’t do much if the most important asset you can have in life is, well, lots of assets inherited from your parents."
On the post: State Subsidies To Hollywood: Almost Every Program Has Been A Dismal Failure, Costing Taxpayers
Re: Re: Re: Re: Still not sure why you are singling out Hollywood?
I have my doubts about corporations in general, so whatever happens to disperse power/wealth in all industries I am all in favor of.
On the post: State Subsidies To Hollywood: Almost Every Program Has Been A Dismal Failure, Costing Taxpayers
Re: Re: Re: Still not sure why you are singling out Hollywood?
Keystone Pipeline Sparks Property Rights Backlash — Oil and Natural Gas | The Texas Tribune: "Former Perry gubernatorial rival Debra Medina, a Republican from the Ron Paul wing of the GOP, is another critic. She said the pipeline flight shows how 'crony capitalism' has stacked the deck in favor of big business interests while running roughshod over small business owners and average Texans."
Similarly here in Colorado, fracking is moving into heavily populated suburbs and there are a lot of protests from homeowners who don't want drilling within feet of their homes, schools, and parks. Even if safety issued are settled (and they won't be without adequate testing), there are still the issues of noise, traffic, dust, and water disposal that come with the drilling. That lowers the quality of life and property values for those living next to the drilling sites. Liability lawyers are just waiting for the accidents to happen to sue the hell out of any companies involved. However, the way these things tend to go is that any company that is involved in an accident will go out of business if sued, so the damaged property owner or victim won't get any money.
On the post: State Subsidies To Hollywood: Almost Every Program Has Been A Dismal Failure, Costing Taxpayers
Re: Re: Still not sure why you are singling out Hollywood?
Hollywood doesn't bother me. It's the fossil fuel industry I am more concerned. Something that affects my health is biggest biggest concern. For example, fracking is happening next to elementary schools now in Colorado. Cities are passing laws to prevent fracking within city limits and they are being threatened with lawsuits for doing so.
Citizens are finding that they don't have much power against the oil and gas lobby.
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