Oakland County, where I grew up, and where I work and go to school, is initiating a wireless network, countywide. I’ve read about similar proposals across the country, too. Driving to the Starbucks parking lot to kill sometime the other night, and also squat on their WiFi hotspot, I started thinking:

The government, will in a sense, become a monopsonist purchaser of broadband services. This opens up the possbility for political cronyism, no-bid contracts, and all of the things that the left tends to bitch at the right for promulgating. But, I guess it’s ok if it makes you feel good, right?

Without a say in how the money is spent, like most taxes, consumers will get royally boned. State-sponsored WiFi will restrict, or eliminate entirely, the ability of consumers to choose a provider among several, or choose whether to utilize the service at all – since it will be built into their property tax assessment annually, even those who can’t afford a computer will be paying for broadband access that they can’t use.

Finally, and most problematic – is that when the State begins to provide something, it necessarily follows that the State feels justified in regulating that something. I can imagine that the religious right is chomping at the proverbial bit, waiting to launch some campaign for “morals & decency” standards, or whatever else they can think of to basically trample the first amendment. And if you think this is not likely, or it is not a possibility, look at some of the other arenas in which the State has decided to assume a substantial role. The State sanctions marriage, and regulates it. The state issues drivers licenses, and regulates them. The state approves curriculae, and regulates them. The state provides for higher education, ad nauseum. Don’t get me started on Social Security (that’s one of Kip’s specialties, or idiot insurance.

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You know, great, we can say that everyone will have interent, but at what cost? How many people don’t have the necessary higher-order goods to access it? What will we be required to do next to provide them with these things? Where will the money come from? Most municipalities aren’t running serious budget surpluses, and I don’t think we’re about to find ourselves in the midst of a new fiscal conservativism.

There would be a nationwide outrage if the State Governments, or god-forbid, the federal government, decided to essentially nationalize the printing industry – becoming the sole purchaser and distributor of paper, ink, and printing materials. How is this really any different? I know I’ll probably be called an alarmist for that argument, but when the state starts to provide it, then they will claim the provision necessitates oversight & regulation. This is a serious, real possibility. Not now. Not tomorrow, but rest assured…