Time to reboot America and nuke the FCC
New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman calls on the US to re-evaluate its technological priorities in a great op-ed on December 23rd entitled “Time to reboot America.” From the article:
Landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong was, as I’ve argued before, like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones.
He is referring, of course, to the night and day difference between the facilities offered by North American airports and their Asian or European counterparts. Friedman attributes this differences to America’s habit of
… diverting and rewarding the best of our collective I.Q. to people doing financial engineering rather than real engineering. These rocket scientists and engineers were designing complex financial instruments to make money out of money — rather than designing cars, phones, computers, teaching tools, Internet programs and medical equipment that could improve the lives and productivity of millions.
He goes on to say “…we don’t just need a bailout. We need a reboot. We need a build out. We need a buildup. We need a national makeover.”
While his article is directed at the US, I would say it applies to Canada as well. The down right ridiculous and made up fees we are charged on our cell phone contracts are reason enough to demand a reevaluation of the whole system. Not to mention the stunts Rogers pulled and is still pulling with the iPhone and B(H)ell Canada’s internet throttling.