FCC Regulating Cable

I have a hard time with this article here because the government seems way out of line on this one. The article talks about how the Federal Communications Commission is considering regulating the cable television industry by capping cable company coverage to no more than 30% of all U.S. subscribers and reduce prices that cable TV companies charge customers.

Since when did 'We The People' also include 'We The Cable Subscribers?' Cable television is a private good just like anything else in the world, but the government would like to treat it more like a public good. It is not our responsibility to make sure that every American home gets cheap cable TV.

I am also struggling with the implications that some cable providers have too large of a market share. If there was only one way to get TV and there were few providers, I could see a monopolistic accusation having some teeth, but there are so many other options than cable easily available to the public that the TV market is acting more like a perfectly competitive market than a monopolistic one.

Free the Bourses!

This article here talks about how there is a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) in Europe that open bourses to cross-border competition and now allow them to sell their products anywhere in the EU.

This means that previously there were regulations and restrictions against free trade in these areas so perfect competition could not effectively alter prices. Now that trade is open, this competition will drive prices down and raise quality levels so consumers and society will be better off.