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Washington Post Calls For Tax On Information

by | 24th, August 2008

DUSTY Horwitt writes for the Washington Post. No, not Viz magazine. Horwitt is no f***wit as he writes in a newspaper (and on the web) about there being too much information.

He begins his piece: “Everybody jokes about “TMI” these days.”

TM?

“Too much information.” BP – Beyond Parody.

As we say Horwitt is no F***witt. Unless…

Rather than call for government regulation of technology itself, perhaps the best way to limit the avalanche is to make the technologies that overproduce information more expensive and less widespread.

It could be done via a progressive energy tax designed to keep energy prices at a consistently high level (while providing assistance to lower- and middle-income Americans).

Yeah, tax information. So says the newspaper hack:

It’s possible that over time, an energy tax, by making some computers, Web sites, blogs and perhaps cable TV channels too costly to maintain, could reduce the supply of information.

China and other totalitarian regimes, start taking notes:

If Americans are finally giving up SUVs because of high oil prices, might we not eventually do the same with some information technologies that only seem to fragment our society, not unite it? A reduced supply of information technology might at least gradually cause us to gravitate toward community-centered media such as local newspapers instead of the hyper-individualistic outlets we have now.

Says Mr Horwitt, email address for correspondence supplied…



Posted: 24th, August 2008 | In: Money Comment | TrackBack | Permalink