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Sweet Repeal
Look at this legislative language. It’s the stuff of beauty:
(a) In general.—The following sections of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 151 et seq.) are hereby repealed:(1) Section 339 (47 U.S.C. 339).(2) Section 340 (47 U.S.C. 340).(3) Section 341 (47 U.S.C. 341).(4) Section 342 (47 U.S.C. 342).(5) Section 612 (47 U.S.C. 532).(6) Section 614 (47 U.S.C. 534).(7) Section 712 (47 U.S.C. 612).
And there’s more.
It’s from H.R. 3675, The Next Generation Television Marketplace Act, introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), and its Senate counterpart, S. 2008, from Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC).
Cato alum Adam Thierer’s recent Forbes column has the low-down:
There’s a common myth heard frequently in communications policy circles that America’s video marketplace was largely deregulated in the 1980s and ’90s, and that we now have a free market nirvana. Nothing could be further from the truth. When it comes to television programming, many layers of red tape still encumber this sector and prevent a truly free market in video programming from developing.
Adam goes on to discuss all the ways that players in this marketplace are working to maintain the advantages they see coming from regulation. It’s a gruesome pile-up of rent-seeking that the Scalise-DeMint bill is trying to clear up.
It sure is cool to see a bill that repeals existing regulations, for a change. Ten or fifteen thousand more like this would be a good start.
