Actually, they do. Please read Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution.
The financial consequences of this thing actually having gone through would have been truly massive.
It will go through in one form or another.
It's a question of whether it goes through in the form of a national DNC list, or a nationwide vigilante movement that firebombs telemarketers.
Which one do YOU prefer?
If you don't want to be called, just do some fairly simple things and problem will be solved.
I did all those things, AT MY OWN F***ING EXPENSE, and the calls ended...for about a month.
And then the telemarketers modified their systems to defeat my countermeasures.
Let me get this straight....we would have been looking at a deflationary depression is telemarketers couldn't harass 50 million people in their own homes who wanted absolutely no part of what the telemarketers were selling?
And as for the welfare queens being put out of their telemarketing jobs, maybe they can move to India where many of these calls originate and are routed through switches in New York.
I'm not disagreeing with you. I'm not in 100% agreement, but you have valid concerns and well reasoned arguements.
What gets me is that some of the same names I see here wanting their private property to be protected from annoyance by the government are among the same that demand being protected from other annoyances on someone else's private property, because they feel their rights trump that of the property owner once they enter that property. (i.e. smoking bans)
Having done a stint as a telemarketer for a brokerage firm 20 years ago, I can atest it is not a fun job and not one that I care to do again. Even during election seasons, I will not participate in get out the vote phone banks - I will do anything BUT.
You keep mentioning these "simple things", but you have not yet listed them. I'm sure there are plenty of folks on this thread that would really appreciate your list of "simple things". Especially if the "simple things" will prevent any more unsolicited calls.
I work nights and sleep days. I'm likely to go ballistic if I don't start getting some solid hours of uninterrupted sleep. How would you like it if strangers kept making noise in your bedroom while you were trying to get some desperately needed sleep? I'm talking about dozens of interruptions per night.
Don't tell me to unplug my phone. That is not an option. I pay for that phone so I can receive emergency calls from my family. I have elderly parents that may need emergency assistance at any moment. If I have to unplug my phone to get sleep, the phone solicitors have litterally committed a denial of service attack against my phone line.
Don't tell me to get a cell phone. My phone number has not changed in 14 years, and I have no intention of changing it now.
Also, keep these "simple things" extremely simple. My time is valuable, and nobody is paying me to defend myself against the unwanted actions of others.
I'll make that trade in a second. I can empty my mailbox whenever I please; I don't have to drop what I'm doing to get it. And I can usually tell whether something's junk mail without even opening it; I just rip it in half and throw it in the recycling bin.