[LowCountryJoe]

I have a hard time arguing with your points; they're all legitimate and well scripted.

But the serious question being posed is: Is it fundamentally good policy to force every single taxpayer to have to pay for this government protection even if they don't mind being called? Next question: If you worked in an industry where you relied on telephone solicitation, wouldn't you be hacked off?

[Modernman]

But the serious question being posed is: Is it fundamentally good policy to force every single taxpayer to have to pay for this government protection even if they don't mind being called?

What is the cost going to be? Pennies per person, tops? I'm okay with making telemarketers pay for the costs of the FDNC list, if that makes you feel better.

Next question: If you worked in an industry where you relied on telephone solicitation, wouldn't you be hacked off?

Sure, but 50+ million people were sufficiently pissed off at telemarketers' business practices that they signed up for the FDNC list.

The telemarketing industry should have seen this coming. An industry must either regulate itself, or government will end up doing it for them. Government regulation always ends up being far worse than self-regulation.