Posted on 02/11/2015 4:07:01 PM PST by Lazamataz
Licensing regulations reduce economic freedom by creating barriers to market entry. For example, in my current home of Philadelphia, bloggers are required to obtain a $300 permit from the city. Blogging is by no means a lucrative business. In fact, an estimated 80% of bloggers will never make more than $100 from their work. A city official ironically says Philadelphia “loves the self-employed”. These permit-happy bureaucrats fail to grasp basic economics: occupational licensing can be detrimental to the economy.
(Excerpt) Read more at thelibertarianrepublic.com ...
BTW, the author totally misses the point. He makes this into a big anti-licensing article.
I disagree with his premise, some occupations SHOULD require licensing.
None of those occupations, however, are protected by the First Amendment.
This is unconstitutional to its core.
say f————g what?
That is a bout 40 pounds of bacon...just sayin’
The fact the FCC is simply GRABBING control of the internet, for ANY reason, is tyrannical.
The SCOTUS has rebuffed the FCC's Internet Grab twice before, so naturally, Obama directs the FCC to simply ignore the Supreme Court.
The intent is to eventually be able to regulate content. If the Internet is a "Public Utility" they can declare various forms of speech 'obscene' and ban it from said 'net. Additionally, I foresee them requiring internet licenses (taxed, of course) to post on the internet, with your license being pulled for violations of speech code.
Say something they don't like about gays? Muslims? Liberals? Your license will be pulled.
This is the end game, folks. Do not underestimate the lust they have, to terrorize and tyrannize the citizenry.
I'm surprised it happened the next day, but things are accelerating.
Fewer ate-up bloggers pimping garbage can’t be too bad a thing.
Too much crappy recycled content just dilutes the pool.
I think you nailed it Laz.
We spoke on this today. Amazing how quickly it turned up.
If I lived in Philly and started a blog, how would the city even know??
Can't have the citizens communicatin' about stuffs. It might upset their graft an corruption monopoly when everyone figures out there is way more of us than them!
How can they enforce it?
If the blogger uses a proxy server, how can they enforce?
Having the state require licensing for speaking in a public commons (which is what the Internet is) is well beyond the point of unacceptability.
Having the state tax those deriving revenue from such (eg advertising) is an entirely different matter.
However, this is EXACTLY what you DO NOT want. Free speech is being directly challenged. The 'conspiracy' you thought could never occur, started a few hours later.
Let me analogize: In the shooting world, Shotgunners have always disparaged Assault Rifle and Pistol people. We warn them, however, that we are first, but that the alligator will then turn on THEM.
Same thing. Blogs, which are sometimes unattractive people, are first. Free Republic comes next.
Don't be a Shotgunner.
Truly, you are in fine form today, Mr. Mataz.
Phili residents voted Democrat so they must bear the burden of big govt.
A blog is like a TV Channel or a newspaper.
If I don't like it I don't go there.
Indeed, Laz, so it begins...
The Wild West is over.
The original CNN story referenced in the article was published in August 2010. Does anyone know if there have been any more recent developments?
Unfortunately, you’d only know when the IRS showed up on your doorstep.
A) How are they going to know that you are “blogging” from within their jurisdiction? (B) Is there a fee to use a printing press within the environs of Philadelphia (”paging Dr. Benjamin Franklin!”) and (C) What constitutes “blogging” and how is that different from running a news site? Is Matt Drudge a “blogger,” an aggregator or a newsman? Are Jim Robinson or Markos Moulitsas “bloggers?”
“None of those occupations, however, are protected by the First Amendment. This is unconstitutional to its core.”
Obviously you did not read the article. It is not a tax on blogs. It is a tax on those that take ads for profit and file their incomes with the IRS.
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