Government is and will always be a nigh-universal impediment to freedom and economic advancement.
It’s run mostly by incompetent people. The rest of them are proactively malevolent.
The natural personality type of those drawn to be a bureaucrat – is the most dangerous combination of human traits going.
Someone who has no natural abilities to acquire power – but a fervent desire to acquire power anyway. Combined with a yearning for an over-compensated gig that requires no real abilities – which they don’t possess anyway.
Multiply this noxious concoction by about five million people? And you have the federal government encapsulated.
Populated by this heinousness, government becomes this:
“Government is just another organism. Like any organism, its first instinct is self-preservation.
“Government – and its remora advocates – marshals all their forces should anyone suggest any program be reduced even slightly. As the late, inordinately great Ronald Reagan noted:
“‘No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.’”
And so it has all been with wireless spectrum:
“Spectrum is the airwaves we use for all things wireless. From your intercontinental cell phone – all the way down to your car key fob.
“The spectrum supply is finite – and not all spectrum is equally useful.
“Think of it as a Monopoly board. Some spectrum is Boardwalk and Park Place – some is Baltic and Mediterranean Avenues. And varying degrees in between.
“Let us begin with the fact that government owns the lion’s share of spectrum – roughly 60%. Much of it is of high value – and very high value.
“Shocker – government isn’t using it efficiently.”
Not only is government using it inefficiently – they are lying about it. In a crass act of self-preservation – and to protect their poorly utilized turf.
Leon Cooperman is an inordinately successful investor. Today on CNBC’s Squawk Box, he said:
“I actually think it’s a fabulous idea: it’s Ligado first lien debt.
“The government should be ashamed of their behavior. They have slowed down the whole process – by lying.
“The Department of Defense – for five or six or seven years – alleged that the spectrum that Ligado owns interfered (with) the GPS system.
“The (Federal Communications Commission) FCC studied the allegations for five years – FIVE YEARS. And concluded that the allegations were incorrect. And they approved the use of the spectrum by a 5-0 vote.
“Now the Department of Defense changes their whole story – and say they want the spectrum for national security purposes.”
The Pentagon’s Fight to Kill Ligado’s 5G Network:
“Ligado, a wireless satellite venture known previously as LightSquared, has been working for nearly two decades to deploy its wireless spectrum, originally earmarked for satellite services, to help telecom companies deliver next-generation wireless offerings….
“On April 20, (2020), the FCC voted unanimously to approve Ligado’s petition to deploy a low-power nationwide 5G network. Technical experts at the FCC, who’ve examined the issues for years, say the safeguards spelled out in the commission’s approval, including power limits on Ligado’s radios, should mitigate any dangerous interference.
“’After many years of consideration, it is time for the FCC to make a decision and bring this proceeding to a close,’ FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said in a statement in April. ‘We have compiled an extensive record, which confirms that it is in the public interest to grant Ligado’s application while imposing stringent conditions to prevent harmful interference.’”
Was the DoD done? Heavens no:
“Two weeks later, the Defense Department made its (next) move….The Defense Department argues that the use of spectrum, even at lower power, right next to functioning GPS would still disrupt navigation signals, which could wreak havoc on technology necessary for US national security.”
We pretend that various government agencies each have their respective areas of expertise. When it comes to spectrum – that agency is the FCC.
And after YEARS of studying the alleged problem – they voted unanimously that there wasn’t a problem.
And yet the DoD has kept going anyway.
DOD Concerns About the FCC-Approved Ligado Network
Because government never wants to give up any of its turf. Or turf – adjacent to its turf.
Perhaps the DoD better utilizing its spectrum – would lessen the chances of GPS interference?
Think the government’s dishonest hyperactivity doesn’t harm business and the economy? Then you aren’t thinking:
“Ligado, which was known previously as LightSquared, has been trying since 2010 to win federal approval to use its satellite licenses to build a broadband service….
“(T)he company filed for bankruptcy in 2012 after it failed to gain approval from the FCC to move forward with its plan to build a nationwide 4G LTE network with the spectrum.”
Government interference – has casualties.
And way more than just the deceased LightStream.
We Really Need to Beat China to 5G Wireless:
“The US has dominated every new generation of wireless network (2G, 3G, 4G). And looking back on it – it’s precisely because government has been relatively uninvolved in its birth, development and evolution.”
The DoD has been noxiously involved in 5G – and has delayed our progress for years. Which is – unlike their GPS lie – a very real national security problem.
Who Do You Want Setting Up the Next Internet? The United States – or China?:
“(T)he way the world works is: The country that gets first to 5G – gets to make the worldwide rules for 5G.
“The US arrived first at 4G – so we set the standards for the planet.
“Setting the rules for 5G – is even, exponentially more important. Because of how all-encompassing 5G will be.
“And it’s a two nation race.
“‘The 5G Race: China and US Battle to Control World’s Fastest Wireless Internet.’”
The DoD – by blocking FOR YEARS Ligado-ne-Lightstream – has been helping China.
And doing so – in the name of national security.
No inconsistency there.
Seton Motley is the president of Less Government, a DC-based non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the power of government and protecting the First Amendment from governmental assault.
