Is Big Tech violating the Constitution

[nathanbforrest45]

And monopolies are what you get with deregulation!

Thank you Ronald Reagan.

Before deregulation AT&T owned most of the communications outlets in the US. Bell Telephone company had a monopoly on equipment. To get more than one line for a business cost a small fortune. With the break up of MaBell competition was allowed to participate in the telephone business. Who has a monopoly on that service today?

Another issue was trucking. Before deregulation a few major companies controlled 90% of all over the road transportation and the Interstate Commerce Commission was there to insure the big companies were allowed to set the rates and charge as high as they wanted. As soon as the ICC Act was brushed aside rates plummeted and carriers both large and small prospered. Yes, many inefficiently run carriers, both large and small are no longer with us but there is not a monopoly of truckers or single level of rates for all shippers.

Deregulation allowed the market to open to all comers and thanks to deregulation businesses like mine (which assisted small shippers to make the best choices from the dozens of options now available) thrived.

So, yes, I think Ronald Reagan every single day for pushing deregulation and I am ecstatic that President Donald J. Trump saw fit to rid the economy of 100's of other growth killing regulations.

[Captdon]

That's a stretch. It's like saying anyone who's ever testified in court, allowed the police to search their property or served on a jury, is somehow a government entity.

The fact is, these media platforms are private entities. First amendment protections don't exist within them anymore than they do in someone's house you're in.

And here I thought conservatives championed private property rights and fewer government regulations.

They are private companies. Why do they have total immunity? That's my objection. If their private i should be able to sue for slander.

[jet57]

Before deregulation AT&T owned most of the communications outlets in the US. Bell Telephone company had a monopoly on equipment. To get more than one line for a business cost a small fortune. With the break up of MaBell competition was allowed to participate in the telephone business. Who has a monopoly on that service today?

Another issue was trucking. Before deregulation a few major companies controlled 90% of all over the road transportation and the Interstate Commerce Commission was there to insure the big companies were allowed to set the rates and charge as high as they wanted. As soon as the ICC Act was brushed aside rates plummeted and carriers both large and small prospered. Yes, many inefficiently run carriers, both large and small are no longer with us but there is not a monopoly of truckers or single level of rates for all shippers.

Deregulation allowed the market to open to all comers and thanks to deregulation businesses like mine (which assisted small shippers to make the best choices from the dozens of options now available) thrived.

So, yes, I think Ronald Reagan every single day for pushing deregulation and I am ecstatic that President Donald J. Trump saw fit to rid the economy of 100's of other growth killing regulations.

https://www.businessinsider.com/att-...able%20company.

AT&T was actually broken up by the government in 1984. In fact, it was broken up into eight different companies. Today, almost all those companies are once again part of AT&T. And the company is more than twice the size it was before with a massive cellular network and satellite cable company.

That's first. Second, I'm going to explain trucking to you. I spent thirty years in it from 1975 through to 2008: my father was a general manager. When trucking as deregulated in 1980, he told me that the industry had just been sent back to the 1930s.

Under regulation a company was beholden to the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission), and each company had to have a state license, in Calif it's known as a CA number, which companies still have to have, the ICC is gone. Under regulation, permits were hard to get in order to keep the market from being flooded, a bit like having to pay $1000,000 or more (in Calif) for a liquor license.

Rates were controlled under regulation by a floor (to prevent predatory practices) and a ceiling to prevent an inflation of rates. The industry was deregulated in 1980, by 1984, at least 40 companies that I can think of just off the top of my head, just in SF Bay Area, went under due to predatory pricing. Around the country, millions lost their jobs as companies and related contractors went out of business.

Your major carriers are: Fed EX, UPS, XPO, and Old Dominion. Those four are your choices for interstate carriers; YRC comes in 5th, but the name has been changed back to Yellow. So, just like AT&T, the trucking industry has monopolized like never before due to deregulation and pyramiding; known as vertical integration in the business world. The very same thing happened in the air line industry AND the shipping industry. We used to have 65 shipping companies, but of course due to predatory practices, we now have 5. An inlaw owns a tug boat company that operates on the entire west coast.

So you can thank Ronald Reagan all you want, but his domestic policies set fire to this country's middle class. Also, you will know now why I consider your posts to be inane and worthless.

If you don't know the subject, please do us all a favor and don't act like you do.

[jet57]

You really are a dodo head you know that. I swear to God you get up every morning and take a dumb ass pill along with your morning coffee.

Well sorry, but those labels belong to you. According to your reading of freedom of speech, any company that doesn’t allow unions to organize of their property Is violating the first amendment. So that makes you the dummy.

[donttread]

The 1st Amendment to the Constitution provides that Congress shall make no law prohibiting free speech. As we all know Big Tech is censoring anyone who goes against the agenda of the Democrat Party by kicking them off social media. It will be argued that Big Tech is private business and therefore not bound by the 1st Amendment. However, it would appear that Big Tech is doing the bidding of the Democrat/Progressive Party as an end run around the Constitution.

We have all seen the episodes of say Law and Order where a private citizen breaks into someone's home and steals incriminating evidence and turns it over to the police. This evidence is then ruled inadmissible because it is claimed the citizen was working as an agent of the police department and therefore was also bound by Constitutional considerations. I am well aware of the fact these are fictional programs but the concept of acting as an agent would also prevail in real life.

It is my contention that Google, Youtube, Facebook et al are working as agents of the Federal Government when shutting down descent and are therefore violating the 1st Amendment rights of free speech.

Please note, this is tagged tpf. I will ask the moderators to remove anyone who attempts to counter this argument by using Donald J. Trump in any manner as a rebuttal.

I think anti-trust is the real angle here unless big tech gets any support from government then non discrimination should apply and idealogy should be protected. In fact where the country went wrong was stressing protected classes vs harrassment and discrimination towards anyone. What a concept. As it is the country still bullies it just picks on those of us the governent hasn't declared off limits!
Chimps really!

[donttread]

Doesnt the fact that the government gave them special immunity further your arguments?

Where does the government derive that power to begin with?

[DGUtley]

Where does the government derive that power to begin with?

You lost me - help me out here.

[Chris]

https://www.businessinsider.com/att-...able%20company.


That's first. Second, I'm going to explain trucking to you. I spent thirty years in it from 1975 through to 2008: my father was a general manager. When trucking as deregulated in 1980, he told me that the industry had just been sent back to the 1930s.

Under regulation a company was beholden to the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission), and each company had to have a state license, in Calif it's known as a CA number, which companies still have to have, the ICC is gone. Under regulation, permits were hard to get in order to keep the market from being flooded, a bit like having to pay $1000,000 or more (in Calif) for a liquor license.

Rates were controlled under regulation by a floor (to prevent predatory practices) and a ceiling to prevent an inflation of rates. The industry was deregulated in 1980, by 1984, at least 40 companies that I can think of just off the top of my head, just in SF Bay Area, went under due to predatory pricing. Around the country, millions lost their jobs as companies and related contractors went out of business.

Your major carriers are: Fed EX, UPS, XPO, and Old Dominion. Those four are your choices for interstate carriers; YRC comes in 5th, but the name has been changed back to Yellow. So, just like AT&T, the trucking industry has monopolized like never before due to deregulation and pyramiding; known as vertical integration in the business world. The very same thing happened in the air line industry AND the shipping industry. We used to have 65 shipping companies, but of course due to predatory practices, we now have 5. An inlaw owns a tug boat company that operates on the entire west coast.

So you can thank Ronald Reagan all you want, but his domestic policies set fire to this country's middle class. Also, you will know now why I consider your posts to be inane and worthless.

If you don't know the subject, please do us all a favor and don't act like you do.

All I can say is isn't the free-market a $#@!.

But then these chart show how things improved under deregulation for most:


https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Freight/pub...stry/index.htm


https://midamericafreight.org/index....ch/importance/

When it comes to the common good, the people, disperse, decentralized, deregulated, are better deciders than a few elites in a centralized fedetal government.

[nathanbforrest45]

https://www.businessinsider.com/att-... cable company.


That's first. Second, I'm going to explain trucking to you. I spent thirty years in it from 1975 through to 2008: my father was a general manager. When trucking as deregulated in 1980, he told me that the industry had just been sent back to the 1930s.

Under regulation a company was beholden to the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission), and each company had to have a state license, in Calif it's known as a CA number, which companies still have to have, the ICC is gone. Under regulation, permits were hard to get in order to keep the market from being flooded, a bit like having to pay $1000,000 or more (in Calif) for a liquor license.

Rates were controlled under regulation by a floor (to prevent predatory practices) and a ceiling to prevent an inflation of rates. The industry was deregulated in 1980, by 1984, at least 40 companies that I can think of just off the top of my head, just in SF Bay Area, went under due to predatory pricing. Around the country, millions lost their jobs as companies and related contractors went out of business.

Your major carriers are: Fed EX, UPS, XPO, and Old Dominion. Those four are your choices for interstate carriers; YRC comes in 5th, but the name has been changed back to Yellow. So, just like AT&T, the trucking industry has monopolized like never before due to deregulation and pyramiding; known as vertical integration in the business world. The very same thing happened in the air line industry AND the shipping industry. We used to have 65 shipping companies, but of course due to predatory practices, we now have 5. An inlaw owns a tug boat company that operates on the entire west coast.

So you can thank Ronald Reagan all you want, but his domestic policies set fire to this country's middle class. Also, you will know now why I consider your posts to be inane and worthless.

If you don't know the subject, please do us all a favor and don't act like you do.

I have been in the transportation industry from 1969 to the present. I have worked for rail, trucking, the Interstate Commerce Commission and now am semi-retired from a logistics company I started in 1981 and which my daughter now runs. I was able to save my first client over $1 Million per year by negotiating discounts with emerging carriers. The last person I would turn to for information on transportation issues would be you.

With deregulation there was a decline in the total number of trucking companies. There was a corresponding decline in rates and an increase in available services. Your so called "predatory practices" was giving the consumer lower rates than your protected companies were providing. The trucking companies that went out of business were mostly inefficiently run and or union outfits. Davidson Transfer and Storage in Baltimore was a case in point. After 85 years in business it closed it doors in 1981. The official reason was "an erosion of rates caused by deregulation". The truth is management had gone to the union and asked that they postpone the pay increases for the union members as they could not pay the new rates in the current market. The union membership in that company agreed with the company. The union said no, we know you can do better. The company closed its doors in 1981 putting 195 people out of work. I was on the Southern Motor Carriers Rate Committee along with Bill Lamparelli, VP of Transportation with Davidson at the time so I am well aware of the so called "predator pricing". Your major carriers at that time were Yellow Freight Systems, Roadway Express, Ryder Truck Lines, and Consolidated Freightways None of these carriers are with us today except Yellow and Roadway who merged. Some of the highly successful carriers were "regional carriers" who because of deregulation decided to go national and couldn't compete with the carriers who were already national or had partnerships that allowed coast to coast movements. One of the most successful was Overnite Transportation, who became UPS Ground Freight.

Frankly, I don't think you know sh!t from shinola about the dynamics of the freight industry

[jet57]

I have been in the transportation industry from 1969 to the present. I have worked for rail, trucking, the Interstate Commerce Commission and now am semi-retired from a logistics company I started in 1981 and which my daughter now runs. I was able to save my first client over $1 Million per year by negotiating discounts with emerging carriers. The last person I would turn to for information on transportation issues would be you.

With deregulation there was a decline in the total number of trucking companies. There was a corresponding decline in rates and an increase in available services. Your so called "predatory practices" was giving the consumer lower rates than your protected companies were providing. The trucking companies that went out of business were mostly inefficiently run and or union outfits. Davidson Transfer and Storage in Baltimore was a case in point. After 85 years in business it closed it doors in 1981. The official reason was "an erosion of rates caused by deregulation". The truth is management had gone to the union and asked that they postpone the pay increases for the union members as they could not pay the new rates in the current market. The union membership in that company agreed with the company. The union said no, we know you can do better. The company closed its doors in 1981 putting 195 people out of work. I was on the Southern Motor Carriers Rate Committee along with Bill Lamparelli, VP of Transportation with Davidson at the time so I am well aware of the so called "predator pricing". Your major carriers at that time were Yellow Freight Systems, Roadway Express, Ryder Truck Lines, and Consolidated Freightways None of these carriers are with us today except Yellow and Roadway who merged. Some of the highly successful carriers were "regional carriers" who because of deregulation decided to go national and couldn't compete with the carriers who were already national or had partnerships that allowed coast to coast movements. One of the most successful was Overnite Transportation, who became UPS Ground Freight.

Frankly, I don't think you know sh!t from shinola about the dynamics of the freight industry

I know a great deal about freight. This line:

The official reason was "an erosion of rates caused by deregulation". The truth is management had gone to the union and asked that they postpone the pay increases for the union members as they could not pay the new rates in the current market. The union membership in that company agreed with the company. The union said no, we know you can do better.

Pisses all over your story for two reasons:

1) Davidson had been giving it's drivers grief going back to 1936 and they were sued in later years for racial discrimination. 2) There is no way in hell that a Baltimore Teamsters local, or ANY Teamsters local would override a decision of the bargaining unit at any time for any reason. Said local would be sued into receivership. Davidson's LTL division was being cut to pieces by deregulation and it dragged the whole thing down by '81. Anybody who even THINKS a Teamsters local would do that is either stupid or lying, so I don't believe a word you say on the subject.