Probably the worst effect Americans can expect from the U.S. government's approval of the pro-spy laws that give telcos immunity from prosecution for breaking the law is more inflation.
Immunity from prosecution in this case means immunity from competition and this means higher prices. As long as the telco's have been given a government guaranteed free ride to collude, expect prices for telephony, data, and cable to continue to increase exponentially. You won't be any safer, but you'll definitely be poorer.
It's all about the money. They say they want to make you safer, but they are taking away the freedoms that one would expect to be taken away by our so-called enemies. They are doing Bin Laden's work for him. The Pentagon-telcos, or 'Pen-Tels,' say they are protecting us from them.
But they (the Pentagon-telcos) are them (the bad guys).
This is the famous Bush-Blair-Bin Laden axis of self-interested 'Killer B's' I've written about on numerous occasions.
During Prohibition, America drank bootleg gin instead and this forced the laws to change.
What will America do now that basic freedoms of speech are being prohibited by the government?
My guess, drink gin.
In case you missed it... Your tax dollars at work.
"Just in the first three months of 2008, recent lobbyist disclosure statements reveal that AT&T spent $5.2 million in lobbyist fees (putting it well ahead of its 2007 pace, when it spent just over $17 million). In the first quarter of 2008, Verizon spent $4.8 million on lobbyist fees, while Comcast spent $2.6 million. So in the first three months of this year, those three telecoms -- which would be among the biggest beneficiaries of telecom amnesty (right after the White House) -- spent a combined total of almost $13 million on lobbyists. They're on pace to spend more than $50 million on lobbying this year -- just those three companies."
Where do these lobbyists get their money?
They borrow it, just like corrupt mortgage lenders, corrupt hedge fund managers and corrupt Pen-Tels.
And how do they plan to pay back these loans? They don't. They will keep borrowing new to pay back old (aka a Ponzi scheme) and the U.S. 500 trillion dollar derivative-o-sphere will keep expanding.
You will see the evidence of this in a perpetually falling U.S. dollar.
And the rising costs of telephone and cable.
Welcome to Feudalism 2.0