The Government Now Has The Power To Regulate The Volume Of Audio On Commercials.

I first saw this news on Fox News. I thought is was interesting as it represents the broader goal of the government to control the Internet and all other forms of media through net neutrality. I wonder what kind of precedent this new power will set and how it will be used in the future.

President Obama on Wednesday signed into law a bill that will regulate the volume of television commercials. According to the White House, the 'Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation' or 'CALM' Act 'requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prescribe a regulation limiting the volume of audio on commercials.' The regulation applies to 'television broadcast stations, cable operators, and other multichannel video programming distributors.' Under the new law, commercials can be only as loud as the decibel level of regular programming.

The "Calm" act sounds lovely and soothing. I am glad that the government is there to protect us from loud commercials. I have not read anything that stated the rational behind this new regulation. It simply appears to be a power grab by the government. Maybe a lot of people called the FCC to complain about loud commercials. This is a perfect example of the type of tyranny that America is headed for: a soft-mild-loving-caring tyranny.

Cap and Trade and the economic impact.

The large Climate bill called the Waxman-Markey climate bill and Cap and Trade will probably pass the house soon. This bill is aimed at solving a manufactured crises. (Read my post about environmentalism.) It will have a great impact on the economy after 2020 when most of this bill takes effect. Since most of the effects of this bill will take place after 2020, it will be a ticking time bomb that coupled with the fact that most of the effects of the huge deficits the government is running up will be take place around this same time, these two things could completely wreck the economy. This bill will have very little impact on the environment, but it will have a great impact on the economy.

Energy is essential to every form of economic activity. Without fossil fuels our way of life would stop and we would go back to the stone age. If government can control energy and how it is used, the government will basically be controlling all economic activity and have a leash around the neck of every American business and every American.

This bill will Charge companies money for each ton of carbon emission a company emit. Basically, the bill is a huge tax increase that will increase the power and size of government; and at the same time, it will kill jobs and economic prosperity. This bill, according to The Heritage Foundation, will cost the average American family 3000 dollars a year. (These links from Heritage are short and have a lot of facts about this bill.) The government's estimates are much lower; but as the this article points out, is inaccurate. "Even as Democrats have promised that this cap-and-trade legislation won't pinch wallets, behind the scenes they've acknowledged the energy price tsunami that is coming."

According to the WSJ: "Americans should know that those Members who vote for this climate bill are voting for what is likely to be the biggest tax in American history. Even Democrats can't repeal that reality." The government is increasing its size and power under the smoke screen of saving the environment and taking care of us. While the impact of this bill and the huge deficits won't be felt for at least a decade, it is worth keeping up on and it is worth being aware of the potential economic impact that is coming. With Cap and Trade and the government taking over the Auto, health care, and banking industry; the government is rapidly gaining control of every apparatus necessary to control America and every single part of our lives. When people wake up and wonder where their freedoms went, if they ever do, they will be looking back at this time in history as the main point of decline. This is a pivotal point in American history: the foundation for a big government is being laid, and the system of control necessary for it is being setup. Hopefully, this bill won't pass and people will wake up.

Government to control how much executives at all publicly traded companies are paid.

(This picture is relevant to a lot of my post. It sums up my points fairly well.)

A Government appointed pay Czar will be determining how much executives at companies that receive bailout money are paid. The government forced some of these banks to receive bailout money; thus, leading to the government controlling these industries. "The Obama administration says excessive executive compensation must be better managed to prevent the sort of risk-taking that jeopardizes the economy." "Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday the Obama administration wants Congress to pass new laws giving securities regulators power to force companies to let shareholders have more say in setting executive pay." This means President Obama also wants to control executive pay for "all" publicly traded companies. This is taking control of these businesses out of the hands of the businesses and putting the control in the hands of the masses. Who will be controlling the masses by stoking wealth envy? This is a new era for America with this level of government control over the economy. Ronald Reagan once said, "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!" This level of government involvement in the economy will be with us for a long time even if the conservatives gain back control of the government. Unless people demand action.

The government is using wealth envy as a smoke screen and an excuse to gain more control over the economy and our lives. The government is pandering to the worse in human nature and using it for its own purposes-- gaining more control.

This will create a "brain drain" that will drive out talent in these businesses. This will lead to lead to poor management of businesses; thus helping to contribute to the poor performance and downfall of these businesses and creating a vacuum. The government will step in and fill the vacuum. Ultimately this will lead to more government control of the economy. This sounds like what I read in _Atlas Shrugged_.

Another point to illustrate that the government is gaining more control of America, and another indicator of where America is heading.