In case you missed it over the weekend, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced plans on 60 Minutes to deliver packages in the future via drone. His idea is pretty awesome: order an item on Amazon.com, click the drone delivery option and in 30 minutes, your item is delivered to your front door. It's innovative, competitive and nobody has done it before.
Naturally, just 24-hours after Besos made his announcement, control freak politicians in Washington D.C. announced they will be holding a hearing to investigate the idea. It's fair to say the government is already having a panic attack.
A Senate committee is planning early next year to take a look at the use of drones in the U.S. economy, including plans by Amazon.com to use the flying vehicles to deliver packages.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat who leads the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said in a statement that he wants to explore “the potential economic benefits of unmanned vehicles in our airspace as well as the potential risks they may create.”
Rockefeller didn’t sound opposed to the idea, saying Amazon’s AMZN -1.27% proposal “is just one example of the potential this technology offers consumers.” But he said Congress must make certain unmanned vehicles “meet rigorous safety and privacy standards.”
Do we need some regulation on these things? Sure. Will the government stop at just some? Not likely. Just like the airline industry, this will becoming over regulated and therefore, more expensive for consumers.
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The most ironic part of it all? Congress is investigating in the name of privacy. Maybe instead of focusing on private companies trying to make life more convenient for customers, lawmakers on Capitol Hill should heavily investigate the privacy violations the federal government makes every single day. Where should we start? The NSA? The Department of Justice monitoring phones lines of reporters and their parents? The IRS sending private tax information to the Federal Elections Commission while bullying tea party activists into silence? Healthcare.gov?
I'll leave you with this:
"Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." -Ronald Reagan
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