Hazlett and subsidies of high-speed data networks

Thomas Hazlett and Richard Epstein write periodically in the "New Technology Policy Forum" in the "Technology" section of the Financial Times. Anyone interested in telecommunications should keep up with their work. As part of the stimulus bill, formally known as the American Recovery and Investment Act, the Congress allocated $7.2 billion to subsidize the spread of high-speed data networks in unserved and underserved areas.

Hazlett explains why this program as passed by the Congress will not stimulate economic activity ("Shovel-ready broadband stimulus," May 1, 2009). It is illustrative of perverse incentives created by government programs to improve private economic activities through subsidies...