PUBLICATIONS BY James L. Gattuso
Research
Commentary
Media Appearances
2009 Research
August 05, 2009
Cash for Clunkers: Just Spinning Wheels
By James L. Gattuso and Nicolas D. Loris
(WebMemo #2579)
Despite its popularity, the cash-for-clunkers program is no success--unless success is defined as spending a lot of money quickly.
July 08, 2009
Closing Car Dealerships: A Matter of Economics, Not Politics
By James Sherk and James L. Gattuso
(Backgrounder #2296)
Congress should not interfere with the painful but necessary moves being made to bring GM and Chrysler back to profitability.
May 29, 2009
General Motors Bankruptcy and Nationalization: Exit Strategy Needed
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #2462)
Running auto companies is the wrong road for Detroit, for consumers, and for U.S. taxpayers. America needs to take the nearest exit.
March 25, 2009
Geithner's Troubling Plan for Troubled Assets
By James L. Gattuso and David C. John
(WebMemo #2360)
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner yesterday released details on his proposal for removing toxic assets from the balance sheets of banks and other financial institutions. Substantively, however, while the plan does have positive elements, it is significantly flawed.
February 12, 2009
Obama's Bank Bailout Plan: Not Ready for Prime Time
By David C. John and James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #2291)
The Administration's financial bailout strategy announced by Timothy Geithner, despite some positive elements, is filled with incomplete and unsound policy proposals financed by trillions of taxpayer dollars.
2008 Research
December 12, 2008
TARP: Now a Slush Fund for Detroit?
By Andrew M. Grossman and James Gattuso
(WebMemo #2170)
With the Senate’s rejection of a bailout for Detroit’s ailing automakers, there comes word that President Bush is actively considering using funds allocated by Congress for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to prop up the automakers for the time being. Such action would be legally wrong, economically wrong, and counterproductive to turning around these troubled businesses. By opening the door to virtually unlimited uses of this money, a unilateral decision to employ TARP funds would be an outrage to taxpayers.
December 09, 2008
Auto Bailout Bill: Nationalizing Detroit?
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #2164)
Would Washington do a better job running the automobile industry than Detroit would? Taxpayers may be about to find out. Detroit needs to change to respond to the 21st-century marketplace. This plan will instead simply make Detroit more responsive to Washington’s politicians. That is the wrong road for the auto industry, and taxpayers, to go down.
November 16, 2008
The Detroit Bailout: Unsafe at Any Cost
By James L. Gattuso and Nicolas D. Loris
(WebMemo #2133)
Should Washington bail out the Big Three automakers? A far better approach is to restructure through a formal bankruptcy process if necessary. Bankruptcy—and the prospect of it—would provide both the incentive and means for making the hard and painful choices that Detroit needs to make.
November 14, 2008
TARP and the Treasury: Time to Allow Markets to Work
By James L. Gattuso, David C. John, and J. D. Foster, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #2131)
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson recently announced yet another change in direction of the “Troubled Asset Relief Program” (TARP), sowing more uncertainty and confusion in the very financial markets the program is supposed to stabilize.
October 22, 2008
Meltdowns and Myths: Did Deregulation Cause the Financial Crisis?
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #2109)
Easy answers are seldom correct ones. That principle seems to be at work as the nation struggles to discover the causes of financial crisis now rocking the economy. Looking for a simple and politically convenient villain, many politicians have flatly blamed deregulation by the Bush Administration.
October 02, 2008
SEC Makes Mark-to-Market Accounting Markedly Better
By David C. John and James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #2095)
The SEC and FASB clarifications on mark-to-market accounting rules both address shortcomings in the application of the existing rule and will help to ensure that investors, regulators, and the public have a more accurate picture of a firm’s financial position.
September 19, 2008
What Should Be Done About the Financial Markets?
By Stuart M. Butler, Ph.D., Alison Acosta Fraser, and James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #2070)
Lawmakers have just been presented with the outline of an expansive and potentially costly package of proposals said to be needed to bring a permanent solution to the financial crisis. As they evaluate this package and other proposals, lawmakers should be guided by certain goals and strategies.
September 11, 2008
Putting the Brakes on the Automaker Bailout
By James L. Gattuso and Nicolas D. Loris
(WebMemo #2060)
Having the government, and ultimately the taxpayer, finance a transition to more fuel efficient cars is simply bad policy rooted in election-year politics. Policymakers should slam on the brakes to avoid this hazard.
May 07, 2008
The Rulemaking Process and Unitary Executive Theory
By James L. Gattuso
(Testimony #9999)
The Rulemaking Process and Unitary Executive Theory
May 06, 2008
The FCC's Cross-Ownership Rule: Turning the Page on Media
By James L. Gattuso
(Backgrounder #2133)
Critics of the FCC’s decision to allow newspapers to be owned jointly with TV and radio stations under certain limited circumstances argue that cross-ownership would lead to a dangerous concentration of power in the media business; in reality, the FCC should have repealed its cross-ownership rule altogether, leaving the protection of choice and competition to well-established antitrust laws.
March 25, 2008
Red Tape Rising: Regulatory Trends in the Bush Years
By James L. Gattuso
(Backgrounder #2116)
Contrary to much popular rhetoric about massive regulatory rollbacks, the regulatory burden has grown during President George W. Bush’s tenure, and the President’s final year may see a regulatory surge. Policymakers should work to prevent this surge and adopt reforms to ensure that new and old rules are thoroughly vetted to ease the burden of this regulatory tax on Americans.
March 03, 2008
Consumer Product Safety Bill May Need a Recall
By James Gattuso
(WebMemo #1832)
The House and Senate bills could end up increasing bureaucracy and litigation rather than consumer safety.
2007 Research
November 07, 2007
The Comcast Net Neutrality Controversy: A Discussion
By Adam Thierer, Jerry Brito, Edward Felten, Richard Bennett, and James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #1696)
Panelists discuss the technology, policy, and politics of Comcast's controversial efforts to throttle BitTorrent traffic on its broadband network.
October 22, 2007
A Scare for the Web: Will Congress Let the Internet Tax Ban Expire?
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #1673)
Congress should make permanent the moratorium on the taxation of Internet access.
September 27, 2007
Beyond the Fairness Doctrine: Radio's Fight over the XM–Sirius Merger
By Edwin Meese III and James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #1646)
Regulators should permit a merger that would strengthen competition and could lead to improved services for consumers.
July 09, 2007
Comments to FCC on Sirius - XM Radio merger
By Edwin Meese, III and James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #9999)
In accordance with the Public Notice issued by the Commission on June 8, 2007 we respectfully submit these comments on the applications of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. for consent to transfer control of licenses in connection with their proposed merger. We believe that the proposed merger is consistent with the public interest, and the Commission should grant the applications.
May 23, 2007
Back to Muzak? Congress and the Un-Fairness Doctrine
By James Gattuso
(WebMemo #1472)
Members of Congress must resist efforts to resurrect the unconstitutional and unnecessary federal power to regulate "fairness" in broadcasting.
February 06, 2007
Cyren Call and Siren Calls: Spectrum Allocation for Emergency Communications
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #1346)
Solutions to America’s public safety communications woes do not necessarily lie in ever more spending and spectrum allocations but in better use of the spectrum now being wasted.
February 05, 2007
No TV Left Behind: Digital Transition Subsidies for Basement Televisions?
By James Gattuso
(WebMemo #1340)
For the sake of taxpayers, the Bush Administration should decline to subsidize the basement TVs of households that subscribe to satellite or cable television.
2006 Research
November 09, 2006
Who Will Regulate the Regulators? The Battle Over Susan Dudley and OIRA
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #1250)
Susan Dudley, a top regulatory analyst and economist, is a strong candidate to lead the government's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.
June 02, 2006
Broadband Regulation: Will Congress Neuter the Net?
By James L. Gattuso
(Backgrounder #1941)
Proposed network neutrality rules would impose comprehensive, unnecessary, and harmful mandates on broadband networks. These mandates, the most extensive regulation of the Internet ever considered by Congress, would stymie the efficient use of scarce capacity, discourage investment, and threaten the growth of competition among broadband networks. Existing competition law is more than sufficient to address any abuses that do occur.
April 03, 2006
Good News, Bad News: Telecom Reform in the House
By James Gattuso
(WebMemo #1026)
After several false starts, telecommunications reform is once again moving in Congress. As soon as this week, the House Commerce Committee will vote on a proposal released last Monday by committee chair Joe Barton (R-TX) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL).
February 06, 2006
Fixing the Asbestos Mess: The Senate's Reform Needs Reforming
By James L. Gattuso and Tim Kane, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1909)
Asbestos. It is the basis for the longest-running mass tort litigation in U.S. history, as well as the most expensive. Since the late 1960s, some 850,000 claimants have sued for asbestos-related injuries. The litigation has cost some $70 billion and 60,000 jobs, but little has gone to the truly injured. Lawyers and litigation costs have consumed almost 60 percent of resources expended, and much of the rest has gone to claimants without real impairments. Yet the lawsuits are still coming, with up to $200 billion in additional claims on the horizon.
2005 Research
December 21, 2005
Parents, Pricing, and TV Programming: The Competition Option
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #949)
Policymakers should remove barriers to competition in video services that prevent greater choice rather than impose new regulations
November 02, 2005
Keep the Internet Free of the United Nations
By Brett D. Schaefer, John J. Tkacik, Jr., and James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #904)
The world body considers a new and troubling approach to Internet governance.
October 24, 2005
Another Bridge to Nowhere? The Senate's $3 Billion Subsidy for Aged Television Sets
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #891)
It's difficult to justify a $3 billion subsidy to aid the 15 percent of households that watch over-the-air-TV.
October 14, 2005
Handouts and Takings: Congress and Digital Television
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #884)
This transition--and the spectrum it could free--is critical.
September 23, 2005
House Telecom Rewrite Needs a Rewrite
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #860)
What happened to telecom deregulation?
April 08, 2005
Mandated Fuel Surcharges: Will the Highway Bill Re-Regulate Trucking?
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #714)
The trucking industry doesn't need price controls.
February 15, 2005
Broadcast Indecency: More Regulation Not the Answer
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #666)
Conservatives should be wary of regulating speech.
February 07, 2005
Ma Bell's Retirement: No Big Deal
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #657)
AT&T got bought. Unthinkable? Not really.
2004 Research
December 14, 2004
Telecom Competition Rules: Déjà Vu All Over Again?
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #621)
The FCC's telecoms unbundling rules require a rethink
November 17, 2004
What is the Bush Administration's Record on Regulatory Reform?
By James L. Gattuso
(Testimony #9999)
Over 60 agencies have a hand in federal regulatory policy, ranging from the Environmental Protection Agency to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Together, they enforce over 144,000 pages of rules, with purposes and impacts as varied as the agencies themselves.
November 11, 2004
Hollywood, Values, and P2P Lawsuits
By James L. Gattuso and Norbert J. Michel, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #609)
MPAA's filesharing lawsuits are a sensible alternative to regulating technology.
October 26, 2004
Broadband by 2007: A Look at the President's Internet Initiative
By James L. Gattuso, John M. Kneuer, David McIntosh, Harold Furchtgott-Roth, and Peter Pitsch
(Heritage Lecture #852)
The Bush Administration has set a national goal for the spread of broadband communications by the year 2007. The broad objective is to create universal affordable access for broadband by the year 2007. Government and FCC rules and regulations should ensure that broadband providers have adequate incentives to invest in this capital-intensive industry.
October 22, 2004
Google v. Microsoft: Trustbusters Not Needed
By Andrew Grossman and James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #593)
A tale of technology overcoming monopoly without the trustbusters.
September 28, 2004
Reining in the Regulators: How Does President Bush Measure Up?
By James L. Gattuso
(Backgrounder #1801)
Regulation is a hidden tax that imposes a burden almost as heavy as income taxes. It also can hinder innovation and harm health and safety. President Bush has done better than many of his predecessors in limiting new regulations, but less to eliminate unneeded rules. The Administration should act to ensure that the growth of the regulatory burden is not just slowed, but reversed.
September 28, 2004
Executive Summary: Reining in the Regulators: How Does President Bush Measure Up?
By James L. Gattuso
(Executive Summary #1801)
Executive Summary: Regulation is a hidden tax that imposes a burden almost as heavy as income taxes. It also can hinder innovation and harm health and safety. President Bush has done better than many of his predecessors in limiting new regulations, but less to eliminate unneeded rules. The Administration should act to ensure that the growth of the regulatory burden is not just slowed, but reversed.
September 27, 2004
Locking the Door Against Internet Trespass: Are New Laws Needed?
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #575)
Legislation is not the right answer to the spyware problem.
June 16, 2004
Postal Reform Legislation: Less Than Letter-Perfect
By James L. Gattuso
(Executive Memorandum #937)
Two bills now pending before Congress (H.R. 4341 and S. 2468) would implement some welcome changes in how the Postal Service operates, but they still fall short of the comprehensive transformation that is needed and would saddle taxpayers with billions of dollars in postal costs. Congress can and should deliver more than this disappointing package.
June 01, 2004
Congress and Postal Reform: Less than Letter-Perfect
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #514)
The Postal reform bills in Congress fall short of the kind of real transformation that is needed.
May 21, 2004
Reforming Regulation to Keep America's Small Businesses Competitive
By James L. Gattuso
(Testimony #9999)
Every year, Americans are reminded of the costs of federal taxation when they filed their income tax returns with the IRS, and see a clear and specific bottom line telling them how much they paid to Washington.
May 20, 2004
2004 Draft Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations
By James Gattuso
(WebMemo #00)
In accordance with the notice published in the Federal Register, I respectfully submit these comments on OMB's Draft Report on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations. The views I express in these comments are my own, and should not be construed as representing any official position of The Heritage Foundation.
May 17, 2004
Property and Competition in Telecom: A Response
By James L. Gattuso and Norbert Michel, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #505)
Lawrence Kotlikoff has offered a spirited response to our criticism of his startling claim that telephone networks belong to the public .
April 08, 2004
Are U.S. Telecom Networks Public Property?
By James Gattuso and Norbert Michel, Ph.D.
(Backgrounder #1745)
Today's telecommunications networks are largely the result of recent investment—not a gift from the era of statutory monopolies. Additionally, investments made after the Telecommunications Act of 1996 total nearly enough to rebuild the networks twice over. The recent court decision overturning FCC leasing rules is a step in the right direction and will encourage further telecommunications investment.
February 24, 2004
Bundles of Trouble: The FCC's Telephone Competition Rules
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #432)
Almost exactly one year after the FCC adopted new regulations governing competition in telephone service, telecom regulation once again under debate.
February 24, 2004
Bundles of Trouble: The FCC's Telephone Competition Rules
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #432)
Almost exactly one year after the FCC adopted new regulations governing competition in telephone service, telecom regulation once again under debate.
January 21, 2004
State of the Union: Small Business, Large Regulation
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #400)
Almost buried in President George W. Bush's 50-minute State of the Union Address was one line on an issue that could be key to America's economic recovery: regulation. If this signals a renewed effort to reduce the burden of regulation from the economy, it is welcome news.
2003 Research
November 07, 2003
The Internet: Why the Taxman Should Not Cometh
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #362)
State politicians are in an uproar over a U.S. Senate bill, S. 150, that would prevent state governments from imposing taxes on Internet services. The state legislators are saying they need the money to balance their budgets. Their efforts are misguided, and would stifle innovation.
October 07, 2003
Adjusting the Picture: Media Concentration Or Diversity?
By James L. Gattuso, Benjamin Compaine, Robert Okun, Chris Core
(Heritage Lecture #798)
The Federal Communication Commission's decision to relax limits on television and radio ownership has sparked a wide debate on media concentration in America. Contrary to the rhetoric, media diversity and competition have vastly increased in recent years. In fact, continued regulation could threaten free, over-the-air television.
September 04, 2003
USPS (Non) Disclosure: Time to Bring in the SEC
By Douglas K. Adie, Ph.D., and James L. Gattuso
(Backgrounder #1685)
To compete in today's marketplace, the U.S. Postal Service should be subject to the same pressures, incentives, and requirements as private firms. Ultimately, this should involve the abolition of its legal monopoly on letter mail and privatization of the organization. In the meantime, the USPS's financial integrity and accountability can be improved by placing it under the same Securities and Exchange Commission requirements as those that apply to private-sector firms.
August 21, 2003
Addressing Reform: Report of the President's Commission on the U.S. Postal Service
By James L. Gattuso
(Executive Memorandum #898)
In its final report, the President's Commission on the United States Postal Service has recommended sweeping changes in the way the USPS works, from closing redundant post offices and shrinking the workforce to increasing accountability. But to be truly effective, reform must also take on the Postal Service's government ownership and monopoly on letter mail: The USPS should be privatized and its statutory monopoly abolished.
July 29, 2003
President's Postal Reform Commission Report: An Incomplete Package
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #323)
The reform report issued by the President's Commission on the United States Postal Service will contain many good and needed changes, but will fall short if -- as the preliminary documents indicate -- it rejects fundamental change to the Postal Services protected, government status.
June 19, 2003
The Case for RESPA Reform
By James L. Gattuso and Ronald D. Utt, Ph.D.
(WebMemo #299)
For the vast majority, financing a home will be the largest—and most complex—single financial transaction they will ever make. Unfortunately, both this complexity and cost of this transaction is made larger by federal regulation.
May 29, 2003
The Myth of Media Concentration: Why the FCC's Media Ownership Rules Are Unnecessary
By James Gattuso
(WebMemo #284)
Despite many mergers in the media industry in recent years, Americans today actually enjoy more diversity and competition in the media than at any other time in history, thanks to cable TV, Internet, the licensing of new broadcast stations and other factors.
April 16, 2003
Pirates and Posses: The Battle over Digital Copyright
By James L. Gattuso, Bruce Mehlman, Alec French, Gary Shapiro, and James V. DeLong
(Heritage Lecture #785)
The question of content is paradoxical, in a way, in the digital age. The blessing of the digital age is that you can make an infinite number of perfect copies...
February 14, 2003
Comments of James L. Gattuso to The President's Commission on the United States Postal Service
By James L. Gattuso
(WebMemo #206)
The fundamental changes taking place in postal services calls for a long-term assessment, and a focus on the fundamental basis under which the USPS will operate.
February 10, 2003
Local Telephone Competition
By James L. Gattuso
(Backgrounder #1621)
The FCC is expected to vote this week on new rules governing competition for local telephone service. It should rewrite its rules to limit mandated unbundling to bottlenecks. New investment in infrastructure for high-speed services should not be subject to regulation; rather, policymakers must reduce regulation and foster marketplace incentives.
2002 Research
November 26, 2002
The Invention Tax
By James L. Gattuso
(Executive Memorandum #842)
If a proposal by the PTO is enacted, total fees paid by patent and trademark applicants could rise, effectively taxing innovation. The OMB's treatment of the FY 2004 budget present the Bush Administration an opportunity to show its commitment to removing government barriers to technological progress.
September 25, 2002
Self-Defense: A Different Tune
By James L. Gattuso and Norbert J. Michel
(Executive Memorandum #835)
Representative Howard Berman (D-CA) proposed a radically different approach to solve the digital copyright violation problem: allowing copyright owners to use digital self-help measures to protect their own intellectual property. This solution is a step in the right direction.
June 28, 2002
Real Transformation Needed at Postal Service
By James L. Gattuso
(Executive Memorandum #821)
Although postal management recently announced a welcome set of policy reforms, more fundamental changes are necessary--including elimination of the USPS monopoly on letter mail, and even privatization.
May 31, 2002
Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations
By James Gattuso
(WebMemo #103)
Estimating the total benefits and costs of federal regulations - as OMB is required to do in this report - is no easy task. Regulatory accounting is still an evolving, and as yet imperfect, discipline. Yet, there are some changes that could usefully be made to provide a clearer and more complete picture of the impact of regulation.
May 09, 2002
Regulating the Regulators: OIRA's Comeback
By James L. Gattuso
(Executive Memorandum #813)
OIRA's renewed activity has already sparked much criticism from regulators as well as the interest groups with a stake in regulation. The key question is whether President George W. Bush and other top policymakers will give their full backing to the work of this oft-neglected office.
February 25, 2002
The Tauzin-Dingell Telecom Bill: Untangling the Confusion
By James L. Gattuso
(Executive Memorandum #802)
Broadband technologies hold great promise for American consumers, as well as for the U.S. economy. Thus far, progress toward realizing that promise has been good, but unless policymakers reduce the regulatory barriers to investment, it will be limited.
2009 Commentary
August 11, 2009
Commercials help people get better care
By James Gattuso
We've all seen the television commercials for prescription drugs that come on during your favorite show. Some - for certain maladies rarely discussed at the family dinner table - have become standard grist for late-night comics. But beyond the jokes, there's a serious debate in Congress, where some are proposing that such ads be banned.
2007 Commentary
October 18, 2007
Pro-taxes or pro-Internet?
By By Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.), Robert Atkinson and James Gattuso
In 1998, Congress passed the Internet Tax Freedom Act, establishing a moratorium on all new taxes on Internet access. The Internet has changed tremendously since then, with the number of Americans online tripling and broadband use soaring from virtually zero to over 50 percent. Experts disagree about whether this growth is fast enough, or inclusive enough. But on one point there is surprising consensus across the ideological spectrum:
October 13, 2007
Do Regulators Need Expanded Authority Over Consumer Goods?
By James Gattuso
As the parent of a five-year old boy, it was impossible to miss the news. Within hours of the announcement that certain models of Thomas toy trains were being recalled, our family began to get calls and e-mails from other concerned parents. “Did you hear?” “What are you going to do?” “Should we throw them all away?”
July 06, 2007
Fairness Doctrine, R.I.P.
By James Gattuso
Victory was fast and shockingly easy. The battle over the Fairness Doctrine ended last week when the House of Representatives voted 309-115 against allowing the Federal Communications Commission to re-impose the regulation on broadcasters. The vote almost certainly means that the long-dead rule will not be revived anytime soon. That’s good news. But the celebrations should be tempered: the real battle over media regulation is still to come, and won't involve the words "Fairness Doctrine."
January 06, 2007
AT&T-BellSouth Merger: Regulation Through the Backdoor
By James Gattuso
The Federal Communications Commission is rarely accused of moving too quickly. Although telecommunications itself is one of the fastest-changing industries in the U.S. economy, the FCC itself is famous for moving at a snail’s pace. Last week, as the clock ticked down on 2006, the agency reinforced that reputation—finally approving AT&T’s merger with BellSouth almost nine full months after the transaction was announced. More troubling, however, the approval came with enough strings to fly a kite, including imposition of “net neutrality” rules.
2006 Commentary
March 29, 2006
Cheaper cable and controlled content
By James Gattuso
Cable TV is now at the center of two simmering controversies. The first concerns content: How can parents protect their kids from inappropriate TV programming?
February 23, 2006
Choice and competition: Ten years later, the battle moves to cable TV
By James Gattuso
Ten years ago this week, President Clinton signed the Telecommunications Act of 1996, completely rewriting the nation's telecom laws. To mark the anniversary, the Federal Communications Commission meets this week not in D.C. or some high-tech hub city but in the smallish Dallas suburb of Keller, Texas.
2005 Commentary
August 12, 2005
Waiting for the Telecom Godot
By James Gattuso
If you liked "Waiting for Godot," you've probably loved this year's congressional telecom reform drama. Much like the characters in the Samuel Beckett play -- who keep audiences waiting for the appearance of the apparently important, but ill-defined title character -- Congress kept us waiting most of this year for telecom legislation to come on stage.
March 10, 2005
Indecent Proposal: Expanding FCC Speech Controls to Cable
By James Gattuso
Ten years ago, when the GOP first took control of Congress, there was much excited talk about abolishing the FCC.
February 19, 2005
Ma Bell's Retirement
By James Gattuso
Only a few years ago, it would have been considered the deal of the century. In 1997, then–FCC chairman Reed Hundt called it "unthinkable."
2004 Commentary
November 29, 2004
Hollywood, Values & P2P Lawsuits
By James Gattuso and Norbert Michel
The debate over "moral values," first raised in the aftermath of Election Day, continues. Now it's the appropriateness of risqué ads for "Monday Night Football" and the popularity of TV's racy "Desperate Housewives" that's causing the latest heartburn.
June 15, 2004
Negotiate, Not Litigate
By James Gattuso, Randolph J. May and Adam Thierer
When the D.C. Circuit Appeals Court in March once again threw out the Federal Communications Commission's rules requiring incumbent telephone companies like Verizon to share their network facilities at regulated rates, the court handed the telecommunications industry a huge opportunity.
May 24, 2004
Property, Competition and Telecom: The Continuing Debate
By James Gattuso and Norbert Michel
Earlier this year, we published a paper attacking the notion that U.S. telecom networks actually belong to the public, rather than their shareholders. We didn't think this rather straightforward defense of property rights would engender much debate, but debate is exactly what's happened.
March 16, 2004
Light at the End of the Telecom Tunnel
By James Gattuso
The Federal Communications Commission is much in the news this year, with headline investigations into the antics of Janet Jackson and Howard Stern. Yet, regardless of the merits of its campaign against indecency, and the attention it generates, the average American likely will be much more affected by the agency's less glamorous, wonk-infested work in telephone policy.
February 17, 2004
PeopleSoft and Oracle: The Antitrust Dogs Turn
By James Gattuso
It was only a couple of years ago that Larry Ellison, the charismatic CEO of Oracle Corp., was urging the dogs of antitrust to chase down Bill Gates and Microsoft. How things have changed. Somewhere along the way, the pups got loose and turned on him. Now Oracle itself may wind up feeling the antitrust bite.
February 03, 2004
Votes May Be Hiding in Heap of Regulations
By Edwin Meese III and James L. Gattuso
The Bush administration enters its fourth year, the president needs to
commit to a governmentwide effort to reduce the regulatory burden.
2003 Commentary
October 07, 2003
Fixing the Do Not Call List: Do Not Exempt
By James L. Gattuso
After a weeklong circus that left most Americans scratching their heads in confusion, the federal "Do not call" list went into effect on Oct. 1. It was the California recall of regulatory policy, involving two district courts, two appeals courts, two alphabet-soup agencies and Congress. The only thing missing was Gary Coleman.
September 11, 2003
No Perfect Solution
By James Gattuso
Terrorism continues to pose very real threats — in many forms and from many quarters. Washington can and must act to counter them. But let's not delude ourselves: No plan and no amount of resources can insulate us from all possible dangers.
September 05, 2003
Adjusting the Picture
By James Gattuso
Most of us learned a long time ago not to believe everything we see on television. The current debate over broadcast ownership rules suggests a corollary: Don't believe everything you hear about television.
August 13, 2003
Can the Postal Service be Saved?
By James Gattuso
On July 30, a presidential commission recommended a wide set of reforms for the Postal Service. It was hardly front-page news.
May 19, 2003
Iraq and the Myth of Media Concentration
By James Gattuso
Iraq and the Myth of Media Concentration
May 05, 2003
Airline Bailouts II: This Approach Won't Fly
By James L. Gattuso
Airline Bailouts II: This Approach Won't Fly: James Gattuso talks about how recession, war, terrorism and SARS are causing major turbulence for the airline industry. So much so that Congress has given the industry $3.1 billion in aid.
March 26, 2003
Who to Watch?
By James L. Gattuso
Who to Watch? The Iraqi War and the Myth of Media Concentration
January 31, 2003
The FCC's Local Competition Report: Surprise!
By James L. Gattuso
The FCC's Local Competition Report: Surprise!
2002 Commentary
December 04, 2002
ed120402b: The Internet -- 1, Lawyers -- 0: The ADA in Cyberspace
By James Gattuso
The Internet -- 1, Lawyers -- 0: The ADA in Cyberspace
October 21, 2002
Facing the Music: The Battle Over Digital Piracy
By James L. Gattuso and Norbert J. Michel
Facing the Music: The Battle Over Digital Piracy
May 31, 2002
Snail Mail Failing?
By James Gattuso
Snail Mail Failing?
November 20, 2009
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