What do socialism and cybersecurity have in common? If you’re Trump and the GOP, the answer is . . . EVERYTHING!
Last week, I wrote a two-part series about legislation making its way through Congress that moves the government several giant leaps closer to reaching its goal of complete control of our internet and telecommunications usage — you can read those articles here and here — and now we are learning about a White House plan that goes beyond regulating cyberspace to outright ownership.
Hey, if private companies refuse to bow to Big Brother’s demand to surrender the private information of their subscribers and users, might as well build a government-owned 5G network and eliminate the middle man. Right?
In a speech given at an event hosted by Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Attorney General William Barr made an Orwellian statement that leaves no doubt as to the lengths the White House is willing to go to possess the holy grail of socialism — the elimination of liberty in exchange for the “security” of the state.
Barr stated that “the United States aligning itself with Nokia and/or Ericsson” will go a long way in addressing cybersecurity. And what does he mean by “aligning?” According to Barr, it means “American ownership of a controlling stake, either directly or through a consortium of private American and allied companies.” (emphasis mine)
According to Barr, “Putting our large market and financial muscle behind one or both of these firms would make it a far more formidable competitor and eliminate concerns over its staying power, or their staying power.”
At best this is government picking winners and losers in the free market. At worst it’s another step towards socialism.
While this might appear to be a recent development, the White House proposal has been in the works for two years now. In January, 2018 I wrote about Trump’s plan to nationalize America’s 5G network as a means to combat Chinese spying on US phone calls — I guess China spying is bad but U.S. spying good — and would ultimately require building a government-owned, centralized network. The federal government would pay (which means we would pay) for the network, build it, and then rent access to it to the highest bidder.
As I said in the beginning of this piece, the GOP is pushing this idea as well. A few weeks ago, Senate Republicans Marco Rubio and Richard Burr co-sponsored a bill with Democrat Mark Warner — a guy who made loads of money from the telecommunications industry before becoming a senator — that will give over $1 billion to telecommunications companies for research and development.
While a relatively small amount compared to the money the telecommunications industry already spends on R&D, the money will give the government some skin in the game. Considering Trump’s desire to build a government-owned 5G network, how long do you think it will be before we see new bills written to finance it?
Or worse, how long will it be before Trump declares a national emergency and reallocates money in the budget to pay for building his 5G network like he did when he reallocated military money for his border wall?
For a person who claims to oppose socialism, President Trump spent a lot of time in his SOTU address touting central planning, federal intervention in nonfederal matters, and a big-government spending spree—policies that threaten our rights and undermine our long-term prosperity.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) February 5, 2020
As Justin Amash points out, Trump likes to rail against socialism while simultaneously advocating socialism, and he does so under the banner of America-first Nationalism.
Meanwhile, Trump’s bought-and-paid-for Republican Party, with some help from his bought-and-paid-for attorney general, are systematically dismantling liberty to pave the way for the socialist America we’ll have after the November election . . . regardless of who’s sitting in the White House.
David Leach is the owner of the Strident Conservative.
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