Libertarian response to unwanted telemarketers - National Do Not Call Registry?

[playpianoking]

I've been getting a lot of random calls/texts lately from marketing companies. I remember hearing something in the news this week about something regarding this so I figured there must have been some deadline date or something and now all of a sudden companies are calling. I renewed my # on the do not call registry list today.

My question is what is the libertarian answer to this.

"Paul was one of only eight members of the entire Congress who voted to block implementation of the National Do Not Call Registry act, which prohibits telemarketers from telephoning those who have opted out of receiving such advertising.[84][85] He argued that "legislation to regulate telemarketing would allow the government to intrude further into our lives," and that "The fact that the privately-run Direct Marketing Association is operating its own 'do-not-call' list is evidence that consumers need not rely upon the national government to address the problems associated with telemarketers."

I'm pro Ron Paul, but I'm curious of how you would state the argument? I have heard some say that actually the do not call list is similar to a no trespassing/soliciting sign, although the trespassing sign isn't enforced by the federal government. Your thoughts?...

*Edit - sorry, I thought I posted this into Ron Paul On The Issues thread. Mods can move if need be.

 

[tom7126]

The only thing the DNC Registry accomplishes is making it difficult for marketing companies to campaign. Companies are forced to purchase a list for hundreds of dollars from the government to scrub their databases with. On top of being an expense, it reduces the amount of leads in their database. Leads are not cheap. Land lines are becoming more of a novelty item these days, as more people use cellphone family plans, and cellphone leads are difficult to acquire. They are making a bad situation worse for marketing companies.

And for those of you who hate telemarketers and want them to burn in fire, get over yourself. Just hang up. The industry employs millions of people who are under qualified to work elsewhere or have criminal backgrounds. The marketing industry is doing society a favor to ensure them a paycheck every week.

-from telemarketers

 

[lakefx]

The free market solution is to open your own cell phone or land-line company that allows you to block 'unknown' or specific phone numbers from calling you.

Google Voice.

Solved.

DNC obsolete within just a few years. Now IT is a novelty.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Make telemarketing worthy of the death penalty

Problem solved

And that is the libertarian response

 

[playpianoking]

The only thing the DNC Registry accomplishes is making it difficult for marketing companies to campaign. Companies are forced to purchase a list for hundreds of dollars from the government to scrub their databases with. On top of being an expense, it reduces the amount of leads in their database. Leads are not cheap. Land lines are becoming more of a novelty item these days, as more people use cellphone family plans, and cellphone leads are difficult to acquire. They are making a bad situation worse for marketing companies.

And for those of you who hate telemarketers and want them to burn in fire, get over yourself. Just hang up. The industry employs millions of people who are under qualified to work elsewhere or have criminal backgrounds. The marketing industry is doing society a favor to ensure them a paycheck every week.

-from telemarketers

You are not a libertarian, and I highly question your understanding of economics based on your second paragraph.

 

[Keith and stuff]

The government do not call list is unConstitutional and anti-freedom. You can support it if you want. It doesn't mean you are a bad person just because you are against freedom on this issue.

 

[GeorgiaAvenger]

Really though, this would be my solution:

Designate commercial calls as trespassing if the person paying for the line wishes. It would be an opt-in opt-out program. But I would prefer it to be handled by states(or even better the telephone company)

 

[lakefx]

Make telemarketing worthy of the death penalty

Problem solved

And that is the libertarian response

Lol. that's quite the opposite! Because my moral compass tells me that it isn't worthy of the death penalty, (and i'm sure at least one other person would second this), and because it doesn't inherently cause any physical, emotional, or pyschological harm, it would be deemed free of governmental control. Instead you would have to prove in court of law that a telemarketer caused harm of such a kind to you or your property, then a jury would have to agree, and award you money in a civil suit. Too many civil suits would sink the telemarketing company, and deem the venture too risky. Such a risk would sink the industry. Otherwise, if you, a citizen, do not protect yourself from telemarketing calls through a combination of common sense and technological choices, then you are fair game to spam.

 

[blazeKing]

I don't believe in a DNC government list..but if I tell a telemarketing company to stop calling and they keep calling, that to me is harassment and I should be able to sue them for damages. After multiple lawsuits they will stop harassing everyone and you don't need a DNC list.

 

[cindy25]

just hang up.

if a text or e-mail delete it.

same for TV; if you don't like a program change the channel.

 

[alucard13mmfmj]

And for those of you who hate telemarketers and want them to burn in fire, get over yourself. Just hang up. The industry employs millions of people who are under qualified to work elsewhere or have criminal backgrounds. The marketing industry is doing society a favor to ensure them a paycheck every week.

-from telemarketers

If this is true.. then they are doing a favor for society. Because if they had no jobs and no one hires them elsewhere.. guess what? They are going to burglarize your homes and rob you or do some other destructive things. They will go back to doing the same things that landed them in jail. Odds are, its high since half or more of people who are released end up back in jail.

I just hang up on them.

 

[Big Chuck]

Well, the libertarian answer would be that people get telemarketing calls because of too much government regulation.

What would the free market solution be for people not wanting calls from telemarketers, bill collectors, ect? Someone could simply switch to a carrier that doesn't give your number away, blocks calls from numbers reportedly used by companies to make such calls, or a slew of other solutions. We don't have companies that offer those kind of services because there is a lack of competition. There is no need for the several big name companies to to make pricey infrastructure changes just to market to the small group of people that would pay for it. If many smaller companies fought over the market instead of just a few big name companies, we would see those types of innovations. However, due to government over regulation, telecommunications is not a sector conducive to the success of smaller companies. Verizon has a hard enough time getting permission from townships to run fiber optics in an area already served by Comcast. What chance would a small start up company have?

 

[kylejack]

On top of being an expense, it reduces the amount of leads in their database. Leads are not cheap. Land lines are becoming more of a novelty item these days, as more people use cellphone family plans, and cellphone leads are difficult to acquire.

"'The leads are weak.' The fucking leads are weak? You're weak. I've been in this business 15 years!"

 

[tom7126]

You are not a libertarian, and I highly question your understanding of economics based on your second paragraph.

Well that's nice. Thanks for clarifying that.

 

[tom7126]

"'The leads are weak.' The fucking leads are weak? You're weak. I've been in this business 15 years!"

LOL good one sir

 

[tom7126]

If this is true.. then they are doing a favor for society. Because if they had no jobs and no one hires them elsewhere.. guess what? They are going to burglarize your homes and rob you or do some other destructive things. They will go back to doing the same things that landed them in jail. Odds are, its high since half or more of people who are released end up back in jail.

I just hang up on them.

My point exactly. Thank you.

 

[j3nn]

just hang up.

if a text or e-mail delete it.

same for TV; if you don't like a program change the channel.

Bingo!

I think the libertarian response is to ignore it and hope that one day regulations and crony capitalism are out of the way so that a true free market solution can come about to the public. Some day we'll be able to block phone numbers/callers/advertisements just like we can do online and on our computers.

Sure, ads can be annoying, but I'd take them and let the free market offer solutions over the gov providing "solutions" any day.

 

[1836]

The free market solution is to open your own cell phone or land-line company that allows you to block 'unknown' or specific phone numbers from calling you.

Google Voice.

Solved.

DNC obsolete within just a few years. Now IT is a novelty.

+rep. Spot on and very concise!

To be a bit more specific....

...a company that would engage in the provision of such a service, if they think it marketable and salable, would be able to make a hell of a lot of money doing that. While many people decry the "technical monopolies" of Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS), the internet, cell phones, and technological innovation in general have made such technical monopolies a thing of the past. Market failures they are not!

In fact, without these "technical monopolies" there would be little incentive for someone to innovate an entirely new way to communicate via voice, to create another kind of network, and thus you have Vonage, Google Voice, and all kinds of new solutions coming to market.

In summary... the free market works.

 

[tom7126]

The free market has already resolved most privacy issues. Unfortunately the public is more enthralled with the idea of a government crackdown on the industry.

Tele-Zapper back in '99. Every time you answered your landline, it would play a Disconnected tone that autodialers recognize, immediately abandon upon hearing, and permanently delete from the call list. It still works, to this day.

Phone companies have offered unlisted number features forever. It's an extra cost, but until you publish your phone number independently, nobody can sell it.

Also, as for the marketing company regulating itself, the magic words, "Take me off your list." Believe me, telemarketers do not want to call irate customers. Every marketing company has a strict policy about handling those types of calls, and yes, you will be on a private do-not-call list forever.

The biggest problem I've noticed from the public is that they chose to ignore calls and not answer instead of simply opting out, which takes only a few seconds. If you do not answer the phone when it rings, you will continue to receive the same call over and over, as the dialer is simply recycling your number amongst what is most likely only a few thousand others.

Or to put it more bluntly, grow some balls and say no. Stop staring at your caller ID like a duck.

 

[kpitcher]

If many smaller companies fought over the market instead of just a few big name companies, we would see those types of innovations. However, due to government over regulation, telecommunications is not a sector conducive to the success of smaller companies. Verizon has a hard enough time getting permission from townships to run fiber optics in an area already served by Comcast. What chance would a small start up company have?

I'd bet the startups would be able to lay fiber if they hadn't been killed by Powel's kid running the FCC. You're right about over regulation - The big name companies are legislated monopolies. Now Comcast and draconian cable anti-compete agreements with cities are another telco issue entirely.

In 1996 there was the Telco reform act which loosened government restriction and mandated the monopolies open up their networks. What happened was the Internet revolution in the US when many small telephone companies popped up at far cheaper rates, better services, etc. This also led to thousands of Internet Service Providers across the country hooking everyone up. The newcomers started being a real threat to the bottom line of the monopolies. The new guys were starting to get into the backbone game with their own fiber lines. So the old companies did what any big business does - they used politics. When Bush Jr. got elected he put Powel's kid in charge of the FCC. The FCC rolled back the Telco reform act, giving the monopolies back their power. This led to the quick death of all those thousands of ISPs. It also jacked up the prices of ISPs, slowed down increases in speed, and actually stole about 300 billion in tax dollars specifically spent for backbone increases that was paid for but never delivered.

Maybe if Verizon was forced to deliver on their portion of the 300 billion we've already paid for in infrastructure in taxes townships may view them better. I mean Google has a few pilot projects with putting fiber optics into cities and they had areas competing on who should get the privilege. Personally I think Internet backbones should be treated as road systems. If taxpayers have paid for them, they should be open to any commercial interest at the same fixed rate. We've paid over and again the cost of having fiber to nearly every home in america, in federal and state level agreements, that are not being upheld. Or at least refund the money we've put in.

http://www.newnetworks.com/broadbandscandals.htm