An Industry Lobbyist’s Definition of “Efficiency”
6 April 2010 at 1:07 pm Peter G. Klein Leave a comment
| Peter Klein |
Gordon Smith, head of the US National Association of Broadcasters (not the good Gordon Smith), explains his understanding of “efficiency”:
In calling for broadcast TV spectrum to be reallocated for mobile broadband use, [Gary] Shapiro falsely suggests that TV broadcasters are “inefficient” users of spectrum. We are not. In fact, when compared with Internet-enabled handheld devices — the primary beneficiaries of Mr. Shapiro’s spectrum plan — TV broadcasters are far more efficient.
Indeed, every single American could turn on his TV set right now without placing any additional capacity strain on the airwaves. You can’t be more efficient than that.
Right. Massive excess capacity, near-zero consumer demand . . . perfect efficiency! (File under economic illiteracy, or maybe public choice.)
Organizations and Markets 
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