Protect Our Private Information

I'm sure that you've heard about the Equifax breach.  I don't know about you, but I'm tired of the haphazard, lazy securing of our private data.  Corporate America has proven that self-policing doesn't work, so it's time to get the Government involved.  I will be writing a letter to my legislators at the state and national level, and I encourage you to do the same.  For your convenience, I am including the text that I will be sending in.  Feel free to copy and paste, and send to your own elected officials.

I am writing to express my anger and dismay over the Equifax data breach.  I am tired of not having my personal, private data properly secured.  Government and private entities have repeatedly demonstrated a lack of convern over my financial data and proven that self-policing is not a sufficient deterrant.  With this in mind, I am asking for legislation designed to provide intentives to keep personal data personal, and to punish those who fail to do so.  My proposed legislation is two-pronged.

First and foremost, there must be a real, tangible financial penalty for those who fail to protect customer data.  Companies who fail to protect such data should be prohibited from forcing customers into arbitration. This will allow victims of sloppy security the opportunity to be better compensated for lost time and money.  Companies who fail to protect private data will also be forced to provide lifetime credit monitoring and fraud assistance for anyone whose data was compromised, whether or not an actual loss occurred.  The idea is that it should be the company's responsibility to make things right when a data breach occurs, not the consumer's.  This means that if a company fails to keep my data secure, they are on the hook for all expenses incurred as a result, permanently.  Attorney fees, lost time, damage to credit, damage to reputation, and direct or indirect financial loss should all be subject to this law.  If, when you consider the wording of this legislation, you need to choose between erring on the side of the company, or err on the side of the consumer, you must err on the side of the consumer.

My second proposal is aimed at the Credit Reporting Agencies.  I propose legislation that requires Credit Reporting Agencies to allow all consumers to lock and unlock their private credit information at will, at no cost to the individual.  While consumers have a choice whether or not to carry credit cards, and when to use credit, we do not have a choice regarding whether or not our data is submitted to the Credit Reporting Agencies.  We have neither the right, nor the choice to opt out.  Adding insult to injury, we are usually required to pay for the privilege of preventing third parties from accessing our data, and if we do choose to pay to keep our data private, we need to pay again so that potential creditors and employers can access this data.  This is OUR private information, and the Credit Reporting Agencies are charging us to keep it private.

Thank you for your consideration in this important matter.

For your convenience, I am also including a link that will help you find your elected officials.

Questions for Libertarians

Those of you who know me realize that I consider myself a liberal-leaning Libertarian.  In general, I believe that the government is too large, too intrusive, and too wasteful.  At the same time, I see just as many signs of capitalism running amok, taking advantage of the little guy to the same extent as government.  Trusting the market is well and good, as long as you realize that market efficiency and human compassion are often-times mutually exclusive.  I'd like to bring up a couple of points here, and ask my fellow Libertarians how they see these issues, and how they would solve them.

Let me start with the topic of income inequality.  I'm fairly confident that we can all agree that income inequality exists in America.  We most certainly agree that income inequality drives economic productivity, because people desire to get ahead in life.  The thing is, the deck is heavily stacked against the little guy.  Statistics show that the wealthiest 1% of America holds approximately 40% of all wealth.  Conversely, the bottom 20% holds less than 1% of the wealth, and statistics indicate that this income inequality is only accelerating.  The middle class, which historians and economists consider critical to a prosperous, stable society, is rapidly shrinking.  I suspect that my Libertarian friends will blame this inequality on the government, but that answer is far too simplistic, and not entirely accurate.  The result of labor relations before government involvement was the 1900's, which was the only time in American history where the distribution of wealth was more skewed than it is today.  We know that income inequality has been the downfall of many societies, and given our current course, I see that happening in America in the not-too-distant future.  My first question:  How does Libertarianism address the problem of extreme income inequality?

The second topic is environmental.  Time and again, I hear Libertarians effectively say that they want to get rid of the government.  Heck, a lot of Libertarians want to privatize roads.  The thing is, capitalism does an abysmal job of considering environmental impact when calculating costs.  If we get the government out of environmental enforcement, how do we ensure that future generations will have clean air to breathe and water to drink?  I cannot believe that business will voluntarily do the right thing.  I'm convinced that if left to its own devices, business will take us back to the 1970's environmentally, and then go downhill.  I suspect that you will say that consumers can demand XYZ, and business will make it happen.  However, that assumes that the consumer has realistic alternatives, it assumes that the consumer is always rational, and it assumes that the consumer has the financial means to vote with his dollar.  All of these are inaccurate assumptions.  So... how do Libertarians handle the problem of pollution?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Please sound off.