Government Regulation

I chose government regulation and intervention as the most influential force in the development of the radio industry in the 1920's because many standards and ideas were set that shaped just how this new technology would be primarily used. Government regulation is a tool for the government to assist the country's economy. The United States promotes capitalism, where minimal regulation is enforced on any industry. Socialism is generally perceived as the opposite, as it encourage public, not private, ownership of industries. Generally in the United States government regulation is only enforced when it appears to be strongly needed for an industry to function or to prevent any major economic failure, such as a monopoly being formed. Regulation is neither directly good nor bad but the degree to which it is applied can greatly affect an economy. Over-regulation can lead to a dissatisfaction among citizens as far how an industry is run because they have little direct control of it. Also, heavy regulation reduces or even eliminates competition so that potential for unfair prices and limited product choices is more likely. Under-regulation has a potential for exploitation within industries through monopolies or unequal opportunity to compete. As well as exploitation, under-regulated economies can lose jobs to outsourcing to cheaper options. Regulation during the 1920's in regards to the new radio industry greatly influenced its direction. Most specifically is the fact that AT&T was made to break up their near-monopoly over the industry in its beginnings. Government regulation was also used during World War I to have absolute control of the airwaves during the war reserved for the military. Once the airwaves were available for use after the war, the government decided it was necessary to regulate who had what frequencies and how many they had, known as frequency allocation. The supreme court wasn't immediately on board and to this day questions occasionally arise on the constitutionality of frequency allocation.



Regulation? No. This picture right here is madness!