Net Neutrality – Government Fiat or Consumer Choice?

The topic of “Net Neutrality” has been fiercely debated recently, with the left lining up on the side of heavy government regulation and the right opting for free market forces. Who is right?

Who knows. Only time will tell. But here is a little background for your consideration.

First, let’s start with a little history. The topic is human communication, and let’s arbitrarily begin with the Pony Express, a mail delivery service started in 1860 and operating for 19 months until October, 1861. At that time, California was a new state, and had a burgeoning population and economy. The gold rush was in full bloom and economic opportunities were enormous. There was an extreme demand to reduce the time of communication between the east and west coasts, and the Pony Express was a business started to meet that need.

Using relays of riders on fast ponies, the service promised to reduce the time to deliver mail between St. Joseph, Missouri, and Sacramento, California, to only 10 days. This was unheard of in those days, and the business was immensely successful.

But then a curious thing happened.

Simultaneously, a new technology, the telegraph, was being established. Stations were being built, poles planted and lines stretched, and messages transmitted by Morse code over hundreds of miles instantly. In October 24, 1861, the final connection was made and messages could be sent nearly instantaneously from coast to coast. The Pony Express ceased operation two days later, no longer economically competitive. This was no accident. An early example of technological disruption.

Fast forward to the 1990s. AT&T was the dominant telecommunications provider in the country. Voice, data, and fax traffic were distributed over their huge network of circuits. Intelligence was engineered into the network, with such things as voicemail, call waiting, call routing, and calling card charging all handled by the network. The end devices (telephones, fax machines), were dumb. Profits were huge and phone bills correspondingly large.

But then another disruption – computers and smart telephones that were capable of providing services that demanded only transport of the network.

AT&T’s business model was forced to change – there was no profit in providing intelligence in the network when the end devices were capable of doing it themselves. The network was reduced to simply routing packets of information from endpoint to endpoint, each of which was intelligent and could provide all of the functions that the customer wanted. The network became stupid, but the customers were happy with their smart devices.

Another leap in time, to 2017. We have evolved an economic landscape of wireline Internet Service Providers (such as Comcast, Cox, Charter) which provide cable or fiber internet access to our homes. At the same time, there are a number of wireless (mobile) providers (such as AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T Mobile) who provide mobile cellular data services. Our high data demands (TV viewing or streaming) are met by the wireline (cable) providers. Our mobile needs (phone calls, light data needs) are provided by the wireless providers. But another technological disruption is underway.

The next generation of wireless technology, termed 5G, is soon upon us. It promises to offer high speed data access competitive with the cable providers. All of a sudden, the wireless and wireline providers will become equally capable of streaming Netflix or Sneaky Pete to your TV. The difference is that the wireline guys will be anchored to your home while the wireless ones will be able to follow you around, providing cellphone service and TV streaming wherever you like, at your pleasure. The amount of competition will increase substantially.

A recent political cartoon summed up the position of the “Net Neutrality” proponents. If we don’t opt for heavy government regulation, we will suffer from lack of access to the information we want, we will be unable to share ideas, dissent will be squashed, network speed will be sacrificed, and diversity will be out the window. This is all possible.

But not likely. In an era where social media can dethrone a Harvey Weinstein, how much chance does a nefarious ISP have to abuse us?

If the free market is allowed to function, the force of customer demand will shape the market, providing the services we want at the prices we feel are fair.

After all, it works with widgets. Why not for data packets?

Only time will tell.

Our tumultuous heavens and an invitation to view them

A dark sky map for Massachusetts to find optimum viewing sites.

Things have surely been crazy here lately. Well-merited cultural and political upheaval in the United States, ICBMs launched from North Korea, Iran meddling in Iraq’s affairs, Britain pressing ahead with her exit. But as tumultuous we think things are here on Earth, it is nothing compared to what’s going on out there.

On August 17^th of this year, the collision of two neutron stars in the galaxy NGC 4993 was detected. But that galaxy is 130 million light years away, a distance requiring that length of time for news of the event to arrive here. In real time, it occurred about when the first birds and flowers appeared on Earth.

After spending several months consuming reams of data, scientists published a flurry of papers. We learned that the collision acted as a veritable foundry, creating gold, silver, platinum and other heavy elements. While these two neutron stars were relatively small, each only somewhat heavier than our sun, it is estimated that approximately “10 to 100 times the Earth’s mass in gold was spewed out into space.” (Science News Magazine, November 11, 2017). That is one heck of a lot of gold.

Further riches emerged from the analysis of this event:

• Proof that the collision of neutron stars creates heavy elements (which had heretofore been only a theory),
• The finding that mysterious short gamma ray bursts, whose origins have been previously unknown, come from the collision of neutron stars; and,
• An improved estimate of Hubble’s constant, the rate of expansion of the universe.

But what is amazing is the confluence of human capabilities and achievements required to allow us to make these findings:

• LIGO, a gravitational wave observatory, first observed perturbations in the very fabric of space from the collision,
• Then NASA’s Fermi space telescope detected a gamma ray burst 1.7 seconds later, and;
• The Dark Energy Camera in Chile saw a burst of visible light.

Any one of these observations would not have allowed us to understand what happened, but these, in combination and with nanosecond time synchronization, created a scientific bonanza. LIGO, in particular, is a brand-new technology that only recently began to monitor for ripples in space-time, a phenomenon predicted by Albert Einstein over 100 years ago.

With this as inspiration, winter is a good time to do some star gazing of your own. The air is dry, cold, crisp, and clear and the nighttime sky begs to be seen. December offers some particularly interesting shows, the Geminid meteor shower (which just ended early this morning) and the Ursids coming up on December 22. There is only one problem, the downside to living in the densely populated northeast: light pollution.

Star gazing and meteor hunting, in particular, require dark skies for optimum viewing. Get away from cities and towns as best you can. There are great reaches of central and western Massachusetts and a band of western Rhode Island which qualify as “dark sky” areas. Residents of Cuttyhunk, an island at the end of the Elizabeth Islands, are especially fortunate, as their island home qualifies as “dark sky” with no travel required. The rest of us will have to find a spot the best we can.

You can use the Blue Marble Navigator to help. Just type your state or city into the search box and make sure that map type "night" is selected. 

For the Ursids, try to find a hilltop with an unobstructed view to the north. Ursid meteors will appear to be emanating from the dipper of the “Little Dipper.”

Take a blanket or sleeping bag with you – dress warmly and prepare to watch and wait in comfort.

You most likely won’t see a neutron star collision, but may well spot some Ursids. And if we’re particularly blessed, you might even see another Star of Bethlehem.

Peace on Earth and good will to all.

Happy is as healthy does

It seems that when humans are given our head, we often find surprising ways to create goods and services, art and entertainment, technology and beauty. It’s a random, untidy process that would be impossible to manage. Fortunately, we don’t even try.

Or when we do try, the result is a Venezuela or North Korea, with extreme poverty and immense human suffering. No, we are doing something right by keeping hands off.

We depend on the creative spark and gumption of individuals to get things done. But the argument that we need regulation is sound. And that is to create and maintain a commons, or rather, a set of commons.

Think about goods and services and resources. They may be owned privately or in common, with the attendant rights of use, sale, and profit. A commons may be real property (such as a town common, a state forest, or a fishery) or less tangible, such as the stratosphere, wireless radio spectrum, or a corpus of knowledge.

A clear sign of a commons is if you pay taxes to support it. Your local schools. The highway system. The United States military.

The set of commons that define our economic environment act as a foundation for individuals to operate within. Every successful business, from the sole proprietor bookkeeper working at home to Walmart, Apple, and Facebook all require this foundation.

Before the collectivists among us get too excited, it must be noted that the individual, with her creativity and labor and risk taking, is of equal importance. Just creating the playground is not enough. Both collectivism and individualism are required, in a fine balance. We seem to have found it, or at least close enough.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reflected on why immigrants make great entrepreneurs, starting and running businesses at a rate far in excess of their population. In fact, in 2016, nearly one third of all new businesses were started by immigrants. Why? The author, an African immigrant himself, posited that America truly is the land of opportunity. Three immigrant entrepreneurs he spoke with agreed: “They were amazed by the quality of free education, by the benefits of the infrastructure and most of all by the lack of awareness by the natives of how lucky they were.” Commons, and the quality thereof, are vastly superior here.

Here is another commons that greatly influences our energy, drive, happiness, and contentment: the collective health of our human herd.

Think of this as one of those intangible commons. The better our collective health, the more energy we have for intellectual and physical pursuits, be they for profit or recreation. This contributes to our national wealth and satisfaction. Conversely, poor health distracts focus, impedes us mentally and physically, and increases real costs for treatment and care.

And the state of our collective health is not good. In October, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported that nearly 40% of Americans are obese. Here are two observations from their report:

·         Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, some of the leading causes of preventable death.

·         The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the U.S. was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical costs for people who have obesity were $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report that total health care spending in 2015 was nearly $10,000 per person, approaching 20% of our total economy. There are many reasons, but obesity and its attendant ills is a huge factor.

And here is another fascinating finding: obesity is contagious, the conclusion of a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007.

As explained by the Brookings Institute, “your chance of becoming obese is much higher if you have a close friend who is obese. Obesity appears to be socially ‘contagious.’” The reasoning is that we can rationalize and give each other permission to be overweight, and contrariwise encourage ourselves to health depending on our social network.

Here is a thought for your New Year's resolution coming up only one short month from now. Get fit. Eat better. Lose weight. Encourage your friends to join you.

Let’s tackle this intangible commons of our collective health. There are enormous benefits to be gained as the pounds are lost. Good luck to us all.

Veterans Day is not just a holiday

Veteran’s Day and the Marine Corps Birthday have both just passed. Across the nation, and on posts around the world, we have honored those who now serve, and who have served, and those who have passed. Parades, flags placed in cemeteries, speeches, solemn traditions remembering and honoring.

But there remains some confusion in this country as to what constitutes patriotism and what is a platform for dissent.

In the National Football League, some players continue to protest what they see as a deeply racist nation with no opportunity for people of color. Many agree with them. Others think that great advancement is being given short thrift. It is unfortunate that truth is a victim, and that these camps are shouting past each other. If only a little listening were going on.

Here is something to listen to. Let’s consider those who have gone before: black, white, red, all colors. And consider what they have done.

Toward the end of the Second World War, Allied commanders determined that Iwo Jima, a small island in the Volcano Islands, was of strategic value. Positioned 750 miles south of Tokyo, the island was put to good use by the Japanese to radio ahead alerts of incoming air attacks from Allied bombers. Further, if captured and the airstrips reconditioned, it would be a good base for our bombers returning from attacks on the Japanese homeland. Those were several good reasons to mount an attack.

So we did.

The US Navy and Army Air Corps mounted a relentless bombardment of naval shelling and aerial bombing for months prior to the February 19, 1945, landings. It was thought that these bombardments were unsurvivable, and that the landing forces would meet only light resistance.

But not until too late did we discover that the Japanese had been busily excavating deep tunnels and command posts, and that the terrible onslaught of Allied bombs and shells was largely ineffective. In the invasion that followed, the outcome was not in doubt. But the cost was a complete surprise.

The Allied force consisted of 110,000 US Marines, US Navy Corpsmen, USAAF pilots and crew, and over 500 ships. The Japanese force was only one fifth the size, approximately 21,000, but incredibly well dug in. In the end, the Allies suffered over 26,000 casualties with nearly 7,000 killed. The Japanese defenders were nearly annihilated, with 18,000 dead. An extremely expensive, hard-fought battle on both sides.

One measure of the difficulty of this campaign is the number of Medals of Honor awarded. The Marines earned twenty two Medals of Honor, ten of them posthumous. The Navy won five, two posthumous. It was a terrible battle.

All of the award citations describe and recognize heroic action, and are worth reading. Here is just one of the stories.

Jacklyn (Jack) Lucas was born in Plymouth, North Carolina in 1928. A big kid, he was nearly six feet tall and 180 pounds at 14 years old, and was active in high school sports. In 1942, he joined the Marine Corps by lying about his age and forging his mother's signature. After training as a heavy machine gunner, he was promoted to Private First Class and was posted to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Bored with regimental camp life, he stole away and snuck aboard the USS Duel, which was bound for Iwo Jima. Discovered and busted to private, Lucas was permitted to remain and join the Iwo Jima landing force just as he celebrated his seventeenth birthday.

On February 19, 1945, Lucas went ashore with the 26^th Marines, and found himself part of a four-man fire team trying to clear a ravine of enemy troops. While advancing in a parallel ravine, the Marines were assaulted by Japanese elements who threw two grenades into their midst. Shouting a warning, Lucas threw himself over the grenades to save his fellow Marines. With great good fortune, one was a dud and did not explode. But the other one did, and with devastating effect. Lucas was grievously wounded, but his comrades were saved.

After many months of surgery and recuperation, Lucas eventually recovered his health. Still only seventeen years old, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery and gallantry above and beyond the call of duty.

He seemed in full possession of his faculties, but several years later joined the US Army and rose to the rank of Captain, a traitorous act which many Marines tend to forgive. Jack Lucas lived a long and fruitful life, passing away in Mississippi in 2008. Semper fi, Marine.

The next time you are tempted to kneel for our national anthem, or cheer those who do so, please understand that this is your right. But remember those who have fought to protect that right. It is they who we honor.

The impossible demand

The scope of human history is vast.

Well, at least in human terms. In geological terms, it is tiny, just 0.04% of the age of our Earth.

But we are humans, not rocks, so the 2 million year history of genus Homo is vast to us.

We originated in Africa, by the chance gift of evolution. (Or God’s will, or God-directed evolution, or just plain old evolution – makes no difference to this saga).

We were all black, because the intense tropical sun demanded it.

Then some of us broke off, looking for greener pastures. Some migrated east, some to the north. The differences in diet and available sunlight resulted in yellow and brown and white skin tones. Our differentiation had begun, thanks mostly to the accidental tilt of the earth’s axis.

But differentiation, mostly now political, has run amok, and we are attacking ourselves like ravenous cancer cells. It is an ugly scenario, as if we had forgotten our common humanity and obsess on which political party holds the true path to happiness. Attack follows counterattack, then pivots to a fresh assault. There is no sense of common goals, and we can’t even discuss different ideas.

“Censorship is the height of vanity,” said Martha Graham, a pioneering American dancer. Indeed, censorship is the suppression of ideas that you don’t like, even if you are wrong.

“I have seen gross intolerance shown in support of tolerance,” stated Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet. Intolerance is the handmaiden of censorship, suppressing unpopular ideas.

“If men were angels, no government would be necessary,” an observation by our fourth president, James Madison. Boy howdy, was he right. Because we are not angels, we need government to demand the equal and just treatment of the individual by the crowd.

Here is just one more.

“If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.” This powerful expression of free speech was uttered by John Stuart Mill, the nineteenth century English philosopher.

All of this wisdom flies in the face of what is occurring in our nation, on our college campuses, and in social media and broadcast media. The hard battle lines of intolerance have been drawn, prisoners taken, and survivors virtually drawn and quartered. It is not a pretty sight.

Here is an allegory.

Imagine a beautiful ballerina who has been striving for many years to master her art. Since a young child she has performed in recitals and, though none were perfect, showed continuing improvement. Now as an adult she is performing in public venues, showing great art but still striving for flawlessness. Not perfect, but darn well approaching it.

Now consider the span of our own country. Settled originally by Asian immigrants 20,000 years ago, then more recently by Europeans in the early 1600s. The land witnessed wars between settlers, wars between tribes, wars between settlers and tribes, and finally a fair amount of peace. We had developed a constitution, a bill of rights, that envisioned a perfect country, a great white light on the hill. Something to strive for.

We are still striving. We are not perfect. But we have come a long, long, long way on that road.

Those who destroy statues and want to rename buildings are demanding instant perfection. Those who demonize early figures are requiring that our country not only be perfect now, but had also been perfect in every stage of its evolution. Nothing else will satisfy their demands, impossible since the past can’t be altered.

But that is like attacking our aspiring ballerina because her current performances are not perfect. And further, demonizing her because every recital stretching back to second grade was not perfect as well. Every single one.

There seems to be no recognition of and appreciation for progress, of improvement. Of movement toward that shining light over 250 years. 

And that is deeply discouraging.

Enough. It’s time for reasonable people to come together and reason. And the heck with the rest. They are fools.

In Praise of Powerful Women

The Harvey Weinstein episode is quite ironic. Famous for producing movies which feature sex, sexual assault, and rape, he was dethroned by allegatons of sex, sexual assault, and rape. He used his powerful position in Hollywood to demand favors from aspiring actresses on the legendary casting couch. This is despicable and unforgivable behavior. We shall return to Mr. Weinstein.

Your columnist was raised in a household full of strong women. A mother who could do, fix, bake, grow, or cook anything that you could imagine. Who directed choirs and played beautiful music. Who broached no disrespect. Who expertly wielded a willow switch to command the attention of her nine children, five boys and four girls. Our sisters were equally strong, intelligent, and capable. In our family, the takeaway to us guys was: don’t mess with the women!

Then, with a high school buddy, into the Marine Corps. You would think that a male bastion, but there were many strong female figures even in those early days. Gunny  Beardon, who shared her expertise on programming computers and her guidance on how to deal with idiots. Her philosophy was wise and her insights into human nature profound. She was a strong role model, and the Corps was full of such women.

And today the Marine Corps continues to value the many contributions of women. In this year alone, two major “firsts” have been achieved:

·         In April the first female Marine, Second Lt. Lillian Polatcheck,  graduated from the Army-led Basic Armor Officer Leaders Course and she is also the first to lead a Marine Tank Platoon.

·         In September, a female Marine Lieutenant (whose name was not made public) completed the grueling Marine Infantry Officer Course in Quantico, Virginia. She is now serving with the First Marine Division in Camp Pendleton, Calif.

It is essential to realize that these women fully met the criteria and demands of their training. There were no special dispensations nor softening of requirements because of their gender. This is extremely important for one reason only: combat Marines operate in lethal environments and they deserve to be led by fully qualified officers. This is serious business, and any type of “affirmative action” which promotes an unqualified officer will result in dead Marines.

But that is not what happened. The key point here is that these particular women, and many more to come, are fully the equal of their male colleagues.

Even more encouraging, while the Marine Corps is being singled out as a particularly successful example, the other services are all on similar tangents. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard are all gratefully accepting the service of strong, capable women in roles previously reserved for men.

An excellent example of this is former Air Force Colonel Kim Campbell, who won fame as an A10 Warthog fighter pilot in 2003 for nursing her heavily damaged aircraft back to base after delivering close air support. Her Distinguished Flying Cross citation reads, in part: “Captain (at the time) Campbell's professional skill and airmanship directly contributed to the successful close air support of ground forces from the 3d Infantry Division and recovery of an A-10 with heavy battle damage.” This is one capable, serious officer who, by the way, happens to be a woman..

Let’s return briefly, however distasteful it may be, to Harvey Weinstein. He was a power broker in the fantasy world of Hollywood. As a result, he wielded power over women who aspired to success and fame. He abused that power to fulfill his own sick desires over a period of many years. It is good that that is all blown up.

Speaking of fantasies, here’s one. Let’s put Harvey Weinstein into a Mixed Martial Arts fighting ring with any one of the aforementioned female warriors. Odds are, he would learn a grim lesson about real power.

Do you want to be happy when you are older?

If you chat with a member of our oldest generation and ask what makes them happy in their dotage, you will get a few very common responses. Someone to love and share experiences with. Freedom from debt and a little money to spend on travel and trivia. But by far, the most frequent answer is “health.” Without your health, it is very difficult to remain happy.

As we age, there are a number of afflictions which may trouble us. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, dementia, and more are common confidantes to the elderly.

To some extent, we are victims of pure chance, playing the genetic lottery. Unfortunately, the odds of “winning” this lottery are spectacularly greater than winning the Powerball.

But there are some lifestyle things we can do to promote a healthy body and significantly reduce the risk of debilitating disease. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have a plethora of information on diet, exercise, accident and fall prevention, and other excellent advice calculated to improve your health and happiness. Your tax dollars at work: https://www.cdc.gov/aging/aginginfo/index.htm. And here is an important thought. If you are young or middle-age, and the infirmities of the elderly seem remote to you, now is the time to head them off. Good habits while young will pay great dividends later, much like saving for retirement in a 401(k).

But for this brief moment, let us focus on diet. Healthy eating can greatly reduce the incidence of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and even reduce cancer rates. Along with quitting smoking and regular exercise, diet is the most important thing you can do to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Here is the awful truth. The American diet is terrible, and it’s driven by the marketing of restaurants and agricultural trade groups and huge food companies. Their goal is to get you to buy their wares, your health be damned.

Fifty years ago we went out to eat far less often. We ate much less added sugars and salt. We bought simple ingredients from local stores and prepared fresh meals. We may have even gardened and canned and consumed our own fresh produce. But in the interest of convenience, we have turned over the reins of our health to those driven only by the bottom line of profit.

Imagine if the restaurant, agricultural trade groups, and giant food conglomerates were forced to underwrite our health insurance premiums. That, friends, would be revolutionary. The sugar industry would stop pushing added sugars. Restaurants would reduce the salt in prepared meals. Food packagers would increase fiber and reduce saturated fats in convenience foods. And we would all be the healthier for it.

But that is a pipedream. We must be responsible for our own diet.

Here is an idea. Consumer Reports is the monthly magazine of Consumers Union. They accept no advertising and are completely supported by their subscribers. As a result, their findings and recommendations are wholly unbiased. The latest issue of Consumer Reports (November 2017) contains special coverage on healthier eating. It is highly recommended reading. Find it in a magazine rack, a library, or subscribe for online access. This is literally a lifesaver. Here are a few highlights:

1.       A healthy hamburger is possible. It is more colorful, including red onion, tomato, avocado, low-sodium mozzarella, romaine lettuce, and lean ground beef. And, by the way, a high-fiber multigrain bun.

2.       Added sugar is unhealthy and can be safely consumed in very limited quantities – 9 or fewer teaspoons per day (6 for women) compared to our average intake of 17 teaspoons (20 for teens). And it comes from surprising sources – cereal, ketchup, salad dressing. You must learn to read labels.

3.       Too much sodium is bad. Prepared and restaurant foods are loaded with it. Pizza is high on the list. Eat at home more often. Demand low-sodium recipes and prepared foods.

4.       Fats. Conflicting advice has left us conflicted. Truth is, healthy, unsaturated fats (such as olive oil) are vital to health. But saturated, or worse, trans fats, raise the risk of heart disease.

5.       Gluten free diets are a fad based on nonsense. Only a few of us suffering from celiac disease should avoid gluten. High-fiber carbohydrates are beneficial to our microbiome (gut bacteria), and gluten-free diets tend to starve our little buddies. Increase the fiber in your diet.

6.       There is nothing wrong with lean red meat. But treat it as a treat, not a main course in every meal. Protein can be had from fish, chicken, beans, lentils, and other legumes. Eat like a peasant.

Please, educate yourself. This single issue of Consumer Report is a great place to start, but don’t stop there. The CDC, NIMH, Harvard Health, and local councils on aging have an enormous repository of researched, proven advice. Don’t trust your future health to a Facebook fad.

Your happiness in retirement, should you get there, depends on it.

Equifax and our credit-fueled lifestyles

The Equifax hack has caught the nation’s attention. And not in a good way. The private information of 143 million Americans is at risk. Criminals are apt to open credit card accounts or buy new cars in our names. And the immense task of cleaning up the mess rests on us. The anger is palpable and justified. Shall we simply shut down these damnable, incompetent credit reporting agencies?

Very tempting, but first let’s look back at where they came from and what they do.

In the 1800s, credit was very personal. A wealthy manufacturer was known, personally, to his banker and was able to borrow to build a new factory, for instance. Banks, in those days, catered mainly to the rich, and the rich bankers and rich capitalists ran in the same circles: they knew each other.

To us normal folks, credit was more likely to be extended by local merchants. A farmer would borrow from the town’s general store to buy seed, and would repay the loan when the crop was harvested. The store owner knew the farmer personally, and extended the loan based on that intimate knowledge.

In the 1946 classic “A Wonderful Life,” homes were bought on credit based on the worthiness of the borrowers as personally known to the community. (The heartwarming conclusion involved a community inured against making a run on the bank. They trusted George (Jimmy Stewart) because they knew him).

But as we moved into the twentieth century, several major trends grew and entwined. The population boomed. Many more people lived in the cities than on farms. Assembly lines began to create mass quantities of consumer goods. Automobiles. Sewing Machines. Washing Machines. Radios. And many of these items cost more than the typical worker could conceivably pay in one chunk. For instance, at the turn of the 20^th century, the average annual factory wage was $500 while a sewing machine cost $100. So Singer Sewing Machine Co. began offering credit to its customers to enable them to buy a machine on an installment payment plan.

Here was the problem, though. Singer didn’t personally know their customers. They had to find some other way to determine if they were creditworthy. And hence grew the demand for services from the Retail Credit Company (which became Equifax) and other credit reporting agencies. These firms employed investigators and maintained files on potential customers, allowing the sewing machine and washing machine and automobile companies to make a somewhat informed decision whether to extend credit or not.

And then came the credit explosion in the last half of the twentieth century up to today. Credit cards, secured only by personal integrity, grew rampantly. New cell phone accounts, insurance policies, automobile loans, were all expected to be approved on the spot. The credit reporting agencies were forced to use massive computers to collect, collate, and quickly report credit trustworthiness to lenders who were under the gun to approve a loan within minutes, or seconds in the case of credit card transactions.

And here we are today. For whatever sloppy reason, Equifax didn’t properly secure our data. And we suffer. What to do?

We have decided to freeze our credit rating accounts. This is because we don't plan to refinance the house or buy a new car, open a new credit card, or a new cell phone plan. All of those things require a credit check which would be blocked by the freeze. But we don't intend to do any of them. In any case, a freeze can be removed, temporarily or permanently, at any time if necessary.

It took us about 30 minutes to get all four (yes, four) credit rating accounts frozen. We decided to do it online rather than deal with phone calls or mail. Here are our experiences.

Transunion. https://freeze.transunion.com/sf/securityFreeze/landingPage.jsp

This company insists that you create an online account with them in order to freeze via online request. It took a few minutes. The freeze cost $5 (charged to credit card). Based on which state you live in, you may not be charged a fee. Transunion asked us to create a six-digit PIN which must be used in any future request to unfreeze the account. Write it down and don't lose it!

Experian. http://www.experian.com/news/security-freeze.html

Also $5. Also, could not use our normal browser, it refused to load the site. But we tried Internet Explorer and it worked fine. Also asked us to create a PIN. Write it down.

Equifax. https://www.freeze.equifax.com/Freeze/jsp/SFF_PersonalIDInfo.jsp

The company causing all of this angst didn't charge us anything to freeze our account. Good on them. They assigned a 10 digit PIN to us and we printed it out.

Innovis. https://www.innovis.com/securityFreeze/index

A new kid on the block in credit rating firms, also the easiest to freeze. No fee. They will snail-mail a confirmation (with, we expect, our PIN).

Freezing your credit rating accounts doesn't mean that your personal information hasn't (or couldn't in the future) be stolen. But it keeps the crooks from easily obtaining loans, opening lines of credit, or acquiring new credit cards in your name. This will save you untold grief.

At the end, the credit rating firms inspire our anger, but they enable our credit-fueled lifestyles. Unfortunately, we can’t have one without the other. They are the necessary replacement for personal, intimate knowledge.

But further legislation is possible. The Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 improved things a lot. There is certainly more to do, to protect us and shift burdens to the FCRA companies. Talk to your legislators about this.

And good luck.