Information should be a fundamental human right

As policy makers get ready to shower trillions of $ to save our economy, they are looking backwards and not to the future. There has been a lot of talk about infrastructure spending - especially bridges and roads. The conventional wisdom, based on past experience, is that such spending get into the economy fast and is a very good thing to do. Policy makers should pause for a minute or two and attempt to understand that decades have passed since the successful implementation of similar policies. The economy is not driven by the movement of physical goods anymore - it is driven by information. Technologies under development to "print" physical objects by electronic means will eventually make all transportation of physical goods obsolete. The shiny highways and bridges will then remain a stark reminder to policymakers that driving a car by looking at the rearview mirror is not a good idea.

Disproportionate amounts of the "stimulus" (if everybody is really set on stimulating) should go into improving the information infrastructure. Information has to be considered a fundamental right of a human being and any progress toward making information channels (such as the Internet) universally available and free will enhance social utility and stimulate economic growth. Investments into technologies that can leapfrog the Internet and the web 2.0 initiative and existing and slow telecommunications protocols can catapult the world into a regime of high growth and prosperity. Investments into the energy infrastructure that not only solves the pollution problem but also substantially reduces the unavailability and cost per unit of power will create an environment of high innovation in many sectors. It is the right investment that is of importance, not the amount money thrown at the problem mindlessly.