I was in the middle of my usual morning news read this morning when I ran across an article that caught my attention.  An article in USA Today that dealt with the rising salaries of college sports coaches and the concern that it's starting to raise amongst folks in the industry triggered a big burst of thinking and tangenting.  I know, I know.  What do college sports and internet marketing have to do with one another?

One of the points made in the article had to do with the possibility of governmental dealings related to the situation.  Apparently, some in the industry (along with some in Congress) think that the government should step in and investigate a situation that has a lot of people worried.  I'll let you read about it over at USA Today if you're interested.  In all honesty, the salaries of college coaches really isn't the point of my post.  The article did get me thinking, though.

It got me thinking about government interference with business.

Before you say anything, I realize that the government doesn't technically recognize universities and college sports as "businesses" (even though some of them rival the most prosperous businesses in terms of revenue).  But that did get me from thinking about the whole government + business situation.  In particular, I started thinking about government interference and its effect on the internet.

So far, we in the United States have been largely unaffected by government meddling in online affairs.  Sure, they've stuck their nose in here and there along the way.  That's really to be expected I suppose.  I mean, the internet IS a powerful and potentially dangerous tool.  I'm worried that something is going to trigger more governmental oversight into business and, in particular, internet business.

As is, I'm happy with how things stand.  I don't think the government should make demands of business and I think they should keep their hands off of the internet.  Let's face it:  as a "business", the government is in no position to oversea or make inquires.  Take the Capital Visitor Center.  It's 8 years behind schedule and $500 million over budget.  They can't manage their own "company" so why should we want them trying to manage ours?

When the government gets its act together it can tell me how to run my business.  Until then, they can butt out.