If today Internet-protocol television (IPTV) is a technological reality, then why aren't millions of Americans watching high-def movies on demand or viewing live concerts and sports events via their home wireless networks with user-controllable multiple camera angles on their screens? Why aren't more blog-minded citizens turning their homes into mini-broadcast studios?

The reason is that U.S. government policies and private corporate decisionmaking have fallen well behind the technological curve. We are paying a stiff social, economic and cultural price for our collective folly.