Blessing in Disguise?

The headline out of the Washington Post begs the question: Can Swine Flu Shut Down the Internet? People staying home from work or school either suffering from or in fear of the new strain of flu that has so far killed fewer people internationally than regular strains of flu kills in this country alone are starting to strain internet networks in several communities. At present this is not a serious problem. The government, in a surprising twist, is doing what it is supposed to do and is planning for future disasters and is afraid that the strained networks will make it difficult if not impossible for government agencies to send out warnings and for e-commerce to survive.

The article says that the companies have several options from laying down new cable which takes too long and is expensive or can figure out a way to slow traffic down which might violate contracts. Sounds like a lose-lose situation right? Perhaps not.

Laying down new cable to deal with an emergency will be too slow if it is in response to a disaster and too expensive if the companies have to pay for it. Enter the stimulus bill.

We have already decided to give money to people for projects vital to communities. Very little of the money has actually been given out because planning such civic projects takes a long time. Laying down upgraded cables in many areas, and more in the rest, is a project that can be written up relatively quickly and paid for. This creates new jobs, promotes e-commerce, increases infrastructure, prevents unnecessary problems in security, and in all ways improves the economy.

So perhaps the swine flu epidemic can do something good for everyone after all. Perhaps if everyone has better access to better internet they can find out that 20-something active healthy males don't need a vaccine and they should let the pregnant women in front of them in line. Does the internet teach decency?