[arin-ppml] Draft Policy ARIN-2021-6: Remove Circuit Requirement

[William Herrin]

On Thu, Sep 23, 2021 at 2:41 PM David Farmer via ARIN-PPML
<arin-ppml at arin.net> wrote:
> I have a question for those that oppose the leasing or loaning of IPv4 addresses to other entities absent connectivity; Is it the rent-paying or that lack of connectivity provided with the addresses that offend you? Or, both?

Hi David,

The defined Economics term is "rent seeking." Just renting something
to someone is not "rent seeking." The term has a specific meaning.
Briefly, it means exploiting a rule-making process (such as law,
regulation or other public policy) often by changing it to let you
make money without adding value.

Address transfers are at least notionally not rent seeking - the
recipient isn't paying for the addresses, he's paying the former
registrant's one-time cost to reconfigure to stop using them while the
addresses themselves convey to the new registrant for exactly the same
cost as the original registrant. Yes I know that's ridiculous. Call it
a "legal fiction."

Address leasing, on the other hand, is unapologetically rent seeking.
I have them only because the regulatory agency allowed it. I add no
value by letting you pay me to use them but you have no choice because
the regulatory agency has no more to offer. I and my contemporaries
took them all.


What's wrong with a little rent seeking? Rent seeking is
anticompetitive behavior. Quoting from
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/rentseeking.asp :

"Rent seeking can disrupt market efficiencies and create pricing
disadvantages for market participants. It has been known to cause
limited competition and high barriers to entry.

Those that benefit from successful rent seeking obtain added economic
rents without any added obligations. This can potentially create
unfair advantages, specifically providing wealth to certain businesses
that leads to greater market share at the detriment of competitors."

Regards,
Bill Herrin


--
William Herrin
bill at herrin.us
https://bill.herrin.us/