INSTEAD OF GOVERNMENT TELLING BUSINESS TO WORK TOGETHER, LET BUSINESSES WORK IT OUT

The federal government would like for us to believe it knows best how to run the nation's businesses and industries. Witness the legal war games against Microsoft.

For the most part, state and city governments have been more proactive toward businesses. But now the city council in Columbia, home of the University of Missouri, wants to horn in where government has already left unwanted footprints.

The issue is Internet access. At the federal level, there are a myriad of efforts to make sure everyone has access to computers and the Internet. Gov. Mel Carnahan of Missouri has pushed initiatives to do the same in the Show Me State. And now a city council wants to force cable-TV companies to let Internet providers use their cable lines. Never mind the cable companies bore the expense of installing those lines. Never mind the cable companies intend to use those lines to provide Internet access. Never mind that Internet providers using phone lines have limited startup costs compared to the expense of putting up cables all over town.

Columbia's city council should keep its mitts off the investments of private enterprise.