A Primer on Changing Information Technology and the Fisc

From the electric light to the automobile, history is filled with examples of new technologies that quickly change the way people live, conduct commerce, and run their governments. The modern computer will soon see its sixtieth birthday, and the telephone is even older. Why should such information technology still be driving fundamental change in our social institutions, including our methods of funding government? Certainly, automobile technology reached a mature steady state long before then, as did its ability to transform society.