A Stitch in Haste

Perhaps it's unsurprising that hyper-technophile Glenn Reynolds fell for the Politics of "Neat-O!" -- as so many libertarians have -- regarding municipal wi-fi:

There are some reasonable questions about municipal wi-fi: Will municipal governments log traffic, producing privacy problems? (You can bet that anyone who challenges a mayor or city council member will have his/her access records looked over by political operatives, if such records are kept). Will they keep up with improvements in the technology? Will they discourage competing systems? Will they succumb to the temptation to filter "unsuitable" content?

But of course the first -- and perhaps the only legitimate -- question that a libertarian ought to be asking is the one that so many sufferers of "Neat-O!" Syndrome evade so fecklessly: Why should the government be in the business of providing any private good, including wi-fi?