Paying Postage for E-Mail

Satori

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PAYING POSTAGE FOR E-MAIL

3/5/2004

To the barricades, people! Here come the money-grubbers, trying to get their hands on one of the few small freedoms that is still essentially free in our world: sending e-mail.

None other than Bill Gates, the emperor of Microsoft's virtual kingdom, has acknowledged that his monopolistic corporation, the largest e-mail provider in the world, is trying to develop an e-mail stamp. Apparently, he's trying to be the global post office of the internet. Microsoft is conspiring with Yahoo, Inc., the second largest e-mail provider, to work out the technological kinks to make it possible for them to create a virtual stamp--actually an encrypted code number--so they can assess a fee for each e-mail, probably starting modestly with a penny per message.

Excuse me. Bill Gates is the richest human on the planet, with more personal wealth than some nations, yet he feels the need to collect a penny from each of our e-mails?

No, no, say the minions of Microsoft and Yahoo--This is something we want to do to help YOU, it's for your own good!

They're cloaking this sneaky stamp tax with a claim that they're just wanting to stop those dastardly spammers who fill our e-mail boxes with electronic junk-mail hawking all sorts of products and services. "There is not enough friction in sending e-mail," says a Yahoo operative, and the plan is to apply friction at a penny a pop. Of course, while couching this as a noble public service, the corporations would be creating an endless new revenue stream running right into their pockets.

Company executives say that you and I shouldn't fear this e-stamp, because, initially, they'd only require the big bulk users of e-mail to pay this corporate assessment of postage--not us. Pardon my skepticism, but Microsoft and Yahoo are not altruistic entities, and their long records of profiteering suggests that once they get the technology in place, they'll milk us consumers for all they can get.





"Gates Backs E-Mail Stamp in War on Spam," New York Times. February 2, 2004.
www.nytimes.com/2004/02/technology/02spam.html


Jim Hightower
Hightower & Associates
1802 W. 6th Street
Austin, TX 78703
512-477-5588
[email protected]


http://www.jimhightower.com/air/read.asp?id=11312
 
Ain't Capitalism Grand!!!

AND THE RICH GET RICHER!!!

Frank


PS Nice to hear from you young lady!!
 
Wow, good to see that I'm not the only one who reads Jim Hightower!
 
Oh yeah! My stepfather got me into him a long time ago. I only wish a lot of other people would do the same!
 
kirei_na_me said:
Oh yeah! My stepfather got me into him a long time ago. I only wish a lot of other people would do the same!

Oh, I agee. I love hearing him on the radio. I used to listen to him on "Democracy Now" all the time. He has the best personality of anyone I've heard on the radio, and I even saw him once on TV. He's great!

By the way, I love your new personal avatar! A long time ago I was thinking how using the picture you had in the members gallery would be a good avatar, but I think I like the closeup of your eye better. It's great on so many levels--because it's very pretty but it's also a way of an advisor or moderator saying, "I have my eye on you!" I love it!!

:wave:
 
well yeah but people can always use their ISPs email or something besides those two services. i personally dont use hotmail or yahoo so i dont see how either could tax me.
i bet there would be a dramatic drop in msn/yahoo mail accounts if something like that were to happen. besides anyone with a webpage can host their own email. i think they should put more effotr into closing accounts that spam from their services, than taxing everyone else, but behold the power of the dollar...
 
DAMNIT I USE yahoo and hotmail everyday!!! Why dose the "MAN" keep trying to take all my money!!! First expensive anime, the high car insurance, now email....whats next high prices for POCKY!....TRYING to learn japanese!! or maybe....BREATHING!
 
EscaFlowne said:
Why dose the "MAN" keep trying to take all my money!!!

let me know who this man is and i'll track him down and get your money back esca! i'll beat him within an inch of his life!
 

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