posted on June 26, 2001 02:30:42 PM
I received this email yesterday. Does anyone know if there is any truth to it?? IF the Government passess this bill it will costs us a lot of money. I receive and send anwhere from 50 to 100 emails a day. THis is rediculous.
<p>
<b>This piece is a little long, but read it!!!!</b>
<p>
Subject: Fw: ALERT!!!!
<p>
Subject: Federal BIll 602p
<p>
Guess the warnings were true. Federal Bill 602P 5-cents per E-mail sent.
It
figures! No more free E-mail! We knew this was coming!! Bill 602P will
permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent charge on every delivered
E-mail. Please read the following
carefully if you intend to stay online and continue using E-mail. The last
few months have revealed an alarming trend in the Government of the United
States attempting to quietly push through legislation that will affect our
use of the Internet.
<p>
Under proposed legislation, the US Postal Service will be attempting to bill
E-mail users out of "alternative postage fees".
<p>
Bill 602P will permit the Federal Government to charge a 5-cent surcharge on
every e-mail delivered, by billing Internet Service Providers at source. The
consumer would then be billed in turn by the ISP.
<p>
Washington DC lawyer Richard Stepp is working without pay to prevent this
legislation from becoming law. The US Postal Service is claiming lost
revenue, due to the proliferation of E-mail, is costing nearly $230,000,000
in revenue per year. You may have noticed their recent ad campaign: "There is
nothing like a letter."
<p>
Since the average person received about 10 pieces of E-mail per day in 1998,
the cost of the typical individual would be an additional 50 cents a day - or
over $180 per year - above and beyond their regular Internet costs.
<p>
Note that this would be money paid directly to the US Postal Service
for a
service they do not even provide.
<p>
The whole point of the Internet is democracy and non-interference. You are
already paying an exorbitant price for snail mail because of bureaucratic
inefficiency. It currently takes up to 6 days for a letter to be delivered
from coast to coast. If the US Postal Service is
allowed to tinker with E-mail, it will mark the end of the "free" Internet in
the United States.
<p>
Congressional representative, Tony Schnell (R) has even suggested a "$20-$40
per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the governments
proposed E-mail charges. Note that most of the major newspapers have ignored
the story the only exception being the Washingtonian which called the idea of
E-mail surcharge "a useful concept who's time has come" (March 6th, 1999
Editorial). Do not sit by and watch your freedom erode away!
<p>
Send this E-mail to EVERYONE on your list, and tell all your friends and
relatives to write their congressional representative and say "NO" to Bill
602P.
<p>
It will only take a few moments of your time and could very well be
instrumental in killing a bill we do not want.
<p>
<b>PLEASE FORWARD!</b>
posted on June 26, 2001 02:33:50 PM
Can you say "urban legend"?
I knew you could.
edited to add...
From the first post:
Congressional representative, Tony Schnell (R) has even suggested a "$20-$40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the governments proposed E-mail charges.
Our Canberra representative, Tony Schnell (r) has even suggested a "$20- $40 per month surcharge on all Internet service" above and beyond the governments proposed E-mail charges.
Apparently, Tony Schnell is doing one heck of a job as an elected public servant for two different countries.
[ edited by mrpotatoheadd on Jun 26, 2001 02:45 PM ]
posted on June 26, 2001 02:40:46 PM
What do you mean a "HOax" I have never heard of "charging for email before". I assumed that there must be some truth to it.
posted on June 26, 2001 11:07:13 PM
I don't think the email fees are going to be as bad as you think. I know there will be extra fees for email with attached files. Those with 200k files and under will be almost the same as a regular email. The larger attachments 1 meg and up will have a higher fee, but still cheaper than mailing a disk.
You need to look at the positive side of the email fees, spammers will not be the problem they've been.
I've already started adding to my auction "email fees will be reimbursed", I want to encourage dialogs from potential buyers.
