posted on December 15, 2001 11:55:50 AM
A friend sent me an email yesterday about the proposed plan to charge people for EACH email they send.......
Federal Bill 602p
>
> 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.
>
> Under proposed legislation, the US Postal Serv! ice will be attempting to
> bill E-mail users out of "alternative postage fees."
>
> 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.
>
> 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."
>
> 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.
> Note that this would be money paid directly to the US Postal Service for a
> service they do not even provide.
>
> The whole point of the Internet is democracy and noninterference. 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.
>
> 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 be! ing 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!
>
> 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.
>
> It will only take a few moments of your time and could very well be
> instrumental in killing a bill we do not want.
posted on December 15, 2001 01:04:32 PM
I could leave you hanging, wondering how you are going to finance your email habit but, in the spirit of the season, I'm feeling generous. It's a hoax, KD.
)
