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Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rob S. who wrote (64811)	6/27/1999 2:49:00 PM
From: im~ristine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

Rob Excellent.... Please stay with this mantra in the months ahead.....

To: Rob S. who wrote (64811)	6/27/1999 4:37:00 PM
From: Robert Rose	Respond to of 164684

Rob, it's time you consider copyrighting your posts <g>. eom

To: Rob S. who wrote (64811)	6/27/1999 5:25:00 PM
From: Eric Wells	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 164684

Rob - you bring up some good points - although I don't entirely agree with all of them. Yes, I do feel there is good cause for the government to levy different tax rates or offer subsidies to different businesses based on the circumstance (one could argue that it's a good thing to keep US farms in business so we don't find ourselves having to import food at some point in the future - however, one could also argue that farm subsidies result in US farms being inefficient). But I am fundamentally against government meddling in business. Amazon enjoys an immediate advantage over the bricks & mortar Borders bookstore four blocks from my office, in that if I buy a book on Amazon, I pay no sales tax - whereas at Borders, I do. I see no good cause for the government to intervene here - government intervention in this case is only helping to reduce Amazon's prices in relation to the competition, and therefore, improve it's business. As for the benefits due to e-business (and employees being able to tele-commute) - I agree with you that anything that we can do to drive our cars less and generate less smog will be beneficial. If we Americans had less affinity for our automobiles and were less individualistic in our commuting habits, our cities would have much better public transportation than they currently do. I lived in Tokyo for year, and was amazed by the extensive subway and public transportation system there - it is actually a much greater burden to own car in Tokyo than to not own one. Of course getting Americans to change their attitudes and habits with regard to driving cars is a much more difficult task than adopting e-business practices, which will most likely be accepted through the force of the market - the final outcome would be the same, we drive less. Anyway, thanks for you message. I agree with you write - however, I believe I am a bit more libertarian in my attitudes with regard to government intervention. -Eric Wells