> The government is trying to get our money in every way possible.
>
> Subject: E-mail charges
> Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 07:47:11 -0500
>
> Looks like your Bush tax return is already spent!!!!
> 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 Service 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 billin 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 has even suggested a 42.00
> 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!
> 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.
> PLEASE FORWARD