From Dot Coms to Not Coms
By Late Nite LeRoy
January 20, 2001
Remember when a night at Motel 6 cost $6.00? Not any more. Remember when NetZero meant
free Internet access? Not any more. They now charge for use beyond 40 hours a month.
Remember when PhoneFree was actually free? It just changed to 2 cents a minute. So it's no
longer $6, or zero or free even though it's still in the name.
The Internet was the single most powerful need that the public at large had for massive
digital data processing. More than half of America is now connected. The power curve has
been crossed. More poor people are now joining the ranks, which is good for them, but bad
news for retailers. Poor can't afford to buy what they sell.
Two of the most prosperous web sites over this last holiday period were Amazon.com and
Wal-Mart.com. We also saw Montgomery Wards close up shop after 128 years. American middle
class, which primarily shopped at Sears and Wards in the 50's has evolved into a mentality
that says get your daily stuff as cheap as you can, then splurge on the expensive stuff
for special occasions. Unfortunately, the cheap stuff is only cheap because it's made by
forced labor, or sweat shop labor somewhere offshore. Etch-A-Sketch threw in the towel in
regards to making it's product here in the US. They announced at the end of 2000 that they
were moving all manufacturing overseas. Now in mid January of the new year, UPS asked
Boeing to convert 13 MD-11's to cargo use. Boeing subcontracted the task to Singapore
rather than rehire any of the thousands of McDonnell Douglas employees they laid off
earlier. No, Ross, this is no hissing sound, it's a complete blow out.
Liberal politicians continue to blame the wrong people for the crisis they created. We can
thank our deplorable public schools system for dumbing down a bulk of the poor in this
country. I know more successful immigrant business owners than I do those who were native
born Americans. Most Americans have been fed plenty of patriotic tripe, but never shown
just how
to start and run a business. American TV for 50 years only entertained, and never
educated. Liberals shout nonsense into welcoming cameras and microphones, while true
intelligent business has been reserved for the elite few. In all my years as a stock
broker, I never met a liberal that held the same views about his account balance. If the
absolute penny wasn't
calculated conservatively, they threw a tantrum.
We saw numerous dot com businesses collapse in 2000 because they were run in an
irresponsible fashion, just like the Democratic Party has done to America. Irresponsible
behavior only leads to destruction. It takes a little longer when the crooks are allowed
to print their own money and doctor the raw data published in reports, but it still leads
to destruction.
The challenge before us now is to use the responsible philosophy we conservatives know is
correct and apply it to business. Let us continue to share good business ideas with each
other and make a difference in our economy and our lives in the years yet to come.
--LateNiteLeroy
(-- now the #1 position on the web's most powerful search engine, Google for "lateniteleroy" --)
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