[StBernard] Newspapers Failing

[Westley Annis]

Unfortunately, we live in a free enterprise society where the consumers
decides what they want.  Print newspapers have to compete with internet news
websites.  How absurd - and even communistic - for the FTC to consider
taxing people to help subsidize failing newspapers.  If the public doesn't
want them, then so be it.

Besides, what if someone does subscribe to the New York Times?  Do they get
a credit or waiver on the tax?  What about people who have NEVER subscribed?
Why do they then have to pay a tax for something they never supported in the
first place and now have others joining them in their non-support?

See how ridiculous the tax proposal is.  Just like any other retailer,
newspaper companies need to cut back their employment staff to meet whatever
the consumer demand is.  And if that's not enough, then they need to
completely fold as other newspapers have.

I am reminded of a situation a few years back by a friend of mine who works
for AT&T.  As he explained it, the top brass at AT&T could see how the
consumer was moving away from land-line telephone use to wireless.  So, at
AT&T they had to make a decision - start reducing staff and infrastructure
to the lower levels of consumer demand OR start investing big bucks to
accommodate the growth in wireless demand.  The fact that AT&T is now the
second largest carrier of wireless tells you they chose the latter.  This is
where the newspaper publishing companies failed.  They decided they would
either make it the "old way" or go down with the sinking ship - or consumer
demand in this case.

Failing newspapers are a victim of their own lack of foresight - or
stubborness to accept the future.

John