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Opinion
The Battalion
Page 9 • Tuesday, November 11, 2003
The tax man cometh
Kn Internet taxation system would overstep the bounds of federal government
ID
f, 1
d
I magine sitting down at a
desk and inserting a debit
card into a slot in a com
puter. Someone would sign on
to the Internet, and the com
puter accesses the debit card,
sending some of the person’s
money to the government.
With every online purchase
he makes, the computer auto
matically takes out the sale
amount and a little more to send to the govern
ment. A person sends an e-mail and the light on
his computer blinks again, as more of his hard-
earned dollars are sent Washington’s way.
The government wouldn’t dare institute such
a system overnight, but, in the name of increas
ing its pocketbook, it would implement a series
of small measures, until one day people will sit
down at their computers in such a fashion and
not think anything of it. If people still think this
idea sounds preposterous, they should know
that the government is already trying to do it.
With the five-year ban on taxing Internet
access over, the government is considering
making the ban permanent or opening this area
to taxation. Currently, services such as DSL,
cable and dial-up are not subject to taxa
tion.
The move to tax Internet access
comes from state and local gov
ernments, that fear they may
lose a large amount of tax
money that would come from
phone lines, since DSL connec
tions don’t require an additional
phone line and cable connec
tions don’t need phone lines
at all. Some state offi
cials believe that since
this new technology hns
aiiegediy resulted in lost
revenue, this technology must be
taxed to make up for it. But what is the basis of
their argument? It turns out there isn’t one.
I “All the bill says is you cannot discriminate
against electronic commerce, and not one state
has come forward and given an example of how
they have been hurt by their inability to dis
criminate against electronic commerce,” said
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore. State and local gov
ernments are petitioning Congress to help com
bat a problem they haven’t proven exists. To
open up the realm of the Internet to taxation is
dangerous to taxpayers, but to do so on such a
shaky premise is irresponsible.
For years, the Internet has created new busi
nesses, allowed old ones to do business more
quickly and efficiently, allowed people to send
instant e-mails without having to wait days on
“snail mail,” and others to chat online rather
than spend hundreds of dollars on long-distance
phone calls.
Introducing taxation to a domain the nation
has kept tax-free would
be a terrible mistake. If
Americans let the gov
ernment break the barrier of taxation into the
realm of the Internet, there is no reason for them
to stop. Even while debating this bill. Congress
has already introduced the Streamlined Sales
and Use Tax Act, which would force online ven
dors to impose sales taxes. Internet users already
can’t buy clothes, gas, school supplies, furniture,
books or movies without seeing their money
taken away by taxes, which promote government
programs many Americans don’t agree with any
way. Should Americans have to add to the list of
places where the government steals their money?
Supporters of increased taxation often defend
their position by explaining that the government
needs taxpayer money to run its pro
grams. Rather than seek new areas to tax or
increase old ones, the government needs to cut
back its current spending and programs. Money
is wasted on frivolous items throughout govern
ment, and this saved money could avoid the need
for an unnecessary tax.
For example. The General Accounting
Office, which is Congress’ audit and investiga
tive arm, found that 73 percent of premium
class air travel purchased during the past two
years by the Department of Defense was not
justified. They cited a case in which a Defense
Department family relocated from London to
Hawaii and flew premium class for $18,000-
$20,000, more than it would have cost if they
had flown on authorized coach tickets.
Such a situation is an unimaginably small
example of money the U.S. government
wastes every day. Rather than eliminat
ing wasteful spending by examining
its budgets, the government
goes first to the paycheck
of the American taxpayer
and demands a larger cut,
and this is unacceptable.
Americans must demand
government be responsible for
what it spends by refusing to
fund its incompetence. Any
step toward that goal must
start now, by stopping
Congress from taxing yet
another area of American life.
Americans have seen through
out history that if they give
government an inch, they will
gladly take their wallet.
Americans must hold on to
their ground by holding on
to a tax-free Internet.
Mahesh Neelakantan • THE BATTALION
Mike Walters is a senior
psychology major.
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E-nightmare
Noting machines could cause problems
similar to the 2000 presidential election
T he battle of online file
sharing of copyrighted
material has reached a
new and, frankly, odd level.
This time, though, the battle is
not over MP3s or movies —
it’s over memos. Last
Tuesday, the Online Policy
Group, an Internet service jenelle
provider, and two students WILSON
from Swarthmore College in
Pennsylvania, filed suit against Diebold Election
Systems to stop the company from threatening
ISPs hosting Web sites containing internal com
pany memos and e-mails. The memos and e-
mails outline problems with Diebold’s electronic
voting machines. U.S. District Judge Jeremy
Fogel put the case on an accelerated schedule
due to the urgency of the issue.
The protection of copyrighted material and
what falls under the fair use exception is not
the only issue at hand. This case involves a
fundamental principle of democracy:
Participation by the people. Fair and equal
elections are essential to American govern
ment, but instead of fostering debate on
whether new technology is apt to provide fair
elections, Diebold is attempting to stifle it.
The only way for the people to know if
their votes are being counted fairly is to pro
vide them with all the facts in the case, and
the district court must ensure they have access
to the information.
After the 2000 presidential elections deba
cle, there is a push to replace the old mechani
cal, chad-producing machines with electronic
ones. Currently, 33,000 Diebold machines
have been sold in the United States and many
are already being used, according to The New
York Times. However, in July, a study by a
group of experts from Rice University and
Johns Hopkins University found major flaws
in the software running the machines. The
problems include lapses in security that would
allow voters to cast extra votes and allow peo
ple with access to the machine to alter ballots,
so that the person voting, thinking that he is
voting for his candidate, would actually be
voting for the opponent. And because there is
no trial the voter would have no way of know
ing whom he really voted for.
If the software indeed contains these prob
lems (and some of the memos warn of soft
ware bugs), keeping that information from the
public, letting the public continue thinking its
votes are being fairly and accurately counted,
when they may not be, is repugnant. The peo
ple bringing memos describing these problems
to light were doing a.public good. With how
advanced and connected society is today, there
is no excuse for software loopholes that could
allow someone'to fix a democratic election.
And there is certainly no excuse for keeping
this information from the public.
While the Diebold information is protected
under copyright law, there is the fair use excep
tion, which allows portions of copyrighted
material to be used for the purposes of com
mentary and criticism, according to the Stanford
University Libraries Web site. There is a four
pronged test to decide if something falls under
fair use, including how much of the copyrighted
material is used and its purpose. According to a
letter written by Wendy Seltzer, an attorney for
the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a group rep
resenting OPG and the students, the use of
Diebold memos and e-mails meets these
requirements because it is meant to encourage
public debate of problems with the machines.
Those posting the memos are not trying to prof
it off another’s expressive works, which are the
purpose of copyright laws.
With something as important as the avail
ability of fair elections, companies that make
voting machines must be more upfront about
the reliability of their products. Companies
have a right to protect their software from
being pirated by other companies, but they
must not attempt to stifle criticism of how
dependable that software is. Because the
results of elections affect all Americans, soft
ware running the machines that votes are cast
on must be open to public review to ensure
they are working correctly. As Adam
Stubblefield, a co-author of the July study,
told The Times, “This isn’t the code for a
vending machine. This is the code that pro
tects our democracy.”
Jenelle Wilson is a senior
political science major.
MAIL CALL
Silver Taps serves
families of dead
In response to a Nov. 7 mail
call:
Silver Taps, to me, is Texas
A&M’s most important tradi
tion, and I have never missed
a single one..
In the summer of 2002 my
cousin, Colin, a student at
Tech, was taken from us.
When we went to Lubbock for
his funeral, several students
organized a candlelight vigil in
his memory, and about 200
people came to his funeral.
Seeing so many people come
together to honor Colin was
such an immense help to my
family, showing us that he was
already missed.
Silver Taps is how we show
grieving families and friends
that we are sorry for their
loss. It is how we show them
that their sons, daughters, or
friends time at A&M was not
a waste.
For those who have lost
someone, seeing people
show up to honor the dead
really does matter. It matters
to the families of Levi Windle,
Chiang Cheng-Hsien, and all
the other Aggies who have
been and will be honored at
Silver Taps. For them, your
attendance at Silver Taps will
be the most important thing
you do during your time here.
Liz Macho!
Class of 2005
Some students
grieve differently
Mr. Vargo suggests that to
be true Aggies, we must go to
Silver Taps. It is great that
people want to honor a fellow
Aggie who has fallen, but does
that mean that we all should
deal with death in the same
way? It is ridiculous to assume
that someone is not an Aggie
because he chooses to deal
with death differently.
When the time comes that I
must deal with the death of a
loved one, I would prefer to be
surrounded by those who
knew them.
Feeling this way, 1 do not
find it right for me to partake in
something I would not want
done for me.
Lastly, do not sit there and
tell me that I “fool” around all
month and become busy all of
a sudden during Silver Taps. I
take pride in my education
and constantly work to
improve it and thus remain
busy at all times. I find it sad
that during a time of war, we
still have to deal with people
forcing their views onto oth
ers. You do not define what
an Aggie is, Mr. Vargo, our
heart does.
Brandon Johns
Class of 2005
Abortion debate
caused by men
I am really enjoying all the
mail calls from guys sharing
such simplistic solutions for
abortion. Unfortunately, it’s
not their rights being stripped,
their bodies involved, and
from what I read, it’s not their
responsibility either. They
seem to take no blame what
soever — this whole issue is
completely the responsibility
of women.
I’m not saying that I’m pro
life or pro-choice, but I am
saying that I won’t stand to
be blamed or feel ashamed
for being a woman in this
country. Who stalk, abuse,
use, molest, rape and
impregnate women? Maybe if
more guys were men and not
predators, the situation
wouldn’t be so advanced and
out of control. Maybe if guys
could treat women with digni
ty and respect, like they do
themselves, there wouldn’t
be an issue. Are there no
longer any dignified and
respectable men?
Women’s rights to safety,
health and growth in all
aspects of life should be
embraced by all, both men and
women — and not thought of
as a plague or ‘anti-men’ ideol
ogy. I cant wait to leave this
hypocritical, overly conserva
tive, ridiculously closed-mind
ed city, a place evidently full of
insecure men completely
frightened of strong,
respectable women who know
what’s best for themselves.
Leigh Elena Henderson
Class of 2004
Border crossers
break laws
Never have I been so
embarrassed to be associat
ed with Texas A&M as when
witnessing the protest by the
Young Conservatives of Texas
at the George Bush Award for
Public Service last Friday.
These students chanted,
“Texans like Bush, Commies
like Kennedy.” Commies?
As an ideology,
Communism has been dead
for decades. If Soviet
Communism, well, the Soviet
Union imploded in 1991. If
Chinese Communism,
George Bush has had far
closer dealings for decades
as American representative to
Beijing and as president than
Ted Kennedy.
I stand second to none in
urging everyone, especially
students, to become involved
in the political process. But
activism should be based on
intelligence, not ignorance.
Jonathan Coopersmith
Associate Professor
The Battalion encourages letters to
the editor. Letters must be 200 words
or less and include the author’s
name, class and phone number. The
opinion editor reserves the right to edit
letters for length, style and accuracy.
Letters may be submitted in person at
014 Reed McDonald with a valid stu
dent ID. Letters also may be mailed to:
014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas
A&M University, College Station, TX
77843-1111. Fax: (979) 845-2647
Email: mailcall@thebattanon.net