Fool.com: Is eBay Killing America? [Commentary] September 24, 2004

The Dems reaction to Cheney'e e-bay comment is proof that they really don't get IT. They still live in a past where friendly networks could bury the swift vets story and fake documents could be rendered legitimate by Dan Rather. They really do not understand the future. They live in a past where a good job is with a union in a factory. They themselves have never held such jobs nor would they deign to. Behind the union leaders backs they sneer at how uncouth the redneck workers are.

I know this sort of person. They don't do computer or e-mail. That's what secretaries are for. Heck they don't type. When I worked for a big company, I remember one of this type, who was head of a division getting on an elevator. Silence fell on the assembled minions in the presence of greatness. Then his greatness asked, how one would get a letter to another city overnight. No one answered. He asked again. I, timidly, responded, "Airborne". "Of course it would be by air", he sneered. Another hardy soul volunteered, "That's the name of the company we contract with for overnight air delivery" he said. And I stood there thinking, How can you get so high up and so detached that you do not know the name of the company that has a many million dollar exclusive delivery contract with a company you are vice-president of. How is that all of us, not one a secretary, had read the memo saying we must use that company because it would save our company millions of dollars a year?

The Dems are similarly out of touch with the nation they are seeking to run and the world it lives in. Unfortunately the rest of us have no choice. There is no where better to go. I pray that the world will not go up in flames if Kerry wins but I deeply fear that it will.


Fool.com: Is eBay Killing America? [Commentary] September 24, 2004: " Email this page

Format for printing

Become a Fool!

Reuse/Reprint


Related Links


Commentary Archive

eBay Has the Power

Marry Me, Meg!



Discussion Boards


Fool News & Commentary

eBay





By Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible)
September 24, 2004


It's big, it's hungry, and if you don't batten down the hatches, I swear, eBay (Nasdaq: EBAY) will eat your babies!


I'm just teasing you, now. You and I both know that it will gobble up cute puppies first. 


The world's leading online exchange has become a political hot potato this month. Yet if I can offer up an analytical voice of reason, I would argue that the partisan shots feel more like duds than spuds.


Let's review what happened here. Earlier this month, Vice President Dick Cheney was stumping in Cincinnati when he brought up eBay as an example of why economic data isn't fully factoring in a robust recovery. 'That's a source that didn't even exist 10 years ago,' he said, pointing out that the data munchers aren't accounting for the fact that '400,000 people make some money trading on eBay.'




Sensing that it was something worth pouncing on, the person angling to replace Cheney as the country's VP took aim. 'He said people are selling a lot of stuff on eBay,' John Edwards said. 'When we count the bake sales and lemonade stands, we'll have a roaring economy.'




It's odd, isn't it? It's not just that eBay has gone from CNBC to C-SPAN fodder these days. But now, despite the bucketfuls of ubiquity, this seemingly simple company is just being flat-out misunderstood by the educated politicos.




eBay is big
With 114 million registered users -- 48 million of those being active eBayers who have bid, bought, or listed with eBay over the past year -- this is more than just the world's largest garage sale. It's often referred to as a virtual flea market, though maybe a wired car showroom would be just as appropriate since nearly $10 billion of the $29.1 billion in gross merchandise value that the site has helped move over the past four quarters has been in its automotive category."