Kudos for the Kid

Comments on Sundance, spam, and the SBA.

Your September article on Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute ["Creativity Regained," by Stephen H. Zades] impressed me deeply. I have for years labored to bring forth an enterprise that will dramatically change the quality and cost of health care and have recently found myself considering whether to walk away. This article was inspiring. I felt uplifted by it, with a renewed energy to move forward once more in my endeavor. Redford is a sage for our times--one who has steadfastly steered the difficult and complex course of following his most intimate beliefs and is now seeing them blossom as gifts for his fellow man.

Paul Zamarian
CEO
Collaborative Health System
Santa Rosa, Calif.

NFIB Defends the SBA

I'm writing in response to an article in which NFIB's opinion of the Small Business Administration is unfairly characterized ["Time to Fix the SBA," by Elizabeth Wasserman, September]. The SBA, headed by Hector Barreto, is a strong voice for small businesses across the country. NFIB surveys consistently show that member businesses support maintaining that voice within the executive branch.

Under Barreto, the SBA promoted two tax bills that have been essential to small-business growth in this economy. The SBA continues to voice strong support for association health plans--small-business owners' top legislative priority. NFIB led the fight in the mid-1980s to reiterate to Congress and the administration the importance of the SBA. And today NFIB is a proud sponsor of the SBA's 50th anniversary celebration.

Jack Faris, President
NFIB
Washington, D.C.

Local Hero

As I read the article highlighting the creative spirit of Inc.'s founder, Bernie Goldhirsh ["Legacy," September], a tear came to my eye. This man understood that what makes this country great are not the Fortune 100 but the little guys and gals trying to eke out a living by revolutionizing a small part of the complex puzzle of business. The world is a great deal richer because of him, not because of what he created but because of the encouragement and knowledge he imparted to others in the hope that they would create!

Jeffrey Fry, CEO
Videodisgo Inc.
Austin

The Young and the Jaded

There's another side to the coin of Donna Fenn's Hands On article on hiring elders ["Respect Your Elders," September]. I'm 34. At this point I need to earn substantial money to pay off my college loans and support my family. I can't compete with a 70-year-old who'll work for next to nothing. Yet the elder worker, while taking away opportunities and depressing wages, expects the youthful workers to pay his Social Security benefits and support his medical expenses through astronomical health care premiums. If young workers have a poor attitude, it's because we realize that when we retire, there will be little left of Social Security or the pensions we paid into. Yet every two of us will be expected to support one elder through Social Security deductions.

Griffin Neubauer
Appleton, Wis.

Ad Nauseam

Having been in the business for 18 years, I read with interest your article about applying the Taguchi method to advertising ["Better Methods," by Robert X. Cringely, What's Next, September]. The problem is, most clients want instant gratification. They rarely give agencies time to do research, test concepts, and flesh out solutions. Hell, if a prospective client called and said I had two weeks to develop an ad, I'd think it was a prank call.

Jeffrey Ringer
Creative Calisthenics Coordinator
Ringer Creative
Virginia Beach, Va.

Spamage Control

I'm outright offended that Inc. would publish an article trying to put a spin on spam [Marketing, "Caught in the Crossfire," by Ellen Neuborne, August]. Innocents caught in the crossfire of spam? Give me a break. Jodie Gastel was no innocent bystander. She sent out unsolicited e-mail.

I'm the founder of a small hosting provider. We have overseas customers who pay by the minute to be on the Internet. Downloading spam costs them money. And we know hosting and Internet service providers that are spending thousands per year on adding infrastructure to support the strain spam puts on their systems.

We have customers who used to get 1,000 spam messages a day. After instituting zero tolerance for spam, we get accolades on how much time and money we are saving customers.

Peter M. Abraham, CEO
Dynamic Net
Wyomissing, Pa.

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