President Barack Obama has sent a long letter to New England Independent Booksellers Association executive director Steve Fischer. Publishers Weekly has the complete letter.
Responding to independent bookseller outcry over Obama’s visit to an Amazon warehouse, the President’s letter focused on small business initiatives of the Obama administration, but did not mention books or Amazon. What do you think? Here’s an excerpt:
I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure America remains the best place on Earth to turn a great idea into a successful business. I encourage small business owners to take advantage of the on-the-ground counseling resources available through SBA District Offices, and local Small Business Development Centers and Women’s Business Centers. We have provided funding for those organizations to help businesses connect with the resources they need.
You can read Obama’s complete speech from the Amazon warehouse in Tennessee. Here’s more from that speech:
Amazon is a great example of what’s possible. What you’re doing here at Amazon with your Career Choice Program pays 95 percent of the tuition for employees who want to earn skills in fields with high demand — not just, by the way, jobs here at Amazon, but jobs anywhere — computer-aided design or nursing. I talked to Jeff Bezos yesterday, and he was so proud of the fact that he wants to see every employee at Amazon continually upgrade their skills and improve. And if they’ve got a dream they want to pursue, Amazon wants to help them pursue it.
(Official White House Photo by Amanda Lucidon)