I read with great interest the article (“New Jersey Lawmaker Uses Mailer to Fight ‘Junk Mail,’ ” May 5). I was also taken aback not by the irony but the chutzpah of this lawmaker using a mailer to “fight junk mail.”
Does the honorable gentleman from New Jersey know how much business is generated in the state by the mailing industry? According to statistics in our files, 279,263 jobs in the state are connected to the mailing industry, generating more than $30.91 billion in commerce in that state alone.
In the 5th Congressional District, in which state Sen. Joseph Coniglio is located, 21,234 jobs are connected with the direct marketing and paper-based communications industry, representing more than $2.33 billion in economic value, according to the Direct Marketing Association. Does he think that these people don’t vote?
The senator needs to understand that mail is an important industry in New Jersey and also for the nation. Maybe he would not be so negative about the value of advertising mail if he better understood the value the industry creates in his district and for his state.
Maynard H. Benjamin, President, Envelope Manufacturers Association, Alexandria, VA
