flietz, nice points but a bit facetious. Of course I only wrote the post because CA's law and Amazon's response directly affect our site. I might have thought it but not taken the time to write it if it wasn't so personal.
Amazon is a net good, I think. It's made products from anywhere available to anywhere readily, reliably and cheaply. It also had created a wonderful ecosystem for small businesses. This is why we chose to affiliate our site with Amazon.
That said, there's no question that Amazon's success further decimated / continues to decimate small independent booksellers and other retailers who contributed more readily to regional economies - creating local jobs, supporting local events, paying local sales tax, etc.
Your local consumer may have more money for local coffee if she doesn't pay sales tax, but her local government has less. Beyond that, her local economy has less from any profit on the TV going into circulation in Washington State rather than staying with a locally-owned business.
That said, I value Amazon's right to compete with local businesses, and the value and innovation their success brings to me, my city, our nation, and the world at large.
Whether or not you agree with sales tax is one question - the one addressed by your points above. But if it exists for some, how is it fair for it not to exist for all?
(The argument that the consumer is expected to pay it either way is not a valid point - the reality is the consumer is escaping it with one retailer and coughing it up at another.)