Amazon
Parents can sponsor their own stupid kid’s ball games.
Posted by: Couch_Surfer
Parents can sponsor their own stupid kid’s ball games.
Logic is not allowed here.
All's fair in love and war. And it's Amazon, sadly, waging the war.
The issue with big corporations having these social impact programs while at the same time dodging billions in taxes (and often even receiving government subsidies) is that they end up deciding how what is essentially public money is spent for their idea of what is good for society.
The basic idea in a democracy is that we elect a government every X years, they collect taxes, and spent that money to improve society the way they promised when we elected them. If they don't keep their promises, we vote for someone else the next time. It's not bulletproof but it's the best we can get in terms of accountability.
It's cool that Amazon wants to improve education, housing equity, hunger, etc. but do we really want them to decide how those problems should be solved, who should benefit, etc.?
Posted by: [email protected]
The issue with big corporations having these social impact programs while at the same time dodging billions in taxes (and often even receiving government subsidies) is that they end up deciding how what is essentially public money is spent for their idea of what is good for society.
The basic idea in a democracy is that we elect a government every X years, they collect taxes, and spent that money to improve society the way they promised when we elected them. If they don't keep their promises, we vote for someone else the next time. It's not bulletproof but it's the best we can get in terms of accountability.
It's cool that Amazon wants to improve education, housing equity, hunger, etc. but do we really want them to decide how those problems should be solved, who should benefit, etc.?
I agree with all of this. I was only reacting to the silly Amazon doesn’t fund little Timmy’s ball game drivel.
Posted by: Couch_Surfer
Posted by: [email protected]
The issue with big corporations having these social impact programs while at the same time dodging billions in taxes (and often even receiving government subsidies) is that they end up deciding how what is essentially public money is spent for their idea of what is good for society.
The basic idea in a democracy is that we elect a government every X years, they collect taxes, and spent that money to improve society the way they promised when we elected them. If they don't keep their promises, we vote for someone else the next time. It's not bulletproof but it's the best we can get in terms of accountability.
It's cool that Amazon wants to improve education, housing equity, hunger, etc. but do we really want them to decide how those problems should be solved, who should benefit, etc.?
I agree with all of this. I was only reacting to the silly Amazon doesn’t fund little Timmy’s ball game drivel.
So how about extending those thoughts all the way out to left field and putting a limit on the amount of profit any corporation or entity is allowed to make? Above a certain level, all profits have to be returned back to staff and the community via things like worker bonuses, donations to community projects/events, etc. Too commie/socialistic an idea?
Posted by: syncro
So how about extending those thoughts all the way out to left field and putting a limit on the amount of profit any corporation or entity is allowed to make? Above a certain level, all profits have to be returned back to staff and the community via things like worker bonuses, donations to community projects/events, etc. Too commie/socialistic an idea?
I’m all for it. In my mind, the marginal taxation rate should ramp back up to 90+% with a progressive structure. In my mind, I’m fine with a 100% tax rate at a certain marginal threshold. If that then has a knock on effect of forcing better wage distribution in companies, great.
At a certain point, individuals have enough stuff.
How that’s then redistributed back (basic income? progressive structure payouts in reverse? social programs?) is a tougher set of questions. Also there would be a very real problem of companies/individuals fleeing the country.
Posted by: Couch_Surfer
At a certain point, individuals have enough stuff.
This is what's killing us on so many levels. The type of rampant consumerism that exists today compared to a generation ago when most of us on this board were kids is just insane. It seems to be a combination of advancing tech, planned obsolescence and just plain old greed.
Re the redistribution thing, that would take some figuring. I can see things like education, healthcare and hopefully social services as being an easy sell in terms of what to fund. The question might be would people rather have more cash in their pockets and have to pay for those services or have less cash in their pockets and free access to those services. I'd think it could be possible to tie the taxes to the products sold in a jurisdiction as well, so even if a company flees the country a percentage of the profits earned from selling their goods/services here, stays here. It all comes back to controlling greed and power.
It's bargaining time!
Union: "The company made 300 million dollar profit the last couple years. In the interest of fairness we want the company to share that profit by giving a raise and bonuses to all employees."
Company: "OK, well be fair."
Couple years later, it's bargaining time!
Company: "In the last couple of years we lost 300 million dollars because the world price for for our product tanked. In the interest of fairness, we want the employees to share that loss so we're cutting your hourly wage and taking the rest of of your paycheck."
Union: "No way, we want a raise!"
Posted by: switch
It's bargaining time!
Union: "The company made 300 million dollar profit the last couple years. In the interest of fairness we want the company to share that profit by giving a raise and bonuses to all employees."
Company: "OK, well be fair."
Couple years later, it's bargaining time!
Company: "In the last couple of years we lost 300 million dollars because the world price for for our product tanked. In the interest of fairness, we want the employees to share that loss so we're cutting your hourly wage and taking the rest of of your paycheck."
Union: "No way, we want a raise!"
https://www.epi.org/publication/ceo-pay-in-2020/
I dunno, CEO pay being on average 351 times that of the typical worker seems more of a problem than unionization.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has just ruled that a historic union vote held earlier this year among Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) was not valid. The highly publicized vote, which took place over several weeks in February and March 2021, resulted in a resounding defeat for the union, with more than 70 percent of those voting choosing against union membership.
An NLRB regional director, Lisa Henderson, who made the decision for a second vote, denounced Amazon’s “flagrant disregard” for ensuring a free and fair election and said the company “essentially hijacked the process and gave a strong impression that it controlled the process.”
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2021/12/why-amazon-is-terrified-of-its-u-s-workers-unionizing.html
I have a total love/hate relationship with Amazon. When I can order a parts kits that includes a carb, air/fuel filters, spark plug and fuel line to rebuild a chainsaw and have it delivered to my door for $40 it scores a major win. Or all the cassette talk that was going on in another thread was also a major win. When I think about all the excess packaging that Amazon creates or the negative effects it has on b&m retailers it scores a major loss. Maybe in another 50yrs we'll all just be living in the Matrix and the whole argument will be moot anyways.
The fastest way to get Amazon to change their business model is to stop buying from them or maybe all the employees can leave and start their own shop where employees also get a percentage of the profits. Whatever one thinks of Amazon one thing is clear, they have what is probably the most successful operational model in retail.
I was just talking to a friend and he asked me what music streaming service I'm using?.... I said "I was using the Amazon music app...." He said, " You are going to let Jeff Bezos, Space Douche curate your music? That's Ballsy."
I like that... Space Douche.
Last edited by: bux-bux on Dec. 7, 2021, 4:56 p.m., edited 2 times in total.
Fitting for this thread - might be pay-walled for some of you though.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/03/technology/amazon-bookstore.html
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