Bernie vs Bezos

[The Feral Slasher]

I guess there is a little bit of a feud going on. Lot's of interesting aspects of this.

https://twitter.com/SenSanders/status/1035222327699619841

https://blog.aboutamazon.com/company-news/response-to-senator-sanders/

https://twitter.com/stacyfmitchell/status/1034912093676490763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1034912093676490763&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nakedcapitalism.com%2F2018%2F08%2Flinks-8-30-18.html

[nots]

Got to side with Bernie on this one.

[chancellor]

Amazon's reaction sure made Bernie look good. Bezos must pay his PR staff the same way he pays warehouse workers.

That said, it's not like Amazon employees and contract workers don't know what they're getting into.

[The Feral Slasher]

Amazon's reaction sure made Bernie look good. Bezos must pay his PR staff the same way he pays warehouse workers.

That said, it's not like Amazon employees and contract workers don't know what they're getting into.

If they willingly work there it follows that it must be their best option. So I guess the next obvious questions would be if that is a desirable situation, why the situation exists, should we implement policy changes to address this, etc. I've certainly read lots of comments basically saying that if it is a bad job go get new skills and get a better job.

[DMT]

It's disgusting that we allow one man to accumulate such wealth.

[The Feral Slasher]

It's disgusting that we allow one man to accumulate such wealth.

I can't fathom having that much money and still trying to squeeze as much money out of every single person or entity that you deal with. Almost like a comic book villain.

[DMT]

I can't fathom having that much money and still trying to squeeze as much money out of every single person or entity that you deal with. Almost like a comic book villain.

Worse than a comic book villain, because there's no hope he'll ever be stopped.

[gcstomp]

Bezos as the wealthiest person in world is a problem. The problem is he ran a company that for years lost money and paid a tax rate of zero. Now he is wealthiest person on planet running an absolute juggernaut, destroying old world landscape of what shopping used to be, with malls and indie bookshops and boutique biz types all being flattened. That part is darwinism, the strong eat the rest weep. But US then ponies up massive benefits in form of food stamps, section 8 housing, whatever, because the workers that toiled in massive warehouses get paid below poverty line.

US is supplementing the worlds richest guy so he alone can reap fortune beyond imagination, seems oddly unfair to taxpayers, to AMZN workers, and to ones general sense of morality, no? Same deal with Walmart. The 10 thru 12 richest in US. Bezos is #1, but 10, 11, 12 are the Walton clan who reap fortune from Walmart while workers who toil at slave wages and get govt help to survive. Why are the wealthiest handful benefiting from a construct that costs US taxpayers, something broken. And yes, something is wrong with extreme wealth disparity to degree that top 3 wealthiest have more wealth than combined bottom 204 million people. Let them eat cake will work for awhile, but then heads will roll.

[Judge Jude]

Warren Buffett has mentioned that the status quo on economic inequality cannot hold - and he is right.

there are many reasons that can be cited by the left and the right - and many/most of them are true - for why so many baby boomers don't have even 10 percent of what they need to have to retire at any level of comfort. it is what it is, and government inevitably will have to step in. where do they get the money? from the rich guys.

given the 20+ year cycle of virtually all of the increase in wealth going to the top 1 percent, that's basically just a "market correction."

now, might it go too far and stifle the U.S. economy? it's very possible. but this country is headed for major "redistribution of wealth" in the next decade - whether one likes it or not. it will be frustrating for many who were prudent savers, just as it is for those who have paid off six-figure college debt and now will see a new generation not have to do that.

[nullnor]

https://www.theringer.com/2018/8/28/...ce-pizza-weird The Uncanny Weirdness of Papa John Schnatter’s Downfall

But at some point, after you’ve purchased an 18,000-square-foot house and put out a $250,000 reward to buy back the beloved car you had to sell when you were 22, your house and car and food and clothes can get only so nice. You run out of stuff to spend your money on, and money becomes its own end, like points on a scoreboard.

so once you have more than you can spend, what do you do?
1) try to make more money just because: this assumes someone with a billion dollars would think they have enough. but there's peer pressure. competition between the elite, so there is social status. some people would want to be known as the richest person that ever lived. that would be Rockefeller, he still richer than Bezos all things being equal. so it's not just fortune but glory.

2) influence public policy. everyone believes something or has sociological preferences. for example, rich dumb asses that can't seem to keep their mouths shut when it comes to politics even though their opinions will hurt their business. Schnatter was worth a billion when he said the ACA would add .14 per pizza to insure his employees. so what kind of world do we live in where a CEO worth a billion would rather see his business go down the tubes from his personal politics, instead of forking up some extra cash to keep the good times rolling? you could say, it's no longer about money, it's about changing the world's view to fit yours.

that idea is actually a little scary because it would mean rich people aren't really lobbying congress because they want rules that help make more money. instead they want to control what you think and stand for...at some point that's really what life is, just one big popularity contest with people practicing some form of control over you.

3) the Bill Gates route: i can never really get over how, in the end, Microsoft and Gates ended up in comparison to Apple and Jobs. many people will never know how back in the day Apple marketed themselves to be the altruistic, hippy alternative to the evil 'big brother' microsoft and Gates. and how it turned out to be the exact opposite. sure at some point it was a result of Gates having more money than he could spend and maybe finding a woman that help give him more meaning. how back in the day Gates was vilified. yet, everyone got computers a lot sooner because PC's were more affordable because of MS and Gates. in comparison, Apple was more expensive, sure it had slightly better quality, but the computer revolution would've been delayed. and Gates ends up being the good Samaritan and Jobs the lying asshole.

so yeah, there's always charity; and that phrase, you spend the first half of your life making money and the last half trying to give it away.

i'm not one to talk though. i didn't work particularly hard in my life. i feel like some kind of peasant criticizing my overlords.

[nullnor]

i just don't see a redistribution of wealth in the future. the only reason it would happen is if people no longer had enough money to buy things. and i think we'll never run out of ways to go in debt. you could have a recession but big companies aren't afraid of recessions, in fact they made even more money, and have even more wage competition where i think some actually prefer it.

for things to change it would take some kind of drastic thing. global warming, food and water shortages. etc.. something that hasn't been a factor yet.

[Judge Jude]

Fox News right-wing host:


Tucker Carlson
Verified account @TuckerCarlson

Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. Many of his employees are so poor, you’re paying their welfare benefits. And he’s not the only tech billionaire offloading his payroll costs onto taxpayers. This is an indefensible scam. Why is only Bernie talking about it?

[B-Fly]

Great discussion, guys. I understand the concept of not wanting to punish success, restrain entrepreneurship and production, etc, but at some point you have to look at these gaping gulfs of wealth and power and standard of living, both within our borders and globally, and think it's just not good in any sense of that word...religious, humanist, utilitarian, stability/security, sustainability...

[Fresno Bob]

Fox News right-wing host:


Tucker Carlson
Verified account @TuckerCarlson

Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world. Many of his employees are so poor, you’re paying their welfare benefits. And he’s not the only tech billionaire offloading his payroll costs onto taxpayers. This is an indefensible scam. Why is only Bernie talking about it?

Walmart started it!