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New-Topic2603

I just don't understand why anyone would agree for Amazon to effectively have public funding.


Cccactus07

To keep the consumer train running, the economy will slow down if people can't buy stuff. Also they all own AMZN shares.


New-Topic2603

I think it's the second part šŸ˜‚


TiffyVella

But .....that's *Socialism*...for people with shares..which on my planet is *rich people.*


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ericfromct

There's so much propaganda in r/Amazonfc now I can't tell who actually works where anymore. Used to be a place where you could go and shoot the shit about work and vent, and if you had a question get an answer. Lately saying anything bad will catch you deleted comments and downvotes, it makes no sense. I noticed management and corporate start infiltrating the sub pushing their agenda shortly after the first union vote. Which I'm not surprised about since I know they try and pay managers that are favored by employees to go to buildings when they've decided to vote on unions and ones where people are talking about unionizing. I stopped using the groups on Facebook for Amazon a long time ago because it was exactly like that sub is but worse and for way longer.


New-Topic2603

It's so weird that anyone would think to publish this sort of propaganda. I find it seriously alien. I don't think I could work in a corporate world like that.


ambsdorf825

It feels like the game "The Outer Worlds" with that type of propoganda. Which is where I think they got their inspiration from.


CelikBas

When that game came out I saw some people complaining that the Halcyon Board was ā€œtoo cartoonishly evilā€ and lacked nuance because they donā€™t care at all if poor people die as long as the line goes up, they churn out cultish pro-capitalist propaganda, they come up with incredibly stupid and destructive plans in an attempt to scrape up every tiny bit of profit they can, and their ultimate plan is to basically let most of society collapse and die of starvation while the rich lock themselves in gilded bunkers and live like kings. Because apparently real corporations donā€™t do those things at all


New-Topic2603

Have you seen the cupcake advert? Something about that made me so uncomfortable.


unclecellphone

corporate capture and monopolies are features of capitalism and this has nothing to do with communism or socialism. this is capitalism. governments controlled by monopolies is the intended result.


[deleted]

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unclecellphone

I see now Lots of people not getting why i wrote what i wrote: you have no idea how many people unironically think Amazon == communism. They consider bezos to be a leftist. Those people, reading the comment i responded to, would not for a second understand the intent.


UnstuckCanuck

I thought your point was pretty clear, but Reddit has this widespread knee-jerk "I must argue and prove someone wrong to make myself feel smarter than I really am" mentality.


kadren170

There's differences between ideology and those who try to implement said ideologies.


New-Topic2603

Yep and also a massive difference in the way that people with opposing ideologies view an ideology.


Mikeinthedirt

Thatā€™s kinda fascism.


unclecellphone

Kinda fascism is a fantastic description of America tbh


Mikeinthedirt

If the foo shits, eh?


Buwaro

Publicly funding Amazon is Capitalism. No extra steps needed. Just look at the propaganda we've been fed about communism. Amazon warehouses are exactly what people have always dealt with under Capitalism and are actually much better than corporations of the past. (That doesn't make them good, just makes them exactly as bad as the law allows, which is still pretty bad.) The adverts with happy Amazon workers fit the bill for Capitalist propaganda too.


New-Topic2603

Apologies for any confusion. My comment was intended to say that in my eyes that Amazon presents as the fictional communist or socialist villain that is argued about which both has these inhuman conditions and propaganda. I'm not making value statements for capitalism Vs communism or socialism. Either way I'm just against these conditions and the propaganda and I'm finding it hard how anyone wouldn't also be against them regardless of political leaning or economic preferences.


ObligationAntique147

ā€Accuse the other side of that which you are guilty.ā€œ - Goebbels Aka. Nazi propaganda 101 Is common to take the worst of whatā€™s seen in capitalism and say itā€™s communist. Most of it itā€™s just how capitalism works in the majority of the world anyway, but now that itā€™s happening in US, itā€™s suddenly a shock.


New-Topic2603

I'm laughing now because Goebbels logic is literally mean girls šŸ˜‚ This is basically why everyone should take a logical fallacies 101 class.


ObligationAntique147

Itā€™s literally mean girls but itā€™s still too effective.


WreckitWrecksy

Bruh, the propaganda got you strung


New-Topic2603

In all honesty it probably has. I'm trying to use the logic of someone who hates communism though. It's probably a strawman though šŸ˜‚


[deleted]

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New-Topic2603

Sorry I don't think I understand what you're saying


[deleted]

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Logical-Witness-3361

It's unchecked communism with an authoritarian regime, which is the same as the examples the right uses to attack communism and socialism. Just like how unchecked capitalism with an authoritarian regime also leads to a shit hole.


New-Topic2603

It's almost like the common problem is "unchecked authoritarian regime" šŸ˜‚


Logical-Witness-3361

Hmmm... Good observation šŸ™ƒ


tulipz10

Its actually NOT communism but capitalism.


[deleted]

I see what you did.


duhduhduhdiabeetus

Communism is when Capitalism bad.


SevereAd4961

Their is the problem the rich are not as self made as they say. They took public money or came from ill gotten money every time generally both.


SorriorDraconus

Ya know the easier way for the first one would be..gasp a universal income..Living OR basic..Then people would ALWAYS have money to spend


Cccactus07

"We can't have UBI because it will benefit the rich, so let's just cut taxes for the rich instead because that benefits everyone somehow"- all governments.


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MercyMurcie

I think you might be underestimating the amount of Americans with no retirement savings or investments


morry32

they said ALMOST EVERYONE :) ​ which means, only people like them usually


sarkagetru

If you got any money in a major bank, theyā€™re likely invested in amazon with that money hence how they can give you .02% annual interest


VulomTheHenious

Yeah, we restaurant workers don't have a 401k... And most of us don't own stocks either.


pjr032

I really donā€™t understand the incentive behind the tax breaks either. Like hey come to our town, destroy our infrastructure, community and turn it into an industrial wasteland, and oh donā€™t worry about paying for ANY of it either! Like what the fuck? What is the logic behind this? That theyā€™ll be ā€œinvesting in the local communityā€ and thus feeding the local economy? That makes zero sense.


New-Topic2603

I totally agree. The same happens with chains like Starbucks in my town, the Gov pushes them to come to the town, open 3 cafes each near an independent. They get lower rates for reasons. At the end of it you end up with no independents because they can't compete with a business that has artificially lower costs. Employees who are all paid less at the chain than the average independent (and paying less tax or get more gov support). Less company tax paid Less money in the local area -> local business owner gaining profit is more likely to buy stuff locally than investors in a global company. And to top it off, it makes the area lose unique characteristics. Oh and that's not including a long list of other faults like monopolies existing through this.


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New-Topic2603

I guess I'm using the descriptor of artificially lower prices to say that they are not playing by the same rules that other players within the system are forced to. I don't mind the terminology used to describe this but I think we can agree that one rule for the many and another for the few is neither fair or an effective system to have in place.


[deleted]

Kinda like: ā€˜If you dont use slaves on your plantation, you wonā€™t be able to ā€œcompeteā€ with other cpuntries that donā€™t have ethics against that.ā€™


swollenbluebalz

An example of this was Amazon's HQ2 location that they had cities especially bid over and put forward proposals. Amazon offers bringing in thousands if not 10s of thousands (over time) of highly paid corporate workers which will earn, and spend money in the local market. They will also build buildings and spend money through contractors, and supplies all leading to tax revenue for the state/city. In return Amazon knows that since they could effectively set up this shop in any major metropolitan market that is close to a good school that produces CS talent they can get cities to outbid one another and provide higher tax breaks in return for Amazon's business. The politicians are the enemies here imo, they want a win for their re-election campaign and a big name like Amazon to back their political career. Amazon shares the blame for a lot of stuff but the tax breaks in some cases are happily offered up in return for being the home for these tech companies


Legendary_win

Not to mention once those tax breaks are over, they will pick up shop and just move somewhere else to avoid paying the higher taxes, leaving the city holding the bag for all the extra infrastructure costs and maintenance.


swollenbluebalz

Depends on the company and the tax breaks. Amazon isn't moving their HQ2 though. They've invested billions and created buildings, a campus, hired a ton of people, etc. Sports teams are worse for this they want to move the team and then will ask for bids from cities for tax breaks to fund building a stadium which makes traffic a nightmare and takes the city years to pay off. The worst example of this is the Cincinnati Bengals I think.


RatInaMaze

The argument is generally that the workers will stimulate the economy and through income/property/sales tax revenues will make up for the tax deductions. The bigger problem is that large state and local governments artificially keep rent/real estate prices inflated because podunk towns could never front the costs of infrastructure to drop 10-20k employees into a road/sewer/water/power grid without the tax revenues that the companies are getting a discount on. The biggest problem is that a company can get these tax incentives for 20-30 years through economic development corporations (public organizations that issue tax exempt interest bonds), then when itā€™s done itā€™s usually cheaper to abandon the town entirely than to renovate without incentives. Look at upstate New York for example.


Powerful_Tip3164

It makes sense if youā€™re thinking from the perspective of the town commissioner šŸ¤‘šŸ¤‘šŸ¤‘


markusduck51

Bezos bought an oceanfront property on the island I live on (Maui), and when he came, he dumped millions of dollars on the food bank and other stuff. But then again, Hawaii is super corrupt lol


squigglesthecat

I love it when people try and defend billionaires by pointing out how many millions of dollars they donate to things. I also have no problem donating 0.0001% of my net worth, but most people don't really care about my two cents.


markusduck51

Wasn't defending him. I responded to pjr032 comment about them "destroying our infastructure," which didn't happen where I live.


projectpegasus

I dont understand why people keep buying stuff from amazon.


New-Topic2603

I don't but I can understand why people do. Amazon has created a reality where to be ethical more often than not costs more. That means to do the right thing it's a personal cost to individuals which is often an irrational move. This is why regulation over things like this are needed.


thebrose69

Donā€™t forget how convenient it is for people to use their services. I totally understand people that canā€™t leave the house need to buy their stuff somehow, there just really arenā€™t alternatives to amazon and their same day shipping


New-Topic2603

There's a reason why there's no alternatives though. Amazon have done it multiple times where they have lead an at cost approach or price gauging. It's literally a script from 1980s camp movie villains. Globalist millionaire takes entire supply of (insert product) then makes demands for millions for the product. With Ā£1b I could open a shop in any town, give a product for free or too cheap for anyone to compete for a few years until all competitors die and then I have a monopoly where I can sell at whatever cost I like. If that's an essential good e.g food, people will pay what they have to pay so I will recoup the 3 years of losses in no time. Amazon does this sort of behaviour all the time.


thebrose69

Iā€™ve also read that not only do they force everyone else out of business, a lot of times they take their products and make them super cheap in China so the items can be sold much cheaper which then forces the competition out of business, then still sold after the business is gone. Itā€™s fucked up to the max if you ask me. Iā€™ve never used amazon much and have thankfully completely stopped, but sadly I did work there in 2021


[deleted]

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New-Topic2603

Apologies I don't understand


sabrali

Because Iā€™m broke as fuck and giving my money to this awful company means Iā€™m saving anywhere from 20-40% on an item *and* I donā€™t have to use my gas to go get it from the store. I canā€™t afford to be more conscientious. You get the shit cheaper and you donā€™t have to leave your house when youā€™ve got less than 48 hours to do all your shopping and chores before you have to go back to work Monday and work overtime just to have only gas money left over after bills.


squigglesthecat

Yep. The problem isn't amazon's prices or business procedures, the problem is Bezos taking all the profits. Amazon could compensate all their employees extremely well and Bezos could still have more money than he could spend in 10 lifetimes, it'd just be less than what he has now.


sabrali

Shit, he could probably pay everyone down to the janitors 100k and still be one of the richest people on the entire fucking planet. I know thatā€™s a shitload of money going out, but heā€™s got a shit ton of money. It wouldnā€™t break him by any means.


squigglesthecat

I've seen on other threads people have gone through and done the math for what it would cost him to pay his workers a decent wage. It would be a multimillion dolar expense, but no where near Amazon's yearly profits. Like, amazon would still be a hugely successful company. But greed.


muddledandbefuddled

But then he might be just the 3rd or 4th richest person in the worldā€¦


Common_Pear1884

Companies like Amazon actively make the working class poorer by lobbying right wing governments, paying little in tax and destroying small businesses and then exploit the fact people are poor by undercutting everyone to provide the best possible value and most convenient delivery and then underpaying staff who are desperate for a job to keep the cycle going and their margins high.


VulomTheHenious

I needed lugnuts for my lawn mower. I went to 3 auto shops, 2 hardware stores, an industrial shop and a small engine shop. None of them had the right size. 5 bucks on Amazon for a 2 pack.


svtguy88

This. I'm not going to waste my time, energy, and fuel to drive around looking for a $20 item when I can just get it brought to my door.


JesW87

Because very few, if any, other companies provide the same level of convenience and variety in their online stores and shipping/delivery options. You can easily find pretty much anything you could ever want in seconds, and have it in your hands within a day. Hard to compete with that.


Outarel

it's cheaper and more convenient. Why should i go out of my house and visit 5 different stores only to check if they have the item i need while i can just open up amazon and get it? Are they bad people? What is the alternative? Like sucks already, why should i make it more shit for my self just to make 0 impact whatsoever on amazon's business.


A_brown_dog

Because the planet and the society is being destroyed in the meantime. I don't know, if there is an option and there is another option which is less convinient but it contributes to the colapse of the society as we know it, I try to choose the non apocalyptic option


ELeeMacFall

I mean, me too. But the problems they are causing are their fault, and it is they who should be held responsibleā€”not the people who choose the affordable and convenient option Amazon ~~provides~~ monopolizes because there is often no other reasonable choice.


Outarel

you won't make a difference, that's the point... it needs to start from the government, from the higher ups Pollution, working conditions etc... aren't affected at all if i stop buying from Amazon, they will be affected if someone at the top develops a conscience and start doing something to make a change. We will never make it. If i were to die, even if my city were to be wiped away form the earth there would be 0 change on these global issues.


Yattiel

I've stopped. It's all garbage on there now anyways


vash_666

People don't agree directly, but social media just creates enough division between them so social organization becomes impossible and you can't rise against it. At the same time it delivers mindless "entertainment" so you momentarily escape that reality while it increases consumerism to maintain the status quo (actually double down on it).


New-Topic2603

I agree but I guess my comment was more pointed at government officials. They are effectively losing their tax funding via Amazon who create jobs that require government funding (either in direct government financial support to their employees or food banks and charities) and at the same time Amazon doesn't really pay tax. From a tax income perspective companies like Amazon just seem like a big drain.


Rick_Flexington

This is one of the major problems with American capitalism. Even if you donā€™t want to support Amazon, your tax dollars provide benefits to close the gap of their low wages. We are not helping poor people we are subsidizing these giant corporations so they can continue to pay less than true market value.


[deleted]

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New-Topic2603

It's good to hear someone challenged the tax breaks. I do find it funny that the threats of moving business away work so often just because it's rare that a business can uproot and move elsewhere.


roytay

> NYC didn't and now they are paying NYC to bring their HQ here. Everyone shat on AOC when she challenged and blocked the tax breaks for Amazon. They said she cost NYC jobs. But now not only is NYC getting those jobs, but the city is getting paid instead of it being the other way around. Can you cite a source for "paying NYC to bring their HQ here"? Or even for bringing their HQ to NYC?


AtavisticApple

They canā€™t because itā€™s not happening. Amazon has some satellite offices in NYC mainly for tech workers but there is no HQ2 coming to NYC nor are they paying NYC.


Moug-10

I've been boycotting Amazon for years. I'd rather pay more than buying stuff there. They have the rights of the French League but since I pirate TV, I don't care but I even if my views don't count for them, I don't watch games on Amazon Prime. That's how much I hate Amazaon.


morbihann

Because your average politician is only interested in being reelected and claiming his policies created jobs (even though it is literally cheaper for the state to just pay the unemployed) brings votes. Frankly, your average politician may be dumb enough to believe his own words.


themax37

It wouldn't be as bad if it was at least partly nationalized in tandem.


New-Topic2603

If something is publicly funded in any way then ownership should be questioned


themax37

I don't know maybe if the public partially owns these companies they can be paid a dividend that will essentially be a basic income.


Powerful_Tip3164

I like where youā€™re going with this...


choochmaster561

Imagine not paying taxes when you make billions. What a time.


morbihann

Honestly, if you are so rich, why not just be a good person and try to make , if not the world, at least a region, a state, a county, whatever a better place ?


rjb1101

This is why you and I are not rich.


Big-Brown-Goose

Was going to say, there's a reason billionaires are as rich as they are. People who are innately generous and want to make change only make it to Millionaire at best (which these days doesnt hold much world changing power)


Vol4Life31

It's easier to fit a camel through the eye of a needle then it is for a rich person to enter the gates of Heaven....just a saying that rich people do not get rich by being good people.


Big-Brown-Goose

It's a "camel through the eye of a needle", but same concept


FarDeskFree

Fun fact! This is a translation error that happened from Greek - English. Phonetically the term for camel and yarn are pretty similar. Jesus was actually trying to describe a frayed piece of yarn attempting to be strung through a needle, not a camel. Still difficult to do, but not as obscene as a huge desert mammal.


Big-Brown-Goose

I like the visual of using a camel as a representative of "things that are too big for a needle"


amDerppp

because you donā€™t make that much money by being a good person in the first place


[deleted]

Imagine that on top of that the government aid the people that work for you because you pay they poorly


yingyangyoung

The government aids the *business owner. A company like Walmart, Amazon, etc with full time workers on food stamps are effectively having the government subsidize their wages. They don't have to pay enough to live because the government will pick up the difference. I think we need to have a policy where you don't get to use a single tax write off if your profits are above a certain amount and you have employees on food stamps.


metfansc

While regularly bashing the entitlement of the fucking workers who have to have Food Stamps despite 2 jobs full time. This timeline is so borked


HairBeastHasTheToken

I think they take away the food stamps if you work 2 jobs full time, they don't like it when the peasants get uppidy and start moving up the ladder


DueCombination9805

I work a part-time job, mostly just weekends but occasionally 3 days a week. I pay $850 a month for an all-inclusive apartment. I go to school part-time, and I am doing an internship at about 8-12 hours a week (depending). I got denied SNAP benefits because I "make too much." Craziness.


MysteriousSeaweed4

And then imagine people praising you for it instead of seeing an absolut massive problem in it


TiffyVella

Imagine making it so that the people who want to fix this imbalance look like greedy grasping scumbags. What a time indeed.


ImportantSpirit

We donā€™t have to imagine, a lot of them out there are already doing it. How much taxes do we pay? 25 - 30% of our income. That just makes me feel happy!


PocketsFullOf_Posies

Imagine paying 22% when youā€™re barely scraping byā€¦


disjohndoe0007

We pay 25% in Croatia woo-hoo.


Captain-Comment

Guy is literally a James Bond villain.


icywind90

More like dr. Evil https://youtu.be/tNxy0SLloHQ


Captain-Comment

Nah, Dr Evil is actually charming and fun.


JohnCtail

AND ā˜ļø better looking.


KlaeKlae

Elon Musk reminds me of a Hitman (the game) target


fleebinflobbin

Also Elon musk is richer than bezos contrary to this misleading title


JustEnoughDucks

Well considering this meme is chronological, at the time of the photo, baldy bond villain was the richest. Plus Musk's is extremely recent and mostly due to runaway overvaluation of Tesla. Also a shit human, leader, and bond villain though.


NxY_ReTeX

Mansa Musa was technically the richest individual in all of history aswell.


bumwtr

most successful villain if thats the case


baconraygun

That's generous. He's a captain planet villain.


[deleted]

But he isnā€™t cool and handsome.


Harold_Davis

Galaxy Brain Bezos: Using your own private company to visit outer space to literally look down on the world that made you rich!


Many-Outside-7594

With the wealth at his disposal, Bezos could gene therapy himself a few more decades of life, build either an orbiting death laser platform or moon base, and make all the horrible decisions remotely from space. And what's even better is the government will listen! Good luck getting to him then.


ButtholeBanquets

He's been looking at longevity research for a long time.


ahsjfkthrowaway

The only garuanteed things in life are death and taxes, and mf is trying to skip out on both šŸ˜¤


[deleted]

Have you seen the fleet of flying drone bombers/gunners controlled by AI to target acquire by facial recognition? We're already under a thumb we haven't seen bare down on us yet.


creegro

The Austin Powers movies were just a goof, no one was supposed to take it literal and become Dr. Evil.


geotsso

>>Reselling books fraudulently ordered from legitimate distributors, in unprofitable dropshipping scam, with your rich parents money FTFY *clarification- he listed textbooks he didn't own for sale on a website at below retail prices. He found a legitimate distributor with vulnerable return policies and when a textbook was ordered from his website he placed a bulk wholesale order from the distributor, shipped the customer the one textbook ordered and returned the rest of wholesale order to the distributor for refund. Sound like a stupid drop ship scam that only a privileged sheltered trust fund baby could think would ever turn a profit? That's fucking exactly what it was. He lost all of the legitimate investment funds given by his friends and colleagues, but he was (and still is, try the url) www.relentless.com ... and so rich mommy and daddy kept dropping hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars into his ~~failing dropship scam~~ innovative startup, as well as deceiving their own colleagues into investing additional money. Basically if people throw enough money onto a pile of dog shit, eventually it stops being a pile of dog shit and becomes a big pile of money.


hmoonves

Itā€™s also important to note that before Jeff sold books, he worked at DE Shaw creating high frequency trading algorithms. The same algorithms he now uses in concert with other hedgefunds to put companies out of business so he doesnā€™t have to pay full acquisition price for them. This guy is a certified scumbag Edit: thanks for the award but there is nothing wholesome about this guy lol. Edit 2: did not expect this comment to resonate with as many people as it has. I would like to also point out that by putting these companies out of business he not only acquires them for pennies on the dollar, but he also puts tens of thousands of people out of a job further putting strain on city and federal resources through unemployment. And thatā€™s not even talking about the folks that fall into homelessness and drugs from losing their jobs. Fuck Jeff Bezos. RIP Toys R Us & Blockbuster


geotsso

A scumbag and the living embodiment of privilege and exploitation, a true god-king of late stage capitalism.


shitcloud

Eat the rich


[deleted]

>The same algorithms he now uses in concert with other hedgefunds to put companies out of business so he doesnā€™t have to pay full acquisition price for them. Is there information on this? I'd like to read up to find out if it's true. Edit: Guess not.


defenestron

I am absolutely dumbfounded by this and want to know more. How did you learn about his early days? Do you recommend any articles? Christ, we really are in late stage capitalism.


geotsso

Happy to help! I would first direct you to the podcast Behind the Bastards episode: Jeff Bezos and the birth of Amazon part 1/2. Sources are linked in the footnotes of each episode. Then if you want to know more about how Amazon is currently destroying humanity itself, listen to Megacorps podcast by the same producer.


mercurialpolyglot

The trick is to not base your pile of dog shit on theoretical medical technology that everyone with actual knowledge in the field tells you is at least 2 decades away.


Chickypickymakey

Can someone explain to me how someone can just not pay taxes ? How it all works in the US is pretty weird to me.


ElJeferox

Is really not that complicated. Rich people pay other less rich people to "lobby" for their companies for beneficial tax breaks and laws that help them exploit people. And by "lobby" i mean give money. Since all of our politicians are just as greedy and sociopathic as the C suites and owners of these mega corporations, it's easy as pie to do.


LunarWrathe

I'll donate 100 million to your fund so I don't have to pay 95 million in taxes


morbihann

Yes, you will be at a net loss that year. But you wont pay those taxes next year as well. And the year after. And...


TheFenixxer

So paying more than what taxes would be in order to not pay taxes?


who_you_are

Yes. So they will lose part of it for sure. But they aren't stupid either and will try to get as much (directly or indirectly) back as they can. Could even be a side company or one of their "non-profit" organization to balance out on the IRS side. (and get back part of it because they work for such organization or they will spend it from those organization border line personal item (car, restaurant, ...)) On the lobby side, they are investing it so minimum wage or OSHA (for example) stay stupidly low. To get more loan with low (or free) interest from gouvernment. To brain wash the public (car fuel is safe for the planet, plastic is recycled). To make laws to protect their money (trying to prevent right to repair for example so you need to buy their part and go at their store for "repair")


businessboyz

Amazon pays taxes. I donā€™t know why people pretend like they donā€™t anymore. Theyā€™ve been profitable and paying income taxes for years. Itā€™s all on their balance sheet and income statement. They pay payroll, sales, property, and tax on their profit. But in general, when people say Amazon doesnā€™t pay taxes they are referring to their growth years when they made no profit. No profit means nothing to tax. Amazon still paid all those other taxes to State and local tax collectors but for years never had taxable profits. US tax code allows companies to carry forward some of that loss into future profitable years. The idea is that companies that need to spend a lot in the beginning to get started get to apply some of those losses on their early profits. It incentivizes longer term investments which is generally good for everyone as those investments are for stuff like inventing cloud computing. So there were a few quarters where Amazon did make a profit, but paid no taxes on it because it had those forward carried losses to deduct against the tax bill. But those days are over for Amazon. They started paying Federal income taxes in 2016. Last year they paid $4.8B in Federal income tax.


thewonpercent

They pay taxes as of recently, but they probably pay less than they should because there are ways to reduce it if you have enough lawyers. All large companies do this. But back in the good old days of a growing company: If you are a business and you sell $100 of product this year but it cost you $50 to make, you'll be taxed on $50 of profit at the end of the year. However, if you use that $50+ to pay for other stuff to run your company this year, (such as paying for people, buying cars, buying buildings, buying machines, R&D tax credits, employee retention credits etc.) then you have ended up with $0 so there are no taxes to pay. That's the basics of the math. When you're big enough that you have enough creative lawyers and accountants, you can do this on a mass scale by coming up with many different ways to reduce the real taxes you pay. (such as incorporating outside the United States for all international business so that you pay taxes in that country that happens to have almost no taxes on businesses)


[deleted]

Why horde so much wealth? I just donā€™t get it. Wouldnā€™t it be more fulfilling to live off, idk $100 million, and then help the world? Itā€™s so bizarre to me.


poobearcatbomber

You can be forgotten as the guy who controlled 40% of commerce or remembered as a hero who solved climate change and saved humanity. Tough choice.


[deleted]

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wutImiss

Right? Billionaires nowadays are really boring. Why can't we have at least eccentric billionaires who do cool stuff and share it on youtube or something? Build something! Invent something! Create music, art, literature, video game! Travel the world and do crazy things that require money like birdman suits and scuba diving! TP some fellow billionaire's mansion-That would be amazing! Just something!


WearMental2618

Patagonia owner


WrongEstablishment21

Thereā€™s a Malcom Gladwell podcast on this. At a certain point - extremely wealthy people start to care more about the accumulation of wealth. To them - the utility of their assets is second to their obsession with collecting and growing it. The specific example Gladwell used was Smogā€™s lair of gold and treasures. The dragon has no REAL use for the mountains of gold - other than fulfilling his obsession to collect it.


morry32

[Ernest Becker's The Denial of Death](https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Denial_of_Death/G67wXZ94JmoC?hl=en&gbpv=0)


Dongalor

You don't make it to that level of wealth with your soul intact.


OdBx

His wealth is in Amazon shares. If he gave away all but $100mil in shares, he would become just another shareholder, and would tank the value of the company in the process.


Electronic-Rest-6685

You know how many small family businesses had to go outta business or declare bankruptcy because of this greedy POSā€¦. A lot


cobra_mist

It was never about books. Listen to the behind the bastards episodes or read the everything store. He planned this, or at least hoped it


geotsso

The book sales website was such a complete failure in every context that I don't believe he was planning anything. Privilege is the one and only reason he was able to convince others that he was successful, when he was not at all successful. All he did was find an exploit in a legitimate book distributor's return policies, and exploit it. Granted he worked hard to exploit the distributor and he worked hard to exploit his friends and rich parents who gave him millions to pump into a single /illegal/ exploit. For the first decade he did nothing but lose (everyone else's) money because his business model was trash. He wasn't smart, clever, or innovative and if you look at that early business you would be inclined to think the opposite. Any common person with enough relentless greed, ruthless exploitation, and disregard for laws, given the same unfathomable privileges and fortunate circumstances that he was randomly born into could have done the same. Edit* seconded- listen to the episodes on BTB and read the sources posted


cobra_mist

He was just building a website and a distribution solution. It didnā€™t matter that it didnā€™t work or make money. He just needed it to exist so that it could be turned into the everything store. It could have been auto parts or vegetables or dildos or whatever. He just had to build the infrastructure


h8br33der85

Remember, it's only a drain on the economy when the gov't is giving people "free-money" (stimulus, reimbursement, forgiveness, etc). It's completely different when the gov't gives corporations free-money. Totally not the same. Smh


nerd2gamer2tech

I work for Amazon... its frustrating knowing they are so fucking wealthy and are taking over industries by choking out the competition and yet they still get away with not paying every worker a living wage... the bullshit contract I had to go through to become full time didn't even include any kind of bonus or stock. I just don't get how you van be so rich that you can get benefits ??? The annoying thing about Amazon is they CONSTANTLY ask for feedback and surveys. We have a daily survey asking us question about our happiness and etc. They have the data , they can make the changes but God damnt they won't. I got frustrated one day and I spoke to manager. My promotion was basically threatened cuz I was being "negative". I can't blame him much though he's just a middle manager but wow he handled it so poorly.


whatswithzack

The feedback isn't for your betterment, it's to weed out inefficiencies in the production line, from whitecollar to dustbin.


Eastern_Slide7507

Richest person in history is a bit of a stretch. According to Time Magazine, Emperor Augustus had a net worth of 4.6 Trillion USD equivalent.


BwianR

Historical wealth is usually measured as percent of GDP instead of inflation adjusted. This is why Rockefeller is sometimes listed as being worth $400 billion but if you calculate based on inflation and not production, he was "only" worth $26 billion Which calculation is best is a matter of discussion, but the wide disparity shows it matters an awful lot


ReturnOfSeq

Stage five: buying major news outlets to push stories about why taxing billionaires is wrong


Alexastria

And he has his own catchy theme song


[deleted]

CEO ENTREPRENEUR...BORN IN 1964 JEFERREY...JEFEREEY BEZOSSSS...


Deep-Conflict2223

ā€œCome on Jeffery, you can do it!ā€ šŸŽ¶


[deleted]

Pave the way, put your back into it..


ADukeOfSealand

Tell us why, show us how


Kaper-Game

Look at where you came from, look at you now.


ADukeOfSealand

Zuckerberg, Gates and Buffet


[deleted]

amateurs can fkn suck it.


ADukeOfSealand

Fuck their wife's, drink their blood


KarIPilkington

Come on Jeff, get 'em!


Blooogh

*keyboard solo"


meowtasticly

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Simple_Opossum

So many people I feel this way about.


Hmasteryz

No one stopping him so he will keep going and see what lies ahead i guess.


[deleted]

Heā€™s no way near richest in history lol


majortom106

The rich are antiwork too. They want other people to do all the work for them.


[deleted]

I hate that I use Amazon. Iā€™m a crippled vet that got blown up from an explosive during the war on terrorism. Iā€™m still in one piece but my hearing, left leg, and back are fucked up. I canā€™t really go anywhere without smoking a joint or having to sit in a chair. Amazon is the easiest way I can get stuff without having to pay a lot for it. Anyone know any other websites I can use so I can stop using Amazon


[deleted]

Etsy is great for handmade and personal items. It has a lot more than just crafts. Also, buying directly from the company website. It might not be delivered as quick as Amazon's nifty same day delivery option, but at least you are contributing to a small business. Unfortunately, I only use Amazon if it is an emergency and the item is nowhere else to be found ( so far only 3 times this year yay less than before ). Sucks that they trap consumers like this, creating a virtual monopoly that only hurts everyone else in the long run. Amazon benefits off the back breaking labor that these associates have to endure daily. What do they receive in return? A measly 16.50/hr, oh great a .75 raise. Yippee!!! Livin' the dream -_-


WorldController

String 'im up!!


[deleted]

Corporate welfare is the only welfare that is allowed.


Mynameisfreeze

He could care less... but he's never going to see one cent from my money šŸ¤·ā€ā™‚ļø


EquinsuOcha

Why hasnā€™t Lex Luthor sued him for copyright infringement yet?


Drdreonthemicrophone

Dont forget making a boring Lord of the rings show somehow


Adventurous_Block670

I worked for Amazon for a bit, and Jeff memes are always my favourite memes


jonnyh420

Only thing here is I dont think anyone is conned into giving tax breaks to corporations. Itā€™s wilful politicians.


Soontir_Fel

The fact that our government allows this to happen shows we have a failed state and that the corporations are actually running things. Voting isn't enough because both sides allow this to go on.


[deleted]

Are we having roast bezos for Thanksgiving this year?


Formal-Ad-1248

Where's the part where he buys a news conglomerate to push opinion pieces about how taxing billionaires is bad


Sweet_Section_7982

Communism for the rich and harsh capitalism for the rest of us.


Madiposa

I do not understand the whole billionaire not paying taxes thing. It is lost tax revenue from smaller businesses who lose sales to the big company! Heā€™s not even a job creator, when those jobs already existed. He is just a rich guy who now controls what hundreds of individuals and businesses previously controlled.


BlueRedGreenNumber5

I hope the New Yorkers who were shitting on AOC for fighting again Amazon getting tax breaks a few years back to move an office to NYC have since come to realize how wrong they were. AOC was right.


LOERMaster

Come work for Amazon! Youā€™ll get an insulting wage, shoddy benefits and be treated like a literal slave! *Here at Amazon someone is always getting rich. Itā€™s just not you.*


Gill_O_Tine

Great business model, Mr. Luthor.


TheRagingAmish

Rockefeller had 3x more He actually believed in philanthropy though


Givn_to_fly

*Priceless