That's exactly what I'm getting at. Complaining doesn't do anything. Go vote! Run for local government! Saying stupid shit like "eat the rich" is just that, stupid shit.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Jeff Bezos "needs to spend roughly $28 million a day just to keep from accumulating more wealth"
- Thread starter signal
- Start date
That's exactly what I'm getting at. Complaining doesn't do anything. Go vote! Run for local government! Saying stupid shit like "eat the rich" is just that, stupid shit.
There has to be a point you have to realize you have TOO much money and can use some of the wealth you're earning to improve the lives of either your workers or the world in general.
He will never be able to spend it all without doing it on purpose. Come the fuck on.
He will never be able to spend it all without doing it on purpose. Come the fuck on.
what do when labor laws get better and the company just leaves the country to produce somewhere with worse labor laws?
I'm not sure what you mean? Amazon isn't going to leave the largest consumer market in the world. They don't manufacture anything and they need distribution centers located close to the consumer base. They won't move the AWS data centers because clients need security and locality as well. A bigger worry is what's going to happen when they replace warehouse workers with robots.
wasn't talking about amazon in specific. what i meant is companies will find a way to circumvent better labor laws and higher taxes because the whole system is rigged in their favor.
Yup. People can get angry and say mean things online. That doesn't accomplish anything. Take significant action if you don't like this.
Amazon has a little over half a million employees.
He could personally pay each of them $50 more per day and lose no money.
He could personally pay each of them $50 more per day and lose no money.
He could probably get pretty damned close. I'd imagine people would line up to buy his stake.
OP
OP
Wonder how many times this same unnecessary statement needs to be posted.
I appreciate that this article articulated an idea I like, namely that IT DOESN'T MATTER how you feel about Socialism, Capitalism, rich people, or income inequality IDEOLOGICALLY, the amount of wealth concentration we are experiencing is STRUCTURALLY UNSOUND.
Apple's market cap is greater than Amazon's, the company is worth more (A trillion dollars now), pulls in a shitload more profit, yet CEO Tim's Cook's personal net worth isn't even ONE HALF of ONE PERCENT of Bezos'. I think he turns down every single bonus he possibly can, and does not make any moves to enrich himself personally. I think that says something about both men.
The big difference is that Cook wasn't around when Apple was founded, Bezos is the founder of Amazon. His wealth doesn't come from his position as CEO but his equity in founding the company.
Ehhh you might have a severe misunderstanding of the differences in these two situations.
This is a often repeated talking point but Amazon reportedly pays above average for alot of different career fields.
Why is it unnecessary? For him to spend roughly $28 million a day, he would have to sell roughly $28 million worth of Amazon stock per day to get the money to spend, which could affect Amazon's stock value and compound the effect on his net worth (i.e. not only is he spending $28m/day to stay "even," but he also loses whatever the drop in stock value times his number of shares.)
OP
OP
Because it's basically an interesting statement meant to emphasize how much wealth he has, not an introduction to an article about how we should demand Bezos donate 28 million dollars in US bills per day. Additionally we both have no idea how much liquid asset Bezos has but it's probably closer to 28 million than people here are trying to imply with the "it's all in stocks" posts. He clearly has SOME amount of money that is in assets that would not drop Amazons's stock price if spent.
Sure "Bezos needs to spend $28m/day to stay even" is an interesting statement, but the discussion here has moved on from that and seems to now focus on how he should spend it to improve worker conditions/charity/etc.... In that context, the "interesting statement" should be balanced by the fact that he probably doesn't have that $28 million in a liquid form that he could spend as they're suggesting, especially not at the rate the interesting statement suggests or without consequences.
OP
OP
That's where the argument is most valid though. If we're only talking about Amazon workers then it should be even easier to improve their conditions, even if that was only done through allowing some of his wealth that is only in company stock or whatever to be owned by people not him. Is the Amazon stock price that high because Bezos holds $n in the stock instead of other employees?
That's exactly why I'm asking why you're tone policing the thread, Bezos' liquidity and the effect of him extracting $28m/day from his stock holdings is very relevant in the context of where this discussion has gone.
Instead of arguing semantics we could just say Bezos is the richest man in the world and treats his workers like shit.
Tada
Tada
OP
OP
Some amount of his stock-held wealth couldn't have gone to employees that are not himself? Why does he need to "extract" the money from his holdings and give them cash?
Why the hell is he still taking salary, or making money at all? At what point do you say, "I have enough", and donate shitloads of it to worthy causes? What's the point of leaving it to accumulate, money nobody could possibly ever spend in their lifetime?
Last edited:
I'm divided on this issue because I've been on both sides of this (somewhat). I have worked at my current job for over 12 years. For the first 8 or 9 years of that I had the mentality that I was always being "put down by the man" or that I was being taken advantage of and always looked at my managers/ corporate leader as "evil, or sitting around doing nothing as I slave away making them money"
One of my leaders I was close with kept trying to show me more things to learn and ways to get ahead but I would go back and forth with him that I wasn't going to work harder for free, bootstraps etc.
My girlfriend at the time passed away leaving me a single father with a part time job going nowhere. As soon as that happened I dropped all the crap and excuses I had been holding onto for so long, busted my ass and a year later I was in management myself.
And now being on the other side of things gives me some perspective because I have new hires that show up and literally think any work whatsoever is too much, and sound so entitled it makes me look back and see how ridiculous I was when I would do the same.
All that anecdotal evidence aside I do believe Bezos could fundamentally do more with his wealth and help his workers, but this whole notion that he didn't earn what he has and that the other people deserve all of his fortune isn't true either.
If you give a homeless person some money but he demands more because your "wealthy" compared to him... should he be entitled to your home, car, or bank account? Why should you be able to live this glorious "rich" life style when others live in the street and have nothing. It's the same mentality.
One of my leaders I was close with kept trying to show me more things to learn and ways to get ahead but I would go back and forth with him that I wasn't going to work harder for free, bootstraps etc.
My girlfriend at the time passed away leaving me a single father with a part time job going nowhere. As soon as that happened I dropped all the crap and excuses I had been holding onto for so long, busted my ass and a year later I was in management myself.
And now being on the other side of things gives me some perspective because I have new hires that show up and literally think any work whatsoever is too much, and sound so entitled it makes me look back and see how ridiculous I was when I would do the same.
All that anecdotal evidence aside I do believe Bezos could fundamentally do more with his wealth and help his workers, but this whole notion that he didn't earn what he has and that the other people deserve all of his fortune isn't true either.
If you give a homeless person some money but he demands more because your "wealthy" compared to him... should he be entitled to your home, car, or bank account? Why should you be able to live this glorious "rich" life style when others live in the street and have nothing. It's the same mentality.
The answer to those questions depend on of how his wealth is structured. I think I'm not being clear or that you're misunderstanding me... I'm not saying Bezos should or should not do X or Y with his money, I'm saying that your tone policing in this thread is misplaced because X1 Two's statement is quite necessary in the context of how people are suggesting he spend his money.
Amazon only exists because Jeff Bezos received healthy monetary investment from friends & family that bankrolled him. He didn't start with nothing and scrounge his way to the top. He had a decent idea, got a ton of free capital, and then used it to buy out competition and smaller firms.
At this point no, he hasn't "earned" what he has. He was essentially handed his business on a silver platter, and once the money started rolling in he started making money on the money he already had.
Let's at least be honest about Jeff Bezos if we're gonna talk about his wealth. He is an intelligent man, sure. He has drive and good work ethic, sure. But earned? The only people who have invested less to earn their fortune have the last names Kardashian or Jenner.
Bezos is a buyout champion, and a lot of those buyouts came with layoffs & company moves.
This isn't about people being entitled or lazy. It's about the welfare of the world as we know it, frankly. This kind of unchallenged concentration of wealth is and always has been historically dangerous.
When Fedex got better working conditions and benefits than Amazon you know something is messed up.
I totally understand and I see how my post could come across as being very "boot strappy" or pro Bezos and anti-worker. I'm with you that concentrated wealth is a bad thing and left unchecked can lead to abuse.
I guess its just that sometimes the attitude of "eat the rich" can sometimes lead you into a self fulfilling prophecy where you don't strive for success and start to believe it should be given to you. In my example if I would have stayed in that mindset I wouldn't be where I am today. Now I'm not Jeff Bezos by any stretch of the imagination, but just like him many things led to where I am today Including things in and out of my control. I can only put myself in the best circumstance to receive success/fortune if it comes my way and thats what I'm arguing. Don't let people who are mega-rich or successful make you angry. Make it your mission to be that succceful and when you get there make the changes you want to see. It just seems like some (not all) just want to steal his money or make him suffer some form of punishment for his business being an amazing success.
Again suggesting he change working conditions or holding him more accountable is something I totally agree with. Im sorry if it comes across like I'm praising Bezos as some awesome guy because I'm really not trying to. He took advantage of his opportunities and now he is where he is. You may disagree with his methods or think he had it too easy and that's fine. I just don't like when people let the success of others disillusion them into believeing nothing is fair and they will never be succceful themselves and give up.
Last edited:
I don't blame Jeff or his company. He is making use of the system and it is indeed legal.
Who I blame though are politicians and parties. They let people and companies get this rich while people are literally sleeping in tent cities and going bankrupt by getting sick.
Capitalism only works if you regulate it (like in Europe). You also have to keep market money out of politics. Both which are not done by the US. And therefor the country is slowly turning into an Oligarchy or it might already be there.
Who I blame though are politicians and parties. They let people and companies get this rich while people are literally sleeping in tent cities and going bankrupt by getting sick.
Capitalism only works if you regulate it (like in Europe). You also have to keep market money out of politics. Both which are not done by the US. And therefor the country is slowly turning into an Oligarchy or it might already be there.
Anyone paying dat 120$ yet
It went from 60, 70, 90, 120.
I'm out as soon as my sub ends this year.
Besides most stuff ships free if you spend 30$ up I think.
It went from 60, 70, 90, 120.
I'm out as soon as my sub ends this year.
Besides most stuff ships free if you spend 30$ up I think.
As well as providing legislation forcing companies to treat staff humanely, perhaps countries around the world should ensure that corporations pay the appropriate amount of taxation?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45053528
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45053528
Oh, the economy is regulated in the USA. Just in favor of the "job creators".
Estonia doesn't have any corporate tax if not divided to owners. Yet country grows and it hits those equalility and poverty check boxes far better than most countries including us. Tax rate is also flat at 20 for income without progression.
Maybe we should consider other methods instead of raving about how taxing rich and giving it to poor through services and direct handouts would solve anything especially in Long term where it would just create more poverty.
I'd love to hear more on your theory that taxing the rich more would create more poverty.
There is nothing 'structurally unsound' about it, on the contrary - according to theory perfect competition will in the end always result in one company establishing monopoly. Amazon and Bezos is simply the theory in practice.
Demand for "free" services is infinite -> Tax rate need to rise constantly -> Less incentive to work for middle class and rich leave country. Whole situation is exacerbated by "refugees" coming to country for welfare if country allows it like in Europe.
What 'free' services are you alluding to? We pay tax and national insurance for welfare programs and healthcare.
That was in reference to previous posts about free public services and their demand. I live in Finland were you would think people would be content from current services and hand-outs but that is far from truth.
People demand here that healthcare should be faster and with better care plus cheaper prices. People in welfare demand more cash. When apartment prices raise people demand more support for that. When there is too little children born as if that is some kind of requirement for society people demand more hand outs for children. Then there is the pensions, they are always too little expect for the rich and should be arbitrarily restricted to a 2000e month because fuck those who actually worked stressful jobs their whole lives. People also demand for more refugees because we can pay it all, despite being billions on deficit for almost a decade.
You're bitching about how greedy the poor and downtrodden in a thread about a do who could theoretically spend 28 million dollars a day (spare me the but it's in stock nuance) forever and never see his bank account go down.
Please.
You're spending too much time and energy to to argue with a burner/troll account. It's selfishness, whether real or created, is to go at people in threads like these
Maybe for engineers, but we have very public disputes between Amazon and warehouse workers going on in Europe. We can't just turn a blind eye to that just because Amazon may pay some dude in an office above that jobs average