The Democrat Primary Race Is Filling Up

[Alpo]

Well, as one wag said "Capitalism is the worst economic system, except for all the others that have been tried"

There is no disagreement there. We only argue about the appropriate muzzles required to keep the beast from eating everyone.

 

[BugI02]

Who are the TENS OF MILLIONS employed by? Democrats? You speak with forked tongue.

We're you tortured by the pathos of wealth inequality when you were a CFO? Did you give extensively (and voluntarily) to charity? Did you take a vow of poverty?

Or is it the typical progressive 'Look at those poor wretches, the government should do something about them'

 

[Alpo]

You continue to make it personal.

Yes, I was a board member of the United Way for years. I would have to say I was the strongest advocate on the internal board for wage fairness and assuring benefit programs were fairly distributed.

How about you? What did you do for others?

 

[Tombs]

So, you go from generalization and broad accusation...to one specific? And I bet you aren't all that up on what the average Amazon salary is.

And are you aware of Bezos' emphasis on hiring veterans?

Hiring veterans to later fire them because their personal clock ran out as they were making a 5 mile run through an unairconditioned warehouse, and had to be hospitalized for heat stroke. I'm sure Bezos cares about the troops.

You continue to make it personal.

Yes, I was a board member of the United Way for years. I would have to say I was the strongest advocate on the internal board for wage fairness and assuring benefit programs were fairly distributed.

How about you? What did you do for others?

I pick a family every year who is having a rough time and making sure they're financially taken care of.

I don't tell others how to spend their money.

 

[Alpo]

Hiring veterans to later fire them because their personal clock ran out as they were making a 5 mile run through an unairconditioned warehouse, and had to be hospitalized for heat stroke. I'm sure Bezos cares about the troops.

I call you on that. Provide a cite or admit the falsehood.

 

[jamil]

Wealth inequality will exist as long as intellectual inequality and luck inequality exists.

While I don't like corporations, like the tech giants, having as much or more power than the government and the people, changing tax code isn't going to mean much when they can affect politics to the point they pay none.

Wealth redistribution just affects the more honest folks trying to make a living. It'll never begin to affect those at the top of the foodchain, they didn't get there by playing by the rules.

I kinda don't agree with "luck" being an inequality. By definition if it's not random, it's not luck. And if it's random, it's not unequally distributed unless there are constraints that limit the range.

But, definitively as long as competence inequality exists, income inequality will exist. Maybe you were thinking of privilege inequality (rich kids have advantages that many more competent kids don't).

A friend at work who is a bit of a socialist, asks me what I think about monopolies. I think that monopolies create an unfree market. Okay, so then what about big corporations. I think if they're leveraging their size to create an unfree market, I don't like that. I'm fine with rules which keep markets free. Also, I completely disagree that corporations are entities in the same way people are. If they are like "people" for the purpose of donating to political campaigns, then why aren't they allowed to cast ballots for candidates as well? Why aren't they? BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ****ING PEOPLE! One person, one vote.

 

[Tombs]

I call you on that. Provide a cite or admit the falsehood.

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon-warehouse-jobs-push-workers-to-physical-limit/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/...to-amazon-warehouses-600-times-in-three-years

https://medium.com/@rmcmackin2/have-fun-with-alexa-working-for-amazon-is-a-living-hell-1a89a99a6a4e

https://www.thedailybeast.com/amazon-the-shocking-911-calls-from-inside-its-warehouses

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14312539/1/amazon-warehouse-employees-discuss-grueling-work.html

https://www.seattletimes.com/busine...ould-put-workers-in-a-cage-on-top-of-a-robot/

Need more?

I kinda don't agree with "luck" being an inequality. By definition if it's not random, it's not luck. And if it's random, it's not unequally distributed unless there are constraints that limit the range.

But, definitively as long as competence inequality exists, income inequality will exist. Maybe you were thinking of privilege inequality (rich kids have advantages that many more competent kids don't).

A friend at work who is a bit of a socialist, asks me what I think about monopolies. I think that monopolies create an unfree market. Okay, so then what about big corporations. I think if they're leveraging their size to create an unfree market, I don't like that. I'm fine with rules which keep markets free. Also, I completely disagree that corporations are entities in the same way people are. If they are like "people" for the purpose of donating to political campaigns, then why aren't they allowed to cast ballots for candidates as well? Why aren't they? BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ****ING PEOPLE! One person, one vote.

It takes more than being good to make it into the big league, but being good is a requirement to have a shot at it, which is why I label luck as a factor.

 

[BugI02]

I volunteer my time with local charities as well as support a broader range of charities financially. Typical small town America stuff

 

[BugI02]

You continue to make it personal.

Yes, I was a board member of the United Way for years. I would have to say I was the strongest advocate on the internal board for wage fairness and assuring benefit programs were fairly distributed.

How about you? What did you do for others?

It's hard to cut you any slack when you are so 'doggedly' and reliably condescending

 

[Alpo]

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon-warehouse-jobs-push-workers-to-physical-limit/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/...to-amazon-warehouses-600-times-in-three-years

https://medium.com/@rmcmackin2/have-fun-with-alexa-working-for-amazon-is-a-living-hell-1a89a99a6a4e

https://www.thedailybeast.com/amazon-the-shocking-911-calls-from-inside-its-warehouses

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14312539/1/amazon-warehouse-employees-discuss-grueling-work.html

https://www.seattletimes.com/busine...ould-put-workers-in-a-cage-on-top-of-a-robot/

Need more?

I did a key word search for "veteran" on the first three articles. No result.

I do have this article from US Veteran's Magazine:

The online retail giant is partnering with the U.S. Department of Labor to train veterans for high-paying tech jobs at the company.

Folks worried about robots one day taking over our jobs can finally feel some relief. Last May, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos made a promise to hire 25,000 veterans and military spouses over the next five years. And the company is finally taking a huge step in fulfilling that.

On Thursday, the online retail giant announced its partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor to start an apprenticeship program that will provide paid, on-the-job training for tech careers at the company. Amazon will also train 10,000 more veterans in cloud computing skills as part of the Joining Forces Initiative, championed by Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden.

Published in 2017

 

[Tombs]

I did a key word search for "veteran" on the first three articles. No result.

I do have this article from US Veteran's Magazine:



Published in 2017

So they have preferential treatment for veterans? Normal employees are second class citizens?

 

[BugI02]

https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon-warehouse-jobs-push-workers-to-physical-limit/

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/...to-amazon-warehouses-600-times-in-three-years

https://medium.com/@rmcmackin2/have-fun-with-alexa-working-for-amazon-is-a-living-hell-1a89a99a6a4e

https://www.thedailybeast.com/amazon-the-shocking-911-calls-from-inside-its-warehouses

https://www.thestreet.com/story/14312539/1/amazon-warehouse-employees-discuss-grueling-work.html

https://www.seattletimes.com/busine...ould-put-workers-in-a-cage-on-top-of-a-robot/

Need more?

[Game, set, match Alpo]


It takes more than being good to make it into the big league, but being good is a requirement to have a shot at it, which is why I label luck as a factor.

*.*

 

[Alpo]

It's hard to cut you any slack when you are so 'doggedly' and reliably condescending

There are only two of us who generall call you guys on your ****. I'm one of them. If that makes me condescending in your opinion then so be it. I ask that you look at your own responses that many times are glib or contain a smidgen of condescension.

 

[Alpo]

*.*

Perhaps you should read my response before declaring victory. You don't even play on a team that requires lights on the field.

 

[Alpo]

So they have preferential treatment for veterans? Normal employees are second class citizens?

What? You have a problem with the people who served in the armed forces and made sacrifices on behalf of their country?

Are you not a veteran?

 

[Tombs]

Perhaps you should read my response before declaring victory. You don't even play on a team that requires lights on the field.

Your response is that they hire veterans. My response is that they treat their employees worse than livestock.

2+2, it's not hard.

What? You have a problem with the people who served in the armed forces and made sacrifices on behalf of their country?

Are you not a veteran?

I have a problem with a corporation pretending they help veterans when they're harshest companies on employees of anyone, and by logical extension, they're treating veterans the same way.

 

[Alpo]

And I call you on your ****.

You didn't answer my question. Are you a veteran?

And if you think that is the harshest company, try working in the Salinas Valley during the picking season.

Or as some here have done, tassling corn.

 

[Tombs]

And I call you on your ****.

You didn't answer my question. Are you a veteran?

Good deflection, now continue to defend the gigantic corporation while talking about wealth inequality and altruism.

 

[Alpo]

Good deflection, now continue to defend the gigantic corporation while talking about wealth inequality and altruism.

No. You refuse to answer a straightforward question when besmirching veterans. I want to know if you served. You call American veterans who are democrats "traitors".

I want to know if you served.

 

[jamil]

DD Eisenhower cautioned against increasing power in the military-industrial complex. Many economists have further cautioned against the concentration of wealth and power and its potential/real effects on democracy. Many of the complaints on this site by conservatives result from those factors.

It has been noted by economists on both sides that real wages and wealth have not increased for more than a decade or two for the middle class. Two family earners live better than their grandparents, but at what cost to the family unit?

Real GNP growth has limits. Real limits. To the extent that the growth is "owned" by the wealthiest in the nation, it is unlikely that those not in that group will see wholesale improvements in their situations. I know that on INGO, everyone is reaping the windfall of a vibrant economy. It is not so everywhere. The employment offered has less certainty than in times past, at generally flat wages (inflation adjusted). "A free market" you say. "Stacked Deck" say I.

In the post you replied to I wrote a long paragraph on the gini index and the strong correlation between gini index and violence. I removed it because it was too long already. But I understand very well that wealth inequality can be harmful to society. To be blunt, there isn't a lot we can do about that short of killing people. Redistribution doesn't really solve the problem. It can help a little. Some nations with very high redistribution rates have much better gini indexes than the US does. But, giving governments the power to do that causes many other societal problems as well.

If it's dangerous for society when companies concentrate power, it's just as dangerous when governments do it. Government isn't the answer to wealth inequality. Growing wealth happens naturally in a free market. It doesn't solve the problem of wealth inequality but a well functioning free marketplace does keep everyone's wealth going up. In the US, each generation, regardless of class (except for 0 class), has gotten wealthier than the previous one. It's just that those with more have the capacity to make more than those with less. So it's a problem that if you have zero, you can't multiply that with anything to get something. So I'm fine with safety nets for people actually at zero. I just don't think working people owe anyone an iPhone.

I think it would help a lot in terms of cronyism and concentrating power to get the government out of companies and the companies out of government. The military industrial complex is a longstanding crony relationship between businesses and governments. I'm not saying that governments shouldn't be allowed to contract for military hardware, but I think the same companies shouldn't be able to pay off congress critters to get them to vote our wealth away for buying their ****.