Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big? • Hacker News Board

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#91

Post by dastbe » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:20 PM UTC

jimmywanger wrote: post #68

RubyPinch wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can we vote on the governance of facebook and google like we do with the government? (where every person's vote is equal) if so, where can I register to freely vote edit: since it doesn't seem clear, my comment is sarcastic

Sure, it's called the stock market. You buy a share and you get a vote.

facebook class B shares (the ones that Zuckerberg and other company insiders own) has 10x the voting rights of class A shares which you or I can own. They plan to issue new class C stock that will have no voting rights. this is the same structure in place for alphabet.

So it's not nearly as simple as you make it sound.

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#92

Post by BenoitEssiambre » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:20 PM UTC

I'm not usually very pro corporate taxes. I think (with some caveats) that it is generally better to tax the owners of businesses than the businesses themselves. However, in order to counter the unfair advantages of overly large companies and promote competition (in tech, in finance or elsewhere) wouldn't it make sense to make corporate taxes slightly progressive where the larger a business is (by revenues), the higher the tax rate?

Is there an obvious flaw to this approach? Why don't I see anyone ever suggesting it?

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#93

Post by winstonewert » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:20 PM UTC

RubyPinch wrote: post #62

nickpp wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet to protect your precious rights and freedoms from the greedy and evil corporations, you turn to the government - the biggest monopoly there is...

Can we vote on the governance of facebook and google like we do with the government? (where every person's vote is equal) if so, where can I register to freely vote edit: since it doesn't seem clear, my comment is sarcastic

If you vote, you probably have zero effect. The same person will win regardless of you vote.

If you stop using Google/Facebook services you deprive them of small amount of revenue.

Ergo, you have more influence by changing the servies you use then if you vote.

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#94

Post by akjetma » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:21 PM UTC

devuo wrote: post #35

jondubois wrote: post #14

I agree they should be regulated. The world is a better place with lots of smaller companies. These big companies turn regular people into corporate livestock to serve the wealthy. If you were to analyze Facebook as if it were a country, the wealth gap among employees would be atrocious - The top 1% would own maybe 99% of the wealth of the country and everyone else would earn a minuscule fraction of the total value t…

And yet, only very large companies are able to make a certain class of investments in infrastructure and services — that push technology and society forward as a whole — that small to mid companies due to lack of capacity never could, and governments due to lack of vision and political will never would.

it's not 'lack of vision and political will' that stymies government initiatives--that's some TED talk bs. and i shudder to think that we're necessarily dependent on the benevolence and 'vision' of large companies to drive society forward.

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#95

Post by mschuster91 » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:22 PM UTC

devuo wrote: post #35

jondubois wrote: post #14

I agree they should be regulated. The world is a better place with lots of smaller companies. These big companies turn regular people into corporate livestock to serve the wealthy. If you were to analyze Facebook as if it were a country, the wealth gap among employees would be atrocious - The top 1% would own maybe 99% of the wealth of the country and everyone else would earn a minuscule fraction of the total value t…

And yet, only very large companies are able to make a certain class of investments in infrastructure and services — that push technology and society forward as a whole — that small to mid companies due to lack of capacity never could, and governments due to lack of vision and political will never would.

> and governments due to lack of vision and political will never would

Governments (US and Soviet) went to the moon. The Internet would not exist without massive military (i.e. government) sponsoring.

But yes, when I am looking at our governments right now, it's hard to find something as progressive as this, except that marijuana is on the rise, Macron has a 50:50 women government and invited scientists from the US to France. The other governments seem to be racing full speed in reverse for me.

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#96

Post by soared » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:23 PM UTC

wildmusings wrote: post #7

I am ultimately skeptical of companies that get all of their revenue from advertising and who fail to make money from sales of products. The value of online advertising is massively inflated. Of the tech giants, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft seem to be in the best shape at the moment. They make their money from selling real products and services to real end users. Amazon is strong but not unbeatable. Walmart in partic…

So you're skeptical of every TV station and radio station too?

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#97

Post by winstonewert » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:23 PM UTC

BenoitEssiambre wrote: post #92

I'm not usually very pro corporate taxes. I think (with some caveats) that it is generally better to tax the owners of businesses than the businesses themselves. However, in order to counter the unfair advantages of overly large companies and promote competition (in tech, in finance or elsewhere) wouldn't it make sense to make corporate taxes slightly progressive where the larger a business is (by revenues), the high…

As with all progressive taxation schemes, it tends to have problems because those people who you are trying to tax more heavily have the best resources to restructure their affairs to avoid the taxation.

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#98

Post by seattle_spring » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:24 PM UTC

From the perspective of a software engineer, I would also say "yes." It's frustrating that 80% of the available positions, even in a tech center like Seattle, are at the huge mega-corporations.

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#99

Post by camillomiller » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:27 PM UTC

devuo wrote: post #35

jondubois wrote: post #14

I agree they should be regulated. The world is a better place with lots of smaller companies. These big companies turn regular people into corporate livestock to serve the wealthy. If you were to analyze Facebook as if it were a country, the wealth gap among employees would be atrocious - The top 1% would own maybe 99% of the wealth of the country and everyone else would earn a minuscule fraction of the total value t…

And yet, only very large companies are able to make a certain class of investments in infrastructure and services — that push technology and society forward as a whole — that small to mid companies due to lack of capacity never could, and governments due to lack of vision and political will never would.

They push society forward along THEIR agenda. That agenda can be the most open, inclusive and diverse agenda ever, but it's gonna be the agenda of a corporation nonetheless. In my ideal world, you know who should be in charge of such a push? American friends, please, breathe deeply: The State should.

Re: Are Google, Amazon and others getting too big?

#100

Post by yellow_postit » Sat, Jun 10, 2017, 5:28 PM UTC

pikzen wrote: post #78

slice_of_life wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't take it anymore! I have to speak out. >The top 1% would own maybe 99% of the wealth of the country and everyone else would earn a minuscule fraction of the total value that they produced. What is up with all this egalitarian nonsense? There is an obsession with equality that I just don't get. Where is all the envy coming from(because that's what it is)? This is an affront on capitalism which has served to lif…

>What is up with all this egalitarian nonsense? Just the wish to have a society that is able to evolve, to have all of us go forward as a species instead of concentrating the power in the hands of few. >There is an obsession with equality that I just don't get. That's called being a bit of a sociopath, but it gets better. >This is an affront on capitalism which has served to lift so many out of poverty. Good! Capital…

What do you recommend to replace capitalism. I've seen a lot of the other attempts and they have not been pretty.