Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#621

Post by npunt » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:38 PM UTC

naravara wrote: post #570

rmc wrote: post #289

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the 1880s Bismarck increased the modern welfare state (it was called State Socialism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_Socialism_(Germany) ). The idea was that, if the poor people can get some form of social welfare from the existing state, they're less likely to support a proper socialist/communist revolution. Sounds like that. People won't unionise when they don't think they need to.

Prussia was also a highly militaristic state, so it had the side benefit of keeping the young men fit and hearty enough to get conscripted for the next time they needed to bloody France's nose. It would also have the young women fit enough to bear many much young men that they could conscript into future wars. The logic of trench warfare era militarism is even more depressing than the normal logic of war. It's mind-b…

Very good points. To be a bit pedantic (this is HN after all), trench warfare didn't start until after Bismarck. Truly depressing logic though.

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#622

Post by RockyMcNuts » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:38 PM UTC

codecamper wrote: post #25

Amazon is getting too big. How's this for an investment strategy... Long AMZN, short a basket of all other mid to large retailers & grocers.

Well, Trump said Amazon had a 'huge' antitrust problems, and Bezos's Washington Post is scooping dirt on Trump daily, so that should be fun to watch

https://news.vice.com/story/amazon-buying-whole-foods-could-...

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#623

Post by Retra » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:42 PM UTC

hyperbovine wrote: post #558

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #460

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ya, that EA spouse thing totally didn't happen: http://ea-spouse.livejournal.com/274.html

The plural of anecdote is not data.

Yes it is.

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#624

Post by Retra » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:45 PM UTC

uxp100 wrote: post #415

m-j-fox wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're kidding, right? Programmers are decently paid but should strike for a 40-hour work week.

When I was hired I became the best paid person I knew. I think it would be pretty hard to unionize, but damn if I ain't pissed that that wage fixing scandal wasn't a bigger deal. I work at one of the guilty companies, and I would be happier if I felt like most workers even knew it happened. (even though this was not wage fixing for the average engineer, but for certain high profile roles.) That's something a worker's…

It would be worthwhile to simply have an organization so that when shitty things happen, you don't have to try and form one while simultaneously dealing with shitty things. A union is like insurance in that way. You get it when you're healthy so that it'll be there for you when you're not.

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#625

Post by rdiddly » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:45 PM UTC

wooter wrote: post #400

throwaway91111 wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure if you can call this capitalistic, though. WF as a commune could likely share many of the benefits or exceed them even without requiring shareholders to satisfy. Instead, a devotion to profits will ensure they are given the minimum to execute their job well. It'll be interesting to see what bezos does with it for sure.

name a single commune as successful or operating at the scale of Whole Foods or Amazon. in history.

Seems like the idea was "Whole Foods as a commune" i.e. viewed as a commune. In other words a conceptual lens through which you could view any organization. Amazon itself is a commune in some ways, and so is Whole Foods; therefore my two examples. in history. are Amazon and Whole Foods. So much for that.

And looky there, other commenters supplied a bunch more (actual) examples. I'll throw in: The Catholic Church. The nation of Yugoslavia. What the heck: the Hell's Angels. Far outstripping Amazon's "scale" in terms of heads smacked with wooden fenceposts, that's for sure, or maybe not.

Which is my next point - adjust the "scale" appropriately (and unfortunately you left no indication RE: scale of what, whether it be dollars in sales, people involved, people served, ham sandwiches set aflame, heads smacked, or dogs painted blue) in proportion to the amount of money/wealth existing in the world at that time. in history. or to the number of people alive at that time. in history. and that'll probably turn up a bunch more examples.

There's also the question of "successful at what"? At providing for its employees/members? At serving its customers? At enriching its shareholders? At painting dogs blue?

Also we should really make passing mention of the waxing and waning support for capitalistic enterprises vs. other types of communes in various places and times. in history. Is it a valid comparison between a company like Amazon, operating in one of the most capitalism-friendly sociopolitical environments (post-Reagan America) seen in some time, vs. another type of organization operating in the same environment that doesn't support that organization or even actively suppresses it?

Your comment reflects an overabundance of confidence in things that are by no means simple or certain.

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#626

Post by Chaebixi » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:46 PM UTC

emodendroket wrote: post #569

yomly wrote: post #448

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect keeping ambulance at standby was more of a hotfix for a bug, than a feature. Yes Amazon is frugal, but I think it is a bit of a stretch to assume there was malicious intent in not cooling their FCs. In a giant warehouse managed by a company with > 100k employees, things are not changed that quickly...

They're not malicious, so much as indifferent.

Maliciousness probably costs money, and Amazon's looking to spend as little as possible on these warehouse resources.

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#627

Post by sotojuan » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:47 PM UTC

k-mcgrady wrote: post #352

novia wrote: post #309

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As a loyal Whole Foods shopper I am EXTREMELY excited by this development. The worst part about grocery shopping anywhere is waiting in line. There are a ton of jobs at Whole Foods that have nothing to do with running the cash register, and as long as Amazon keeps those jobs intact I am all for the automation revolution. I have never worked as a cashier, but I can't imagine it's a very fun job. Automating out those j…

>> I have never worked as a cashier, but I can't imagine it's a very fun job. Automating out those jobs seems like a win-win, as long as the former cashiers can find a job doing something else. Stacking the shelves isn't anymore fun that working the checkout. As someone who has done both I'd say checkout is the preferred role as it's much less physical (stacking shelves gets tiring after 8 hours) and you get chat to…

Time flies in the cash registers (unless the store is dead). Stacking shelves and organizing them is so boring that your four hour shift will feel like eight.

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#628

Post by Retra » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:48 PM UTC

jacobsenscott wrote: post #520

deong wrote: post #499

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I lived and worked in Iceland for five years, and they have a virtually 100% unionization rate. It's handled at the industry level rather than individual companies, but when you start a job, you are pretty much automatically enrolled in the union relevant for your work. A little money comes out of your paycheck, and the union is there in case you have problems. The unions also provide other benefits. For example, mos…

The population of the US is 100x more than Iceland. There are a lot of well run small cities in the US. Iceland's policies would never scale up.

Why not?

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#629

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:48 PM UTC

_7siz wrote: post #10

Oof. I wonder what this means for Whole Foods culture and employees. If you don't know, John Mackey, the CEO / founder, is a major believer in conscious capitalism and of empowering his employees. Whole Food employees get paid pretty darn well with some crazy good benefits for their industry and line-of-work (UNION FREE most of the time too!). WF banks on them being true believers and motivators of the cause - includ…

[deleted]

Re: Amazon to Acquire Whole Foods for $13.7B

#630

Post by rdlecler1 » Fri, Jun 16, 2017, 7:53 PM UTC

amelius wrote: post #594

lwlml wrote: post #153

Amazon is now (or more so now) like Evil Corp in the Mr. Robot kind of way. You can ship your Evil groceries via Evil Prime purchased via voice-command with your Evil assistant device paid for with your Evil credit-card. Evil. Frankly I don't buy as much from WF anymore considering that what they carry is much more like "organic junk-food" than actual food. If you really want to support the "cause", find yourself a l…

Business is just too easy when you're big. I think we need something like progressive economic barriers. Right now this seems inverted, with all the barriers at the "entry" level.

How about we just reduce barriers for early stage companies. Federal business healthcare plans, lower regulations and simply the tax code for companies l.