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Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

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Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#431

Post by werber »

ithilglin909 wrote: post #158

This isn’t popular, but I’d challenge anyone who thinks homelessness in Seattle isn’t primarily an addiction and mental illness problem to go spend a few afternoons in areas with significant homeless populations (3rd Ave in Pioneer Square is a great place, if you need a suggestion). It’s not that affordable housing isn’t a problem in Seattle. I know people who couldn’t live on their own in Seattle anymore due to rent…

You're only seeing one part of the situation. I've been homeless and it wasn't apparent to anyone I didn't tell. That's what makes the issue so hard, the assumption is that you're part of that crowd who needs medical attention when all you need is access to opportunity

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#432

Post by artursapek »

jimnotgym wrote: post #419

Bezos can keep his donations, I just want Amazon to pay tax like any other business would in the UK, pay employees NI like any other business in the UK, and pay minimum wage like any other business in the UK. It shouldn't be up to the billionaires to choose where to spend money that should be in the hands of national governments and workers. This article for instance shows homeless Amazon warehouse workers living in…

They pay the tax they are legally obligated to. You can't expect any business to pay a penny more than that. It's on the lawmakers to remove the loopholes (which they and their friends probably exploit as well, so good luck with that...)

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#433

Post by komali2 »

GW150914 wrote: post #215
zouhair wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the charity of Kings. The French king gave a lot to charity with one hand and created a lot more misery with the other. This is just the return of the times of charity.

That's the charity of Kings. The French king gave a lot to charity with one hand and created a lot more misery with the other. This is just the return of the times of charity. You’d think people would remember how that worked out for the French royalty, but I guess it’s always “going to be different this time.”

The Kings have learned - between unrestricted surveillance and a far better armed military, any hope of sending to the aristocracy to the guillotine probably ended sometime in the 40s.

Not to mention it's been learned to label those sorts of revolutionaries as "terrorists," among a lot of other social engineering tricks.

I should note - I'm not for lopping off anybody's heads. I'm just saying the shortlist of solutions for a trapped peasantry class has grown quite slim.

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#434

Post by jonahhorowitz »

artursapek wrote: post #432
jimnotgym wrote: post #419

Bezos can keep his donations, I just want Amazon to pay tax like any other business would in the UK, pay employees NI like any other business in the UK, and pay minimum wage like any other business in the UK. It shouldn't be up to the billionaires to choose where to spend money that should be in the hands of national governments and workers. This article for instance shows homeless Amazon warehouse workers living in…

They pay the tax they are legally obligated to. You can't expect any business to pay a penny more than that. It's on the lawmakers to remove the loopholes (which they and their friends probably exploit as well, so good luck with that...)

Yes, but they fought the headcount tax in Seattle, and they're actively seeking a low-tax jurisdiction for HQ2.

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#435

Post by Jedd »

yodsanklai wrote: post #425
jimnotgym wrote: post #419

Bezos can keep his donations, I just want Amazon to pay tax like any other business would in the UK, pay employees NI like any other business in the UK, and pay minimum wage like any other business in the UK. It shouldn't be up to the billionaires to choose where to spend money that should be in the hands of national governments and workers. This article for instance shows homeless Amazon warehouse workers living in…

> I just want Amazon to pay tax like any other business would in the UK, pay employees NI like any other business in the UK, and pay minimum wage like any other business in the UK I agree with you, but you can't blame Jeff Bezos for UK legislation.

> ... but you can't blame Jeff Bezos for UK legislation.

Ahh, the old 'unless it's specifically and explicitly denied, regardless of moral or ethical considerations, let alone acting contra to the spirit of the law, then it's okay' defence.

Your misdirection is correct - Jeff Bezos is not responsible for UK legislation - however how Jeff Bezos instructs his vendors and employees to act is very much his responsibility.

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#436

Post by komali2 »

refurb wrote: post #417
leesec wrote: post #377

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Source? Genuinely curious.

Just do a search for historical tax brackets. The OP is correct, however he doesn’t follow up with the effective tax rate paid. In the 1940s there were a lot more tax deductions. The effective tax rate for those in the top 1% hasn’t changed all that much and is near historical highs.

Isn't it true though that also the top 1% has far more "net worth" compared to, say, the GDP, than before?

I recall reading something similar when delving down this wikipedia hole: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_richest_Americans_in_h...

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#437

Post by natalyarostova »

Jedd wrote: post #435
yodsanklai wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I just want Amazon to pay tax like any other business would in the UK, pay employees NI like any other business in the UK, and pay minimum wage like any other business in the UK I agree with you, but you can't blame Jeff Bezos for UK legislation.

> ... but you can't blame Jeff Bezos for UK legislation. Ahh, the old 'unless it's specifically and explicitly denied, regardless of moral or ethical considerations, let alone acting contra to the spirit of the law, then it's okay' defence. Your misdirection is correct - Jeff Bezos is not responsible for UK legislation - however how Jeff Bezos instructs his vendors and employees to act is very much his responsibility…

If you want to optimize systems, you should expect people to operate with self-interest with respect to the law. Attributing moral blame for self-interested parties not donating money to be within the spirit of the law is unreasonable.

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#438

Post by flyinglizard »

jonahhorowitz wrote: post #434
artursapek wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They pay the tax they are legally obligated to. You can't expect any business to pay a penny more than that. It's on the lawmakers to remove the loopholes (which they and their friends probably exploit as well, so good luck with that...)

Yes, but they fought the headcount tax in Seattle, and they're actively seeking a low-tax jurisdiction for HQ2.

Shouldn’t Amazon shareholders expect the company to look for low tax jurisdictions to operate from? Is there a morality issue that I’m not seeing?

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#439

Post by jimnotgym »

yodsanklai wrote: post #425
jimnotgym wrote: post #419

Bezos can keep his donations, I just want Amazon to pay tax like any other business would in the UK, pay employees NI like any other business in the UK, and pay minimum wage like any other business in the UK. It shouldn't be up to the billionaires to choose where to spend money that should be in the hands of national governments and workers. This article for instance shows homeless Amazon warehouse workers living in…

> I just want Amazon to pay tax like any other business would in the UK, pay employees NI like any other business in the UK, and pay minimum wage like any other business in the UK I agree with you, but you can't blame Jeff Bezos for UK legislation.

I'm not blaming the legislation, I'm blaming him for ignoring it. Using sub- contractors to evade employment taxes, for instance, is illegal in the UK. Somehow Amazon (and similar others like Uber) are above that. Jo Maugham QC (tax lawyer) has aledged that there is some kind of sweetheart deal with the UK government with regards to US tech firms, and brought a related case against Uber for using a similar ruse to evade sales tax.

[0]https://goodlawproject.org/uber-case/

Re: Amazon's Bezos Launches $2B Fund to Help the Homeless

#440

Post by artursapek »

jonahhorowitz wrote: post #434
artursapek wrote: post #432

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They pay the tax they are legally obligated to. You can't expect any business to pay a penny more than that. It's on the lawmakers to remove the loopholes (which they and their friends probably exploit as well, so good luck with that...)

Yes, but they fought the headcount tax in Seattle, and they're actively seeking a low-tax jurisdiction for HQ2.

Of course they did, why wouldn't they? You don't expect them to willingly pay more tax than necessary. They're a business and their job is to make money.
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