Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

cnn.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

481–490 of 879 posts

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#481

Post by asciimov »

bpt3 wrote: post #323
asciimov wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bezos makes an easy identifiable target, much easier to call out Bezos than any of the Walton's of Walmart. The real issue is that major corporations aren't paying their fair share of the costs of running this country. From underpaying workers (who have to use public assistance) to getting sweetheart deals to build in your area. Thanks to amazon I have more heavy delivery trucks running up and down my street. Meaning…

> major corporations aren't paying their fair share Define fair share. > From underpaying workers (who have to use public assistance) I'll never understand this line of reasoning. Would you rather have people who can't earn enough to support themselves earn $0 and rely entirely on public assistance? That's what will happen if you require employers to pay people more than the value they generate. > Thanks to amazon I…

> Define fair share.

Fair share, the cost to run the country. For most people that's 33% of what we make a year. For megacorps that can be as much as nothing.

> I'll never understand this line of reasoning.

While I understand how some people don't want to give individuals handouts, I don't understand how those same people are ok giving large corporations handouts.

Take Walmart. If the poverty line where the local government steps up to help people out is $12.25 an hour (for 40 hours worked a week), and Walmart only pays out $7.25 per hour (for 40 hours), the it's on the local government to help those people out by giving them that extra $5 an hour. Well that means that walmart didn't pay the real rate for local wages, and the local tax payers got stuck with the bill.

> Would you rather have people who can't earn enough to support themselves earn $0 and rely entirely on public assistance?

Maybe, at least I'm subsidizing individuals and not the shareholders of Walmart. If we free up that person from the burden of working their dead end Walmart job, they would have an opportunity to improve themselves. Sure, many wont, but some will. I don't see how giving that same handout to Walmart helps any individual, those who own Walmart already have plenty.

> Presumably Amazon delivery trucks are using gasoline, and fuel/sales taxes should cover some of those repairs.

We could debate how fair those gas taxes are, and if they pay for themselves.

I don't mind paying for the right to use the road, but many roads weren't built to handle the increased delivery traffic. That delivery traffic is a new burden that Bezos created and got rich off of. Surely the company that gained the most from using the public roads deserves to be billed for their upkeep.

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#482

Post by monocasa »

missedthecue wrote: post #470
monocasa wrote: post #305

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your capital you used for collateral on the loans accrues value quicker than the loan's payments. Hence that 1% effective rate.

But eventually, you sell that capital to repay the loan, triggering a tax event.

Except you had access to the capital the whole time via the loans, and only pay back according to the loan schedule, negating most of the tax burden.

Hence the 1% figure based on the numbers you yourself provided.

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#483

Post by jeffbee »

viraptor wrote: post #460
superfrank wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> While Musk focuses of space station resupply and satellite launch, in addition to "Mars Missions", Branson and Bezos have fully stated that they are in the business of space tourism. That's kind of a silly argument in my mind. Tesla started out making electric sports cars that cost $100,000+ each. Just because a company focuses on high margin products for the super rich when they are starting off, doesn't mean they…

Tesla's plan from the start was: luxury cars now to fund cheaper mass production later.

That doesn't stand scrutiny of the facts. Tesla lost money on every Model S.

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#484

Post by marconey »

geocrasher wrote: post #359
superfrank wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're correct, but that doesn't really change the point I was trying to make Since you've edited your post, I'll respond to the rest. > But they're also just carnival rides for Billionaires, and that's what gets on peoples nerves. If Bezos or Branson had sent someone else up in their place, does that really change anything? Sure, it's expensive and only the super wealthy can afford to go into space right now, but th…

Sorry about that, I realized I had more to say after I had posted the reply. Your point about expensive technology becoming more affordable in the long run- that makes a lot of sense, and I totally get it. At first, basic air travel was such a thing, as was travel by rail. Or fancy carriage. So yes. That much is true. And I think if they'd sent up other billionaires instead, it would have made no difference. The trut…

Their ‘normal’ lifestyle is as comparatively extravagant anyway, regardless of space travel, just less reported on. It being on cable news doesn’t change that.

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#485

Post by hellomyguys »

misiti3780 wrote: post #429
Zelphyr wrote: post #9

All the critics lobbing cynicism against Bezos, Branson, and Musk saying, in essence, that their money is better spent here at home reminds me of a wonderful scene from The West Wing when one character asks why we have to go to Mars: "'Cause it's next. For we came out of the cave, and we looked over the hill, and we saw fire. And we crossed the ocean, and we pioneered the West, and we took to the sky. The history of…

I agree, I think another way to put it is would you rather have your tax dollars spent on advancing rocket technologies (via NASA or equivalent) or would you rather have Bezos spend his after-tax dollars on it. Put like that, it's not a tough decision

Hasn't there been many years where Bezos paid no taxes?

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#486

Post by sidr »

eloff wrote: post #425
foobarian wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This. Every engineer employed at BO is one engineer not wasting their talents doing adtech at FAANG to pay the bills.

Different kind of engineers usually, but yeah.

I have worked with multiple folks with Aerospace/Mechanical Engineering backgrounds who have switched to being data scientists or software engineers. Often because of the dismal job prospects in their fields. So yes, quite often the same kind of engineer.

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#488

Post by WalterBright »

dumbfoundded wrote: post #374
WalterBright wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Countries without billionaires are mired in poverty. Billionaires can make high risk investments. A million people won't.

Governments actually make the risky investments. From infrastructure to nukes to the internet to space travel to particle colliders to fusion. The governments that have made these investments are the ones that do the best job of representing the interests of millions of people. If you take the limit of concentrating wealth, you get a dictatorship. They don't seem to do much. It's hard to believe in democracy and insa…

> If you take the limit of concentrating wealth, you get a dictatorship.

Except that's never happened, not even close. Ironically, the modern activists are busy trying to force businesses into getting involved in politics unrelated to their business. This smacks of foolishness to me, as in be careful what one wishes for.

> It's hard to believe in democracy and insane wealth concentration at the same time.

Wealth in a capitalist country is created, not concentrated.

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#489

Post by robryan »

dumbfoundded wrote: post #374
WalterBright wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Countries without billionaires are mired in poverty. Billionaires can make high risk investments. A million people won't.

Governments actually make the risky investments. From infrastructure to nukes to the internet to space travel to particle colliders to fusion. The governments that have made these investments are the ones that do the best job of representing the interests of millions of people. If you take the limit of concentrating wealth, you get a dictatorship. They don't seem to do much. It's hard to believe in democracy and insa…

I think it makes sense in a limited way. Government can do a lot but struggles to make big bets and see them through in the way a single minded billionaire could. Maybe government could solve this is providing some bigger chunks of no strings attached funding under the direction of a single person.

NASA has been beholden to the latest administration’s whims and inconsistent budget allocation for decades.

Re: Bezos donates $100M each to CNN contributor Van Jones and chef Jose Andres

#490

Post by WalterBright »

dumbfoundded wrote: post #374
WalterBright wrote: post #343

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Countries without billionaires are mired in poverty. Billionaires can make high risk investments. A million people won't.

Governments actually make the risky investments. From infrastructure to nukes to the internet to space travel to particle colliders to fusion. The governments that have made these investments are the ones that do the best job of representing the interests of millions of people. If you take the limit of concentrating wealth, you get a dictatorship. They don't seem to do much. It's hard to believe in democracy and insa…

> Governments actually make the risky investments.

Large investments are not the same as risky investments.

Post reply on HN