Amazon Must Be Stopped • Hacker News Board

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#41

Post by Omniusaspirer » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:25 AM UTC

rtpg wrote: post #12

dkarapetyan wrote: post #6

Hmm, then we also need to stop Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Dropbox, TimeWarner Cable, military industrial complex, some big oil companies, a few hedge funds, a few banks, etc. Probably might as well call it quits with this whole capitalism thing. In all seriousness though why don't any of these articles ever address the underlying issue of why this stuff happens. If you have a certain kind of economic system then so…

that's why anti-trust laws exist. If we break them up as they grow, we still reap the benefits of economic growth without the dangers of the monopoly.

That worked fine before the modern global economy. Now? It's the death-knell for industry in your country. Without a global government agreement you simply can't bust up megacorps like you used to- they're effectively above the law.

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#42

Post by marbletiles » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:26 AM UTC

dkarapetyan wrote: post #6

Hmm, then we also need to stop Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Dropbox, TimeWarner Cable, military industrial complex, some big oil companies, a few hedge funds, a few banks, etc. Probably might as well call it quits with this whole capitalism thing. In all seriousness though why don't any of these articles ever address the underlying issue of why this stuff happens. If you have a certain kind of economic system then so…

There aren't many things on that list that we wouldn't be better off without. Is that really what you meant? You're in favour of big oil companies, hedge funds and the military-industrial complex?

The latter is particularly surprising, unless you think 50% of America's budget going on weaponry to fight threats that don't exist is a productive use of capital

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#43

Post by davidw » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:26 AM UTC

Omniusaspirer wrote: post #41

rtpg wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that's why anti-trust laws exist. If we break them up as they grow, we still reap the benefits of economic growth without the dangers of the monopoly.

That worked fine before the modern global economy. Now? It's the death-knell for industry in your country. Without a global government agreement you simply can't bust up megacorps like you used to- they're effectively above the law.

Why does Google hide a bunch of search results in Europe if they are above the law?

It seems to me that your statement is in error.

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#44

Post by thelettere » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:29 AM UTC

Amen. Most of Amazon's nearly 100k large workforce are warehouse workers, running around all day like rats in a maze with no real break, no opportunity to connect to other humans, no autonomy and no final product to be proud of. If that isn't a recipe for misery, I don't know what is.

"We have much studied and much perfected the great civilised invention of the division of labour; only we give it a false name. Truly speaking it is not the labour that is divided; but the men: – Divided into mere segments of men – broken into small fragments and crumbs of life; so that the little piece of intelligence that is left in a man is not enough to make a pin.

"Only in right understanding on the part of all classes of what kinds of labor are good for men, raising them & making them happy, and by a determined sacrifice of such convenience, or beauty, or cheapness as is to be got only by the degradation of the workman; and by equally determined demand for the products and results of healthy and ennobling labour can this evil be met." -John Ruskin

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#45

Post by dkarapetyan » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:29 AM UTC

marbletiles wrote: post #42

dkarapetyan wrote: post #6

Hmm, then we also need to stop Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Dropbox, TimeWarner Cable, military industrial complex, some big oil companies, a few hedge funds, a few banks, etc. Probably might as well call it quits with this whole capitalism thing. In all seriousness though why don't any of these articles ever address the underlying issue of why this stuff happens. If you have a certain kind of economic system then so…

There aren't many things on that list that we wouldn't be better off without. Is that really what you meant? You're in favour of big oil companies, hedge funds and the military-industrial complex? The latter is particularly surprising, unless you think 50% of America's budget going on weaponry to fight threats that don't exist is a productive use of capital

I'm not in favor or against any of the things I mentioned. I was just trying to make a point about emergent properties of complicated systems like global economies and nation states.

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#46

Post by danesparza » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:33 AM UTC

I disagree. They literally give me everything I want, at a reasonable price. If you have some alternatives that fit that bill, I would be willing to consider them.

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#47

Post by yulaow » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:34 AM UTC

davidw wrote: post #43

Omniusaspirer wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That worked fine before the modern global economy. Now? It's the death-knell for industry in your country. Without a global government agreement you simply can't bust up megacorps like you used to- they're effectively above the law.

Why does Google hide a bunch of search results in Europe if they are above the law? It seems to me that your statement is in error.

Google also avoid to pay almost all the taxes it should in EU without anyone capable to stop them. The same thing is done by the others megacorps

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#48

Post by bibonix » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:35 AM UTC

jamespo wrote: post #32

dkarapetyan wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure but that still doesn't address the actual problem and from a certain viewpoint two companies doing the same thing is less efficient than a large company doing it because of economies of scale. So which is it? Do we want efficiency or fairness?

Maybe we should no longer have elections as there's a lot of duplication between > 1 political parties too

Indeed :)

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#49

Post by atemerev » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:35 AM UTC

The Age of Envy.

Re: Amazon Must Be Stopped

#50

Post by davidw » Fri, Oct 10, 2014, 10:36 AM UTC

yulaow wrote: post #47

davidw wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why does Google hide a bunch of search results in Europe if they are above the law? It seems to me that your statement is in error.

Google also avoid to pay almost all the taxes it should in EU without anyone capable to stop them. The same thing is done by the others megacorps

Actually, it looks like you, too, may be incorrect, in that they're working to crack down on just that:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ba95cff0-4fcd-11e4-a0a4-00144...

Also, in the United States, Amazon has generally not fared well when it came to avoiding collecting local taxes when local authorities decided to put their feet down:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_tax