Earlier quoted context omitted.
Define what a livable wage is then. Is it $25/hr? $50/hr? $100/hr?
To start with, any definition that ends with a constant number is wrong. The living wage in an area depends on the cost of living in that area. I don't have that number on hand, but I expect it to be included in any discussion of what people should get payed. After that, we need to ask how much profit a person should be allowed to make on their labor.
Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
521–530 of 560 posts
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#522Earlier quoted context omitted.
It isn't an emotional attachment, I just clearly see that lots of technologies lean on one another and you can't easily pick an choose which ones to abandon and the clock simply does not roll backwards. Every material good that isn't made of material near at hand relies on trade and specialized skills. The humble pencil is shockingly complicated to produce, as you can see in the 1958 essay "I, Pencil". If you want so…
Thank you for your input. You're right, and one day I hope to be elevated to your level of rationality and logical thinking. It's an honour to receive input from someone like you.
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#523Earlier quoted context omitted.
> And you really think the local shopowner kept all the profit in their community? E.g. they didn't send their kids to college in another state? Imagine spending money and having that money allow people in your local community to afford college. Then imagine thinking that’s a bad thing. Obviously it’s complicated, but the gist is longer money stays in a local area, the better off that area is going to be. It’s better…
> Then imagine thinking that’s a bad thing. You seem to have missed my point entirely. I'm not saying that's a bad thing -- but I'm saying that by your logic, you seem to think it is. You're looking at money like it's some kind of zero-sum thing that ought to be hoarded by every local community. You say: > but the gist is longer money stays in a local area, the better off that area is going to be That is contrary to…
I’m saying that as a single pragmatic person in the current world we live in, it’s better to spend your money locally.
We don’t live in a world where any community is self sufficient, money comes and goes, but for many towns, it just goes.
As you said, this stuff is complicated.
An individual choosing to spend money at local businesses is not what makes a mercantile economic system.
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#524Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've had this exact sentiment for many years but... what are we supporting really? Is it because you want a distributed network of inventory across the country near you in case of emergency? Is it because you like talking to someone when doing purchases? Is it because you think someone is doing a societal good by parking money in inventory they brought near you? Is it because you just don't like someone doing it more…
> you just don't like someone doing it more efficiently For some value of "more efficiently". I mean if the most efficient way to work is to have delivery drivers pee in a bottle and warehouse workers develop RSIs, who am I to complain? Someone else's dignity is a small price to pay in order to get a 3% rebate on some commodity.
At least in the USA we have some semblance of a Labor Department etc...
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#525Earlier quoted context omitted.
It turns local businesses into showrooms for Amazon, and that is a failing business model. I do not patronize Amazon. But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price.
> But f I did, I would pick a margin - let's say 20% - and resolve to buy locally when the price is at least that close to the online price. Focusing on the price is a complete misunderstanding. Just looking at my recent amazon purchases. I have bought 3mm and 2mm thick brass sheets, 0.8mm endmills, a set of dwarven miner minis, and a highlander cow shaped slipper. I have no clue which shop would even hope to have th…
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#526Earlier quoted context omitted.
Of course Amazon cares. They measure fulfillment time religiously. Amazon is amazingly well run.
Amazon is only well run for the shareholders and executives. It is not well run for the people filling the boxes. It seems down right sadistic. Like the executives don't even see them as people. And they sent me a 43" Samsung TV when I ordered a 42" LG OLED. How the hell can their many billions of dollars of IT investment not automatically scan the barcode on the box or weight the box or use computer vision and notic…
Also, for this reason, it’s somewhat common to see them for sale at a steep discount in r/homelabsales. Only makes sense if you’re within driving distance, but hey – cheap rack.
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#527Earlier quoted context omitted.
It amazes me how things used to make more sense back in the day.
With this line of thinking, I guess lynchings are acceptable too?
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#528Earlier quoted context omitted.
The US Navy is rebuilding to fight a war with China. There are jobs available in the shipyards, mostly unionized. It's tough work, probably harder and more dangerous than an Amazon warehouse.
That's good for the coastal towns that have shipyards, but useless in the flyover states.
So, yes, the shipyards need to be on the coast. But much of the material on the inside of the ship may be built elsewhere.
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#529Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't understand the dichotomy. Local stores can exist and their taxes can pay for things, but the Amazon HQ also exists and can pay for things. And its employees likely pay the higher taxation bands as well, although I could be wrong.
The local stores still support those higher-paying roles, though again probably more locally — the local accountant, the local lawyer when they need one, the local IT company. The Amazon HQ is great for Seattle and Luxembourg, but money spent there is gone from my local (or even national) community.
Re: Amazon workers to strike at multiple US warehouses during busy holiday season
#530Earlier quoted context omitted.
Either you think the CEO was an undeserving victim, or you think that only billionaires and their enforces deserve a monopoly on lethal force. So, what's your take on this recent scenario: Ukraine assassinated a Russian general that authorised plans for chemical attacks that killed civilians. The general never directly murdered anyone in person, never "pulled a trigger", but was ultimately responsible for many deaths…
Either you think the CEO was an undeserving victim, or you think that only billionaires and their enforces deserve a monopoly on lethal force. Neither choice is valid, and this statement is just pure mindfuck. It is completely irrelevant what the CEO "deserved". I'm not going to condone lynching or vigilante killings in any civil context. There's no analogy with Ukraine/Russia, or any actual military conflict. You wh…
For example is it okay to kill Hitler halfway through the Holocaust, or are we normally obliged to wait to tbe end and then put him to a fair trial?