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Cascarino

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I didn't say everyone.
Anyone with a regular job can get that much in net assets, though thats not relevant to this discussion.
In the U.S it's the median net worth of a families at retirement.
Median is not anyone.
So NO
The median is literally folks with employed status throughout their lives and not unemployed. So, yes.
It's clearly insinuating everyone. This is a bit topic off again so I'm going to quote a post I missed that was very well done.

The wrong arguments are being made here. Yes, you have highlight the privilege he got from his family and ability to turn that into a success.

However, the critique builds out of that in multiple directions.

1. He's built a company on the backs of cheap and abused labour.
2. He's benefited from state backed intervention to make Amazon what it is today.
3. The "entrepreneur" myth has been used by governments to tear down unions, workers rights, social safety nets in the name of "everyone can be self-made if you get the state out of the way".
4. Governments/politics use Bezos/Amazon et al. to perpetuate the "bootstraps" ideology.

I don't care if Bezos got 250k from his family, what I care about and what I think others should as well, is how that success is sold to people in terms of labour, the political ideology of entrepreneurship and the dismantling of the social state. Bezos feeds into that and like many out of touch rich people, thinks philanthropy is the answer to social safety nets and the woes of the state and thus does not challenge how his "story" is used to influence politics.

If Bezos got 250k from his parents, made amazon what it is today, yet didn't try to bust unions, pay poverty wages, dis-endorse philanthropy, and fought back against his "story" being held up as an example that "everyone else just doesn't try as hard as Bezos and thats why you're poor", no one would give a flying feck. The argument should move beyond "250K and he's self made" to how their success also feeds into societal failures.
 

shamans

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It's clearly insinuating everyone. This is a bit topic off again so I'm going to quote a post I missed that was very well done.
You even quoted me and I didn't not say everyone.

"Anyone with a regular job can get that much in net assets, though thats not relevant to this discussion." was my initial statement. The median statistic proves that is true.
 

Cascarino

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Feel free to warn me for taking this off topic once again mods

You even quoted me and I didn't not say everyone.

"Anyone with a regular job can get that much in net assets, though thats not relevant to this discussion." was my initial statement. The median statistic proves that is true.
Median means the midpoint of what ever set of quantities we are observing. This means that the rest of the quantities will either fall below it, or ahead of it in equal measure.

:) :) :) :) :smirk: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

To make this as simple as possible, this emoji ":smirk:" has in 250 net assets. The :drool: people have more. The :) have less.
Do you see now why the median statistic doesn't prove that anyone with a regular job can have that money?
 

berbatrick

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google says median is 215 at age 60, not 250. in either case, that is the median today, not in the 90s, with growth and inflation it would have been numerically much lower.

...


i think this blog on understanding taxes is the best take on deserved vs undeserved wealth. it is a political/moral notion. bezos "deserves" his wealth as much as homeless people deserve poverty or i deserve the median wage.
that is because his wealth (and mine) arises from the structure of private property and laws related to it, the economics of college of education, and these are further intrinsically linked with tax rates and redistributive policies, minimum wage laws, etc

https://mattbruenig.com/2011/07/13/ways-to-think-about-government-distribution-policy/

given today's politics/morality, he has earned every cent.
 

shamans

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Feel free to warn me for taking this off topic once again mods



Median means the midpoint of what ever set of quantities we are observing. This means that the rest of the quantities will either fall below it, or ahead of it in equal measure.

:) :) :) :) :smirk: :drool: :drool: :drool: :drool:

To make this as simple as possible, this emoji ":smirk:" has in 250 net assets. The :drool: people have more. The :) have less.
Do you see now why the median statistic doesn't prove that anyone with a regular job can have that money?
I don't know why you're trying so hard. First of all, a single median value does indeed show that a regular job can land you there. Let me ask you this, what do you think a "median" value is used for? It is literally for stuff like this where you want to find out the "average" of a population.

If we calculated the mean, that would be around a million plus, which is not a fair representation.

The median value of 215k (not 250k as @berbatrick corrected) is a fair representation of what one would say is "average" Americans net worth around 55 (increases to 260 at 65).

So back to my original point -- getting to that figure is quite standard in America and not some figure reserved for uber rich. I see your location as Swansea and I'm not using this to bash you but your idea of how much $250k is might be warped. In America that would equate to a retirement annual income of $15k a year. It's not even that crazy.

EDIT: If you look at the median value of anyone with a high school diploma, that figure shoots even higher. As I said any regular job can easily land you in the net worth category.
 

4bars

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google says median is 215 at age 60, not 250. in either case, that is the median today, not in the 90s, with growth and inflation it would have been numerically much lower.

...


i think this blog on understanding taxes is the best take on deserved vs undeserved wealth. it is a political/moral notion. bezos "deserves" his wealth as much as homeless people deserve poverty or i deserve the median wage.
that is because his wealth (and mine) arises from the structure of private property and laws related to it, the economics of college of education, and these are further intrinsically linked with tax rates and redistributive policies, minimum wage laws, etc

https://mattbruenig.com/2011/07/13/ways-to-think-about-government-distribution-policy/

given today's politics/morality, he has earned every cent.
Not to speak that his parents were 48 and 49 when they hand him the money (not counting all the other assets that they had)
 

calodo2003

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That's a nonsense article. It needs a support yacht because it's a sailing yacht and can't have a helipad. Nothing to do with it's size, it's not even in the top 20, almost all of which are owned by Russian Oligarchs or Middle Eastern dictators.
You’re being serious here? This was your takeaway?
 

Dr. StrangeHate

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That's a nonsense article. It needs a support yacht because it's a sailing yacht and can't have a helipad. Nothing to do with it's size, it's not even in the top 20, almost all of which are owned by Russian Oligarchs or Middle Eastern dictators.
Why can't a sailing yacht have a helipad?
What is a sailing yacht?
 

utdalltheway

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amazon nooses

"After yet another apparent noose was discovered at the construction site of an Amazon fulfillment center in Windsor, Connecticut on Wednesday, local NAACP officials and town leaders voiced their outrage with Amazon and law enforcement authorities for not taking the proper precautions before workers returned earlier this week.
The latest discovery of a noose at the sprawling, 3.5 million square foot building now brings the tally up to eight. The site had previously been shut down over the weekend so that cameras and other safety precautions could be put in place, CNN previously reported.
"This is a complete joke. Smoke and mirrors, a bunch of nonsense that has been said to us, said to the community, and communicated to the press," Scot X. Esdaile, president of the Connecticut NAACP, said Wednesday afternoon. "There's no way this should be happening in Connecticut in 2021. There's no way."
Standing alongside Esdaile, town councilwoman Nuchette Black-Burke announced that town leadership would launch a "pressure campaign" to have Amazon keep the site shut down "until our quality of life here in the small town of Windsor comes back to normal."


"We are frustrated beyond words," Windsor Mayor Donald Trinks added.
According to town police chief Donald Melanson, however, Amazon will be reopening the site Thursday after it was closed down again on Wednesday following the discovery of the latest noose. An Amazon spokeswoman declined to provide CNN further comment on when the site will be reopened."


So they've been finding nooses on this construction site for a while now. In Connecticunt too, of all places.
My 1st thought was it'd be more to do with the inevitable delay claims that the contractor will be looking at, rather than any racism, but who knows, until they find the culprits.
$100k reward now too.
 

Balljy

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Maybe if all billionaires like Bezos paid a fair amount in taxes like the rest of us mortals, governments would have more money for space exploration.
They should definitely pay more taxes, and a lot more but the problem isn't lack of government money. NASA has over $23b a year budget whereas the whole of the Falcon Heavy project cost somewhere in the region of $0.5b according to estimates. Although that money is also spent on other projects NASA don't currently have a rocket and haven't had for a decade.
 

Raoul

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Maybe if all billionaires like Bezos paid a fair amount in taxes like the rest of us mortals, governments would have more money for space exploration.
Unfortunately, that's not how it works. A bit more money here and there would be used for whatever politicians want that could have nothing to do with Space exploration. It could even be returned to citizens by way of tax cuts.
 

11101

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Unfortunately, that's not how it works. A bit more money here and there would be used for whatever politicians want that could have nothing to do with Space exploration. It could even be returned to citizens by way of tax cuts.
:lol: :lol: :lol:
 

UnrelatedPsuedo

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Jeff Bezos Accidentally Admits He Exploited Amazon Workers To Visit Space


He's a piece of shite. And would not shed a tear if something had happened to him.
feck I wish his ship had exploded. Sadly he had folks with him so I’m glad it didn’t. But he’s such a disgusting human. One of the worst ever.
 

maniak

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Unfortunately, that's not how it works. A bit more money here and there would be used for whatever politicians want that could have nothing to do with Space exploration. It could even be returned to citizens by way of tax cuts.
They should definitely pay more taxes, and a lot more but the problem isn't lack of government money. NASA has over $23b a year budget whereas the whole of the Falcon Heavy project cost somewhere in the region of $0.5b according to estimates. Although that money is also spent on other projects NASA don't currently have a rocket and haven't had for a decade.
I am aware the money of his taxes wouldn't directly go to space exploration, but you guys get the point.

Yesterday we've seen a 24 hour wankfest on the media about a guy who doesn't pay his fair share, who exploits his workers, indirectly exploits people in developing countries, destroys small businesses and is generally an arrogant prick. And why? Because he got inside a metal penis and went on a 10 min trip to near space.

Personally see nothing to celebrate, quite the opposite. It shows our society is so used to this inequality and rich people doing whatever they want at the expense of the public, that we can't even see it when we're slapped in the face by something like this.
 

Raoul

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I am aware the money of his taxes wouldn't directly go to space exploration, but you guys get the point.

Yesterday we've seen a 24 hour wankfest on the media about a guy who doesn't pay his fair share, who exploits his workers, indirectly exploits people in developing countries, destroys small businesses and is generally an arrogant prick. And why? Because he got inside a metal penis and went on a 10 min trip to near space.

Personally see nothing to celebrate, quite the opposite. It shows our society is so used to this inequality and rich people doing whatever they want at the expense of the public, that we can't even see it when we're slapped in the face by something like this.
Yes, but the problem are the tax laws, which are the responsibility of politicians, not Bezos. Much as virtually everyone else in business, he's simply doing what the system will allow him to do. Time to change the tax laws so these guys pay a lot more money.
 

maniak

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Yes, but the problem are the tax laws, which are the responsibility of politicians, not Bezos. Much as virtually everyone else in business, he's simply doing what the system will allow him to do. Time to change the tax laws so these guys pay a lot more money.
I can criticize politicians and those who take advantage of an unfair system at the same time.

And you know very well how much money these guys put into politics to maintain the status quo, so they're not exactly innocent.
 

Raoul

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I can criticize politicians and those who take advantage of an unfair system at the same time.

And you know very well how much money these guys put into politics to maintain the status quo, so they're not exactly innocent.
All participants take advantage of the rules that are set for them by the people's representatives (aka politicians). Therefore blaming business people is completely futile since they are, from a business perspective, doing what they are supposed to do. The only way to create more balance is to elect politicians committed to doing so.
 

maniak

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All participants take advantage of the rules that are set for them by the people's representatives (aka politicians). Therefore blaming business people is completely futile since they are, from a business perspective, doing what they are supposed to do. The only way to create more balance is to elect politicians committed to doing so.
That's not true, plenty of business people pay their employees decent wages and give them good working conditions. Bezos doesn't, so he should be criticized.

Democracy isn't so simple as you're making it out to be. There are plenty of issues in america (and elsewhere) where you can see the public overwhelmingly support something politicians don't enact because of people like Bezos, who have the power and money to manipulate the system.

You're chosing to blame the voters and politicians, as if Bezos is an AI that can only do what he's been programed to do. He's not, he choses to do these things and act this way.
 

Raoul

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That's not true, plenty of business people pay their employees decent wages and give them good working conditions. Bezos doesn't, so he should be criticized.
The Amazon minimum wage is now (apparently) $17/hr, which is significantly higher than minimum wages in most US states. The higher cost of living in the country isn't something Amazon or Bezos have any control over.

Democracy isn't so simple as you're making it out to be. There are plenty of issues in america (and elsewhere) where you can see the public overwhelmingly support something politicians don't enact because of people like Bezos, who have the power and money to manipulate the system.
This is easily remedied by more public participation. In America, only about 50% of eligible voters, actually vote. So at the end of the day, the people who would most benefit from changing the laws that govern them, aren't participating. This is obviously not the problem of someone running a corporation, nor should it be.

You're chosing to blame the voters and politicians, as if Bezos is an AI that can only do what he's been programed to do. He's not, he choses to do these things and act this way.
Ultimately, blaming the likes of Bezos for public policy failures isn't going to solve anything. Change the laws that flagrantly allow people to not pay their fair share and you may see other outcomes.

This obviously has nothing to do with this thread, so it may be worth moving it to the Amazon thread.
 

berbatrick

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Ultimately, blaming the likes of Bezos for public policy failures isn't going to solve anything. Change the laws that flagrantly allow people to not pay their fair share and you may see other outcomes.
I wonder if Bezos and Amazon have any say, maybe even a disproportionate one, over laws that affect them and consequently everyone else.
Nah, too far-fetched, it's not taught in school civics.
 

Raoul

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I wonder if Bezos and Amazon have any say, maybe even a disproportionate one, over laws that affect them and consequently everyone else.
Nah, too far-fetched, it's not taught in school civics.
This wouldn’t be the case if 75% of the public (instead of the current 50%) voted. It is possible create systemic change, but not without the participation of voters. If there's low civic participation to change the laws that allow these situations to happen, then we should expect more of the same.
 
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Rado_N

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I wonder if Bezos and Amazon have any say, maybe even a disproportionate one, over laws that affect them and consequently everyone else.
Nah, too far-fetched, it's not taught in school civics.
Amazon spent $5m on lobbying in just the first quarter of 2021, but I’m sure that doesn’t have any impact on public policy.