Jeff Bezos has stolen thousands of dollars from every single American taxpayer.

[u/kevinmrr]

[u/mschuster91 → u/[deleted]]

Well the answer is to force companies to pay a living wage. We can make exemptions for stuff like small mom-and-pop stores that cannot compete against Walmarts and subsidize their staff costs, but multibillion dollar companies should not be allowed to enrich themselves on taxpayer money.

[u/Stef904 → u/mschuster91]

No exceptions for mom-n-pops. Just no new Walmarts to obliterate the supply chain in their favor, thanks.

[u/mschuster91 → u/Stef904]

Can't. That's the problem, for many goods Walmart sells cheaper than the wholesalers that serve everyone else but the giant chains. The power Walmart or their equivalents in other countries wield against suppliers is backbreaking, and the suppliers for Walmart themselves push that pressure down the chain.

The system is entirely broken on all levels. The 99% ain't got no money to spare, they go to wherever is the cheapest, and Walmart et al can tell their suppliers "well, either you accept what we are willing to pay for <good> or we are going to find someone else who will".

Antitrust enforcement is vital for any capitalist economy to survive in the long term instead of devolving into feudalism - and frankly, communist economies suffer from the same problem, only that now it's the government acting as the one sole purchaser.

[u/SteppinRazor5000 → u/mschuster91]

As long as people keep buying from Amazon, it will keep being shitty to its workers and making the public support them.

[u/mschuster91 → u/SteppinRazor5000]

There's a reason people buy from Walmart, Amazon et al - they have no other economic choice. In Germany we have a saying "erst das Fressen, dann die Moral", and it fits perfectly.

[u/SteppinRazor5000 → u/mschuster91]

Amazon is convenience. It's not the cheapest.

[u/Munkeyman18290 → u/[deleted]]

Nah, the fact of the matter is we are as productive as we've ever been. Since wealth deparity started being recorded in 1989, the:

• Top 1%: Captured roughly 35% of all new net worth created. Their combined holdings grew from ~$11.5 trillion in 1989 to over $50 trillion.

• ​Next 9% (90th - 99th percentiles): Captured about 38% of the new wealth, taking their aggregate assets from ~$18.3 trillion to over $56 trillion.

• ​Middle 40% (50th - 90th percentiles): Captured roughly 25% of all wealth growth.

• ​Bottom 50%: Captured roughly 2% of total wealth growth.

Our rising costs are capitalists seeking infinite growth in a finite system. So instead of achieving geneuine growth, capitalists just push the floor down - they keep costs (you, me, your friends, family members, etc) wages the same, and jack up the prices of everything. Boom infinite growth!

Of course this entire system will inevitably collapse, and THATS when your government finally steps in to intervene (great depression, 2008, etc)

Yeah, our government sucks. But its because the capitalists who own our government suck infinitely more.

[u/Munkeyman18290 → u/[deleted]]

Governments are an extension of the dominant class of their time. This is true from ancient Rome to Feudal Japan, and beyond.

You can point the finger at government all you want - theyre happy to take the blame and are well compensated for it.

You will always have a corrupt government in a capitalist society.

[u/birdshitluck → u/[deleted]]

When our politicians are bought, then our government is the corporations, and it sucks because it's operating to enrich its masters.

[u/EastFalls → u/[deleted]]

And SNAP benefits are disappearing as we speak. In a few years many states won’t be able to afford the program at all as funding will require states to shoulder more of the financial burden.

[u/hotviolets → u/[deleted]]

I get SNAP because I work for gig apps. It’s not the rising costs why I qualify. I qualify because I am underpaid. They make us independent contractors to skirt minimum wage laws and so they exploit us.

[u/Flakester]

And the billionaires wonder why people want to give the socialists a chance. They'd better hurry with that police state and election fixing.

[u/Animal907]

Why are people working for Amazon?

[u/Rydralain → u/Animal907]

These are most likely the warehouse and delivery jobs. If you can handle the work (and dehumanization), it pays well for that level of qualification. I've used it a couple times when I needed a job fast while looking for something that actually aligns with my career.

[u/Animal907 → u/Rydralain]

Career? I don't think I'm allowed to have one of those.

[u/Rydralain → u/Animal907]

Well, if you are fine with the working conditions, then Amazon's third part hiring companies may be right for you!

[u/Animal907 → u/Rydralain]

At this point I think I'm unemployable.

[u/Dai_Kaisho]

This is how capitalism forms monopolies, companies and banks that don't do this get outcompeted and swallowed up by those that do.