Politics Thread

[bobbiemcgee]

Amazon offers entry level jobs to the masses. Basically, if you have a pulse and aren't actively wanted by the cops, you can get a job there. They advertise non-stop for employees wherever they locate. Why? Cuz these are crappy jobs that require heavy lifting and ones that you are on your feet all day walking up to 12 miles a day. They have a huge sortation facility here in Denver that offers NO FULL TIME jobs except for the skeleton management. But for a kid just out of HS with no prospects and still living at home going to school or a retiree who hates sitting around on the couch, it's not a bad gig. They give you $500 a yr. towards paying for your Medical Ins., free dental and vision and will pay for your community college after 90 days. So, yeah, working for 13.00/14.00 an hr. isn't really worth it, but it at least gives the kids time to get some experience and the first job on a resume. And like said above, nobody's holding a gun to their heads.

[boozehound]

You got it, Caf. I am surprised that MOR, who arguably is a gung-ho free market supporter, doesn't understand that.

I think he was a free market supporter, but then Trump got elected. Similar phenomenon to all the folks who used to care about the budget deficit.

It's the sports 'superfan' mentality applied to identity Politics. Nothing more.

[Masterofreality]

You are the one making the charge against Bezos. Please share with us your evidence that Bezos isn't just being a free market employer with the salaries he pays. Absent such evidence, you are either being a hypocrite by attacking him while claiming to be a free market backer or you are in fact not the free market supporter you claim to be. In the latter case, please tell us all what Bezos should be paying his employees. And while you're at it, tell us what our president should be paying his hotel employees (the ones with comparable skill sets to the vast majority of Amazon employees). Thanks.

Dude, I'm a free market guy, but this isn't a "free market" argument. You're making a totally false equivalence while trying to act all academia-like by shouting "free market" as a red herring. It's strictly about a disingenuous two-faced bastard who scream-preaches one way but acts the other. I have a huge problem with a hypocrite who through his mouthpiece paper downplays and minimizes bonuses given by companies due to the tax cuts (meanwhile he did everything to minimize taxes his company payed before the tax cuts and won't give a bonus anyway) and supports a $15 hour wage, but despite his personal success, won't pay his own people more. Again, actions speak louder than words. You are obviously too dense to grab my point. The same guy, who's mouthpiece paper rails against the CEO/employee discrepancy pay, makes $1.68 million/year vs $28,000. Lots of strawman talk and his paper has become fishwrap.

See, what I'm getting at is Bozos is slime as compared to a guy like Marc Benioff- the CEO & Chairman of Salesforce. He has a belief in what is the right thing to do, and rather than just preach-pontificating and avoiding doing it because it might cost money, he just does it with action. He is a stickler for equal pay for the genders and rather than just talking about it, he had his company do an audit, found that there were bad discrepancies, then he spent $6 MILLION to bring the women up to an equal status with the men. Benioff is totally "Free" to do so, because he is free to do whatever the hell he wants with his company, but he's a guy who walks the walk and does the right thing rather than finger pointing at others to keep attention off his delinquencies. Bozos is totally "Free" to do what he wants too, but the difference is he just finger points, while being the delinquent guy he's finger pointing about.

See words are cheap...just like over on the Global Warming thread. All the blah, blah, blah from the leftys on this board about "the US HAS to do THIS NOW", while they can't even handle their own back yard by telling us what ACTIONS THEY HAVE DONE to walk the walk. Where are the Chevy Volts in their driveway? How many of them have stopped having firepits? How many who live there now, have moved away the air conditioned Arizona while decrying man's "excessive" use of energy? Etc. Total hypocrisy from words and "talking the talk" to actually walking it. If you aren't going to walk it, just shut the hell up about it, but Bozos and his trash Post won't shut the hell up. they just keep screaming.

Last time I checked, Trump hadn't said anything about his employee pay, so what's your point?
How thick is your skull that you can't see this?

[Masterofreality]

Amazon offers entry level jobs to the masses. Basically, if you have a pulse and aren't actively wanted by the cops, you can get a job there. They advertise non-stop for employees wherever they locate. Why? Cuz these are crappy jobs that require heavy lifting and ones that you are on your feet all day walking up to 12 miles a day. They have a huge sortation facility here in Denver that offers NO FULL TIME jobs except for the skeleton management. But for a kid just out of HS with no prospects and still living at home going to school or a retiree who hates sitting around on the couch, it's not a bad gig. They give you $500 a yr. towards paying for your Medical Ins., free dental and vision and will pay for your community college after 90 days. So, yeah, working for 13.00/14.00 an hr. isn't really worth it, but it at least gives the kids time to get some experience and the first job on a resume. And like said above, nobody's holding a gun to their heads.

I'm sure you make the exact same statement when someone talks about the child labor in the Congo. No one's holding a gun to their heard either.
Sounds an awful lot like a guy who makes $1.6 million a year is building his company on the backs of indentured servants who are kids, but whatever. What a picnic for lousy pay. "Crappy job", "Heavy lifting" "12 mile a day walks". YEAH!! Where do I sign for peanuts? Oh, and how convenient that they don't offer "full time jobs" because that would require medical care and benefits. I'll bet Bozos was all for Nationalized Health Care that the Feds, errrrrrrr, you and I would pay for. Takes the onus totally off him.
When's the next march on Washington by the Bozos oppressed?

[bobbiemcgee]

Or maybe they could just apply to some other job with no work experience and the employer will automatically offer them $25.00 - $30.00 an hour. Dilly-Dilly! Maybe trump needs someone to bring him the Big Macs.

[paulxu]

Not going to happen.

While President Donald Trump rails at American companies that hire foreign workers, he’s not following his own advice. Of 144 openings at three of his properties, including Mar-a-Lago, only a single one went to an American, according to Department of Labor records. The rest went to seasonal foreign workers in the U.S. on special visas requested by the Trump Organization, reports Vox.

#MAGA

[X-man]

Dude, I'm a free market guy, but this isn't a "free market" argument. You're making a totally false equivalence while trying to act all academia-like by shouting "free market" as a red herring. It's strictly about a disingenuous two-faced bastard who scream-preaches one way but acts the other. I have a huge problem with a hypocrite who through his mouthpiece paper downplays and minimizes bonuses given by companies due to the tax cuts (meanwhile he did everything to minimize taxes his company payed before the tax cuts and won't give a bonus anyway) and supports a $15 hour wage, but despite his personal success, won't pay his own people more. Again, actions speak louder than words. You are obviously too dense to grab my point. The same guy, who's mouthpiece paper rails against the CEO/employee discrepancy pay, makes $1.68 million/year vs $28,000. Lots of strawman talk and his paper has become fishwrap.

See, what I'm getting at is Bozos is slime as compared to a guy like Marc Benioff- the CEO & Chairman of Salesforce. He has a belief in what is the right thing to do, and rather than just preach-pontificating and avoiding doing it because it might cost money, he just does it with action. He is a stickler for equal pay for the genders and rather than just talking about it, he had his company do an audit, found that there were bad discrepancies, then he spent $6 MILLION to bring the women up to an equal status with the men. Benioff is totally "Free" to do so, because he is free to do whatever the hell he wants with his company, but he's a guy who walks the walk and does the right thing rather than finger pointing at others to keep attention off his delinquencies. Bozos is totally "Free" to do what he wants too, but the difference is he just finger points, while being the delinquent guy he's finger pointing about.

See words are cheap...just like over on the Global Warming thread. All the blah, blah, blah from the leftys on this board about "the US HAS to do THIS NOW", while they can't even handle their own back yard by telling us what ACTIONS THEY HAVE DONE to walk the walk. Where are the Chevy Volts in their driveway? How many of them have stopped having firepits? How many who live there now, have moved away the air conditioned Arizona while decrying man's "excessive" use of energy? Etc. Total hypocrisy from words and "talking the talk" to actually walking it. If you aren't going to walk it, just shut the hell up about it, but Bozos and his trash Post won't shut the hell up. they just keep screaming.

Last time I checked, Trump hadn't said anything about his employee pay, so what's your point?
How thick is your skull that you can't see this?

And I have the same problem with someone who claims to be a free market supporter and then blasts a business owner for paying free market wages. And then makes matters worse by blasting the guy for only paying the taxes he legally owes. Can't you see how stunningly hypocritical you are about this? How thick is your skull?

[XU 87]

I think MOR is arguing that Bezos is the classical "Do as I say, not as I do". (recommended reading- Peter Schweizer's book also called - "Do as I Say not as I Do".)

[Caf]

I think MOR is arguing that Bezos is the classical "Do as I say, not as I do". (recommended reading- Peter Schweizer's book also called - "Do as I Say not as I Do".)

Except him "saying" something is actually the Washington Post saying something. A paper who's writing and stance has not changed an iota since he acquired them.

[boozehound]

I think MOR is arguing that Bezos is the classical "Do as I say, not as I do". (recommended reading- Peter Schweizer's book also called - "Do as I Say not as I Do".)

I don't even know where to begin with this.

Are we really going to equate the content of a newspaper owned by an individual who has amassed a massive business empire as his personal viewpoint? Do you guys think Bezos really weighs in to that extent on content? It's not like it's the only thing he owns. Hell, most of the stuff MOR has linked to in this thread are OP ED pieces. They aren't event positioned as news, per se. Do think Helaine freaking Olen (whoever the hell that is) runs her Op Ed articles by Bezos to make sure they align with his POV? This is a for-profit business. Not a mouthpiece for Bezos' political views. In fact, when I try to find examples of Bezos weighing in with preachy liberal political views I can't really find a whole lot, other than his support of marriage equality. In fact, he seems much more libertarian than liberal.

It really seems like this is much more about identity politics and making the enemies of your political idol's enemies. It smells like Oligarchy and I don't like it.

Also point of note: When googled it comes out that the full title of the book you recommended to is "Do As I Say (Not As I Do): Profiles In Liberal Hypocrisy", which sounds pretty objective to me. Guess what the first (or 2nd depending on specific syntax) seach result is? Amazon.com Should we equate the content sold on his website as an extension of his political views in the same manner with which we are treating WaPo? In that case, I don't know what to believe!