People NEED jobs that pay a living wage, not McJobs that require taxpayer assistance for the workers

[guillaumeb]

There are occasional posts here that talk approvingly about Amazon and WalMart as providing jobs and low priced products. Such posts, in my opinion, ignore the massive harm that Jeff Bezos and the Walton family have done, and are doing, to the US economy.

It is easy to say that low income families can save money by shopping at WalMart, or that everyone can benefit from the convenience of shopping online at Amazon. But that savings, and that convenience, comes at a large price for the taxpayers and the economy.

WalMart and Amazon employ large numbers of low wage associates, or partners, or whatever term they use to describe their largely sub-living wage workforce. Their workers are simply not paid enough to exist. And often these same workers do not work 40 hours a week, so even a wage of $15 dollars an hour is not enough.

And given that these workers and their families cannot exist on their Amazon or WalMart wages, their need for adequate income does not magically disappear. So what do they do? They rely on taxpayer assistance in the form of medical care, and food assistance, and utility assistance, and other forms of public and private care.

Economists call this practice externalizing of costs. Bezos, and the Walton family, know that they are not providing living wage jobs, so they rely on the taxpayers to subsidize their workers. So US taxpayers, in addition to paying their own taxes, are taxed at an even higher rate to allow Jeff Bezos and the Waltons to become even richer.

Another undesirable side effect is that Amazon and WalMart, by their size and purchasing power, drive out local businesses and essentially redirect local dollars to their own corporate coffers.

And Amazon and WalMart both generally insist on tax subsidies and rebates for localities that want the companies to locate in their areas. Witness the competition among cities to offer massive bribes to Jeff Bezos to locate his second headquarters in their city. The taxpayers are essentially paying these bribes.

So the taxpayers lose in every way because local taxes must rise to compensate for these big box store subsidies, and local governments ultimately receive less tax dollars for the schools and services that they must provide.

[vi5]

1. Occasional post?

This past week has been nearly wall to wall approval/defense of Amazon. It's baffling.

And the continual straw man argument that makes it sound like people are saying Amazon shouldn't exist or should be run out of business or that it's somehow a problem with e-commerce are ridiculous.

Amazon is not our friend. Jeff Bezos is not on our side. Just because Trump has an issue with them doesn't mean we should immediately abandon our principles as it seems so many on here are doing.

[guillaumeb]

3. I agree.

Bezos and the Walton family and every other billionaire are out for themselves. Any benefit that they provide to others is incidental to their goal.

[alarimer]

2. Workers' rights need to be the FOUNDATION of the Democratic Party

If you don't care about that, you are not really a liberal. It's a tough sell because too much of the party is driven by corporate donations, including Amazon. Just because Trump hates something, that doesn't mean we have to automatically, reflexively like it, whatever it is.

It is possible to like some aspects of Amazon and also criticize its deplorable employment practices and near-monopoly.

I feel the same way about all the various posts requiring unconditional support of Democrats? Really? You expect me to stop using critical thinking skills when it comes to people on my side? Not a chance. It's just another version of "you're either with us or against us." I'm not okay with that.

[guillaumeb]

4. Agreed. Money drives politicians and thw workers are ignored.

All the nonsense about the supposed enlightened corporate culture at the Amazon HQ ignores the thousands of low wage serfs who pack and pick the products that make Bezos immensely rich.

[vi5]

5. Thank you...

...the state of our country is already depressing enough, and then I come on here to a Democratic message board and get more depressed at what "our side" is demanding I commit to, defend, adhere to, etc.

[mvd]

9. Agree

While Bezos is a big Democratic donor, as with much corporate money in politics, that can come with the price of having too much influence. After all, it would be naive to think he doesn't look after his own interests. I am actually to the left of Sanders (support nationalization of banks and important industry).

[HopeAgain]

12. I totally agree with everything you said.

I heard about a woman on NPR who said she makes just enough money to stay below the poverty line. If she makes a dollar more, she loses medicaid for her kids, day care subsidies, etc. and is worse off. This needs to be the priority right now. This is also the message that would bring a revival of the party if clearly communicated.

BTW, in response to one of those threads, my response was the only thing I do unconditionally is love my family.

[BigmanPigman]

6. The teachers across the country are suffering the same woes

for the same reasons. There is no living wage dues to Red State politics and politicians and the big businesses never do "trickle down" when they get tax cuts. Most huge companies and state governments don't care about anyone but themselves and their personal wealth and greed. The really big companies really don't even care about tax cuts since they don't pay taxes like the moron (they have lawyers, accountants and lobbyists and loopholes that allow them to keep 99% for themselves). Raising taxes in Red States to pay teachers, state health care etc would never work...the voters have been conned for too long. They will not vote for it as long as Fux Ruse tells them not to.

[guillaumeb]

13. Well said.

All part of the system where money rules.

[pnwmom]

7. Most sales associates in brick and mortar stores are low wage earners,

Last edited Wed Apr 4, 2018, 05:10 PM - Edit history (1)

working part time with no benefits.

[Demsrule86]

8. Kohls pays minimum wage. Amazon pays $12.00 per hour. It seems to me we keep the jobs we have and

until we can do better.

[guillaumeb]

14. Also correct.

Unionization could help, but US labor laws are very weak.

[Amimnoch]

10. Actually, we need to get past the entire notion of jobworth, and soon.

Time to move past the industrial age Job = worth mentality all together.

The entire paradigm is shifting.

* Farms are becomming more and more automated.
* retail/grocery/fast food franchises are becoming more and more automated.
* Automobiles (think truckers, cab drivers, delivery services etc) are becoming more and more automated.
* airlines - more automated.
* manufacturing - more automated.
* warehousing - more automated.
* even tech is becoming more automated in producing even more tech.

The whole notion of a job is not so slowly going away. As a society and culture, we are going to have to eventually find new ways to define our "worth", and new ways to ensure the masses still have access to all of the benefits of all this developing technology equally.

3.5 million - the number of people who currently drive trucks for a living. Gone once automated vehicle technology really takes off.
3.2 million - the number of people who work on farms in the US. Already down from 8.6 million just in 1999.
The numbers go on and on and on.

Right now there's enough economical growth and expansion industries to keep the jobless rate pretty darn low, but eventually it is no longer going to balance out, and we either will have a HUGE number of unemployed "worthless" people, or we will have adjusted to our new paradigm and REALLY improved the quality of life for all.

[leftstreet]

11. +1

Automation is changing everything

[guillaumeb]

15. True.

And in theory, government exists to make laws to regulate how we adjust to changing situations.