White House on Amazon: Trump always looking to level the playing field

Axios ^ | 3/28/2018 | Alayna Treene

[plain talk]

I am not comfortable with the government somehow “leveling the playing field” - whatever that means. There is a lot of competition right now. If monopolies develop then there are existing laws that should come into play.

There is a larger problem here that will affect all of us and it’s not pretty. Eventually there will be few brick and mortar stores left. Everything will be bought online. I like seeing some products in person before buying. That notion will go away.

[TexasFreeper2009]

and as soon as they are the only game in town and raise their prices up, up, up... they will no longer be the only game in town because someone will come in and undercut them.

[TexasFreeper2009]

downtowns died in the 1970’s.

Amazon or no Amazon, we are never going back to small mom and pop stores selling saddles or whatever.

[PMAS]

Retailers and eTailers can’t compete with them now, what makes you think they will as Amazon gets bigger ?

[Poison Pill]

Let’s make them pay taxes like the regular stores.

The buyer pays the tax, not the store. With an internet transaction the buyer still has to pay the tax to his state even if the seller does not collect. I say let the states go after the buyers in their state for unpaid taxes. Start throwing cheats in jail.

[ifinnegan]

Has Amazon ever turned a profit?

[PMAS]

I’m sure you are also one of those who says - “who cares where it’s made as long I pay the lowest prices” and China thanks you

[Anti-Bubba182]

Amazon collects sale tax now.

[Alas Babylon!]

While in the military I lived in Europe for almost a decade, first in Italy and then in Germany, with many, many trips to 100s of places in most of the continent.

My job from late 1991-1997 was shutting down military bases. I lead a team that turned off communication circuits, pulled equipment off of towers on mountains and antennas, collected classified equipment and processed it for reallocation or proper disposal—so I’ve been around those towns and villages with their many shops.

I can tell you those places are cool, but also have many drawbacks. First, they’re only open during business hours. A lot of these places have what we used to call bank hours. 9-5, Mon-Fri. If you need something after hours, you can’t get it.

Also, their prices were outrageous. And they all had a value added tax or VAT. The US Military could get the VAT tax back but it required a hella lot of paperwork that I often skipped (being on the road made it impossible to submit these to the Finance office).

Then again, you could haggle in some countries on the price, especially food. Sometimes we were in places that didn’t have any fast food or many restaurants so it was either the area’s single high-priced restaurant or buy some groceries and try to fix them yourself.

All the different shops are cute but many Americans simply don’t like to go out and visit a dozen different stores to get all there stuff. Shopping for stuff can take half a day.

Maybe that’s why Americans are so fat compared to many Europeans!

[az_gila]

Believe me, I see it firsthand all the time. I travel 40 weeks a year, half in US/Canada and half in Europe/Asia. Small downtowns across America are dying or dead due to the one-two knockout punch of Walmart & Amazon. Go to England and small downtowns are vibrant: Stationery next to fabrics next to books next to hardware, etc. Same across Europe. There's probably no turning back, but if there were a way to regenerate town centers, the Trumpster will find it!

---

I disagree on the hardware store bit...:^)

This was probably one of the last traditional, stuff in little bins, hardware stores in Liverpool -

Actually just up the street from the Beatles bus station on Penny Lane. It looks just the same now even with the same name, but this is the interior -

What else, a craft brew pub. :^)

Hardware has migrated to the big box B&Q (think Home Depot) stores, and the UK seems to have no national equivalent of ACE hardware stores.

Vibrant maybe, but off-licences, restaurants, chinese/indian/other take-away, hairdressers/nails, flower shops and coffee places.

[upsdriver]

I favor the sales tax as well. I oppose the income tax and call for the repeal of the 16th amendment and abolishment of the IRS. It’s nobody’s damn business what a person earns or owns, especially not the government. I’m also opposes to property taxes. My point is that Amazon didn’t “invent” the out of state exception on sales tax. Catalog orderers have made use of that for decades. In my perfect world all taxes would be abolished except for a sales tax, collected only at the point of purchase. Imagine the cost savings in bookkeeping alone.

[kaktuskid]

The UK also has big box chains Tesco and (WM-owned) ASDA

[Chauncey Gardiner]

Sssh... listen and you’ll hear the money being sucked out of your communities due to amazon and the big boxes. Buy local when possible and keep your money local!

[Pravious]

It’s hard to believe so many here support Amazon - whose owner looked like a creepy space alien and whose mouthpiece (The Washington Post) has been going out of their way for YEARS to smear Our President and obviously hates US.

[cll]

Attention all veteran shoppers: Since November 11, 2017, anyone who holds a DD-214 or NGB-22, can shop at the online PX/BX, Aafes.com. Tax free and often with free shipping and no subscription fee.

That is all.

[Pravious]

I’m sure you are also one of those who says - “who cares where it’s made as long I pay the lowest prices” and China thanks you

—

Just what I was thinking.

Go look at some pictures of some downtown areas - say, in the 1940’s, and today and then tell me you wouldn’t pay a bit more to live in THAT world (well, WWII aside!). It’s the same argument I make when people proclaim their love of “free trade” and horror that we might be paying more if we stopped buying some cheaply made Chinese CRAP. “Yeah - but that same stuff will then begin to be made HERE and OUR people will be making it and WE WILL MAKE IT 1000% better because we’re still America, got it?”

I’m sick of living in a world where I literally can’t buy quality goods simply because no one makes them here anymore and EVERYTHING is outsourced to third world shitholes because corporations can pay people five cents an hour to make their garbage. Sometimes making money (and saving money) isn’t the most important thing.

[VeniVidiVici]

Amazon is not the deal it once was. From free shipping to tax free sales, to really good prices to a great Amazon Prime deal. All that has started to slip away.

Really all that is left is convenience. And for many, that will go a long way.

[VeniVidiVici]

This old lady was not treated right. Hopefully it is gone now ...

[Licensed-To-Carry]

Convenience works really really well for me. But I’m old.