Posted on 09/05/2018 12:03:49 PM PDT by TangledUpInBlue
Sen. Bernie Sanders' criticism of Amazon peaked Wednesday as he and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., introduced legislation to tax corporations for every dollar that their low-wage workers receive in government health-care benefits or food stamps.
The bill, pointedly called the Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies, or BEZOS, Act, is aimed at shaming companies like Amazon and Walmart, whose workers rely on public assistance.
For months, Sanders has targeted Amazon, juxtaposing the wealth of CEO Jeff Bezos with reports that Amazon warehouse workers are paid less than industry averages and rely on food stamps.
Bezos is the richest man in the world, with a net worth of more than $168 billion.
"Our legislation gives large, profitable employers a choice: Pay workers a living wage or pay for the public assistance programs their low-wage employees are forced to depend upon," Sanders said of the proposed law.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Amazon Employee: We have a job driving a forklift in our fulfilment center.
Job Seeker: How much does it pay?
Amazon Employee: $10 per hour with no benefits. Are you still interested?
Job Seeker: Yes, I'll take it!
How is this Amazon's fault?
This is comical.
This isn’t an entirely terrible proposal. Walmart and other companies have abused Medicaid and other programs as a way to cut costs and not have to shoulder the responsibilities of providing benefits to workers.
It’s probably not the best way to go ahead with confronting the corporate welfare.
Actually they start at $15 per hour here in the Austin area to drive a fork lift. Works out to a little over $30,000 per year without any overtime.
Jeff Bezos had better wake up or they will take his entire company from him.
And they will definitely try.....................
If there isn't a viable midle class that all citizens can aspire to become part of, the end result is a loss of freedom. That leads to more government, not less.
They may do that anyway irrespective of any of this. Amazon is the closest thing I’ve ever seen to a monopoly in my life time.
“Bezos is the richest man in the world, with a net worth of more than $168 billion. “
He also started out living in a regular home and driving a used car when Amazon was first worth a billion.
The man is a leftist-funding A-hole, but he got his success through risk, perseverance, and by living far below his means.
Still an A-hole, though...
I agree. Either we are stuck with government laundering money to pass out for votes, or the possibility of higher prices. I’ll go with door number two.
This, if passed will only quicken the development of technologies removing even more people from the Amazon transaction chain.
All the fork lift drivers will be gone (out of a job) and just a couple of maintenance or repair tech positions for then entire center.
That’s smart thinking Bernie!
Biting the hand that feeds you, I’d say.
I have no idea. I was just making an example, but ok.
I don’t care for this legislation but I do have to give Crazy Bernie credit for really sticking it to Jeff Bezos by naming it after him. Well played, Crazy Bernie, well played!
“I agree. Workers with full-time jobs should make a living wage. It’s a travesty that companies such as Amazon and WalMart have founders and upper-echelon employees who make fortunes while their employees collect food stamps and other benefits at taxpayer expense.”
And fast-food joints ought to pay 15 an hour too?
They aren’t slaves. They can quit. They also aren’t morons when they filled out an application to work there. The pay wasn’t sprung on them 4 months after starting.
The thing is that if they all quit, Amazon has enough cash to make the whole thing automated.
No, the fault, as always, lies with government interference in the market. Government involvement in health care and insurance made it too expensive for companies to provide these benefits. If there were a true free market in health care and insurance, costs would not have skyrocketed and there would be more and better options.
Also, people who work at lower paying jobs ought to be looking at ways to improve themselves and get a promotion or a new job. If this silly bill were to pass, it would cause more unemployment and increase the cost of goods.
Every time government attempts to help, it makes things worse.
Since welfare payments depend on family size, this bill would give a huge incentive to hire childless singles rather than people with a lot of kids.
“I agree. Workers with full-time jobs should make a living wage.”
The problem with that statement, is defining “Living Wage”
Never heard of the Bell System eh?
Anytime an employee fails to provide more value than expense, you fire them. This law will result in lots of firing.
Where, exactly, should we draw the line? If you raise prices to cover increased labor costs, won't prices go up? And if prices go up, won't products be less affordable? And if products are less affordable, aren't people going to have less disposable income? And if they have less disposable income, won't there come a point that they can't live on what they have left? And if the come to a point where they can't live on what they have left, will employers have to raise their salaries? And if you raise prices to cover increased labor costs...
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