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posted by mrpg on Wednesday September 05 2018, @11:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the corporations-are-people-too dept.

DannyB chased by a bunch of wild rabid kangaroos writes . . .

Bernie Sanders introduces 'Stop BEZOS' bill to tax Amazon for underpaying workers

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) have introduced a bill that would tax companies like Amazon and Walmart for the cost of employees' food stamps and other public assistance. Sanders' Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act (abbreviated "Stop BEZOS") . . . would institute a 100 percent tax on government benefits that are granted to workers at large companies.

The bill's text characterizes this as a "corporate welfare tax," and it would apply to corporations with 500 or more employees. If workers are receiving government aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), national school lunch and breakfast programs, Section 8 housing subsidies, or Medicaid, employers will be taxed for the total cost of those benefits. The bill applies to full-time and part-time employees, as well as independent contractors that are de facto company employees.

Sanders announced his plans for the proposal last month. He emphasized today that "this discussion is not just about Amazon and [Amazon CEO] Jeff Bezos." But as the bill's name would suggest, he's been particularly critical of Amazon and Bezos who became the richest person in the world (and modern history) last year. "The taxpayers in this country should not be subsidizing a guy who's worth $150 billion, whose wealth is increasing by $260 million every single day," [ . . . rest omitted . . . ]

Food stamps, School Lunch, Medicaid, great . . . but what about employees who must shop at Walmart?


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  • (Score: 2) by jmorris on Thursday September 06 2018, @03:59AM (3 children)

    by jmorris (4844) on Thursday September 06 2018, @03:59AM (#731150)

    See another post nearby for details. Yes I see the problem with Officers being divorced from the risks out of proportion to their potential for big rewards for short term gains, even paper gains. But the ownership class is the ones who must take losses when they suffer a fool to lead a company into oblivion, and they do indeed suffer. So that part of the system still mostly functions.

    Most people's philosophical problems come from mistaking our current system for Capitalism. They need to understand that we are closer to Communism than Red China, most of our remaining public displays of Capitalism are for show and for tradition. In short the world would be a lot better if people read some Moldbug.

    Reading any measurable portion of Moldbug's output is a massive undertaking, but if everyone here would at least try a taste and comment, this one is pretty relevant to what I' trying to say:

    Moldbug: Technology, communism [unqualified-reservations.org]
    and the Brown Scare

    The almost five years since it was written changes nothing, not even the upheaval of Nov 2016 or the shitshow since.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by jelizondo on Thursday September 06 2018, @04:18AM (1 child)

    by jelizondo (653) Subscriber Badge on Thursday September 06 2018, @04:18AM (#731158) Journal

    Indeed, thanks! My point is precisely that capitalism has gone wrong, at least in the U.S. and many other places as well, but let’s not go there.

    I think we agree that (true) capitalism has given humanity the most advances both scientifically and ethically, and should be considered the most efficient economic system, bar none.

    Probably you will enjoy reading a pamphlet by Frederic Bastiat [bastiat.org] (published in 1848!) that in mind sums up pretty well what I think we should strive for.

    • (Score: 2) by Pav on Friday September 07 2018, @12:40AM

      by Pav (114) on Friday September 07 2018, @12:40AM (#731592)

      pffft... you mean post-WWII "golden age" USA? 90% top marginal tax rate, ~52% corporate tax rate... paying welfare not only for itself, but for Europe and Japan as well (through the Marshalll plan)? Or do you mean the roaring 20's (sandwiched between the Long Recession and the Great Depression)?

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Dr Spin on Thursday September 06 2018, @08:52AM

    by Dr Spin (5239) on Thursday September 06 2018, @08:52AM (#731217)
    But the ownership class is the ones who must take losses when they suffer a fool to lead a company into oblivion, and they do indeed suffer.

    Never underestimate the pain of being tickled with a soft pillow.

    --
    Warning: Opening your mouth may invalidate your brain!