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[water_wendi]

Low prices
Convenience
Good customer service

That's what consumers want, and amazon provides it. There isn't a fix to human nature.

Theres a little bit more to it than good prices and good service. From the reports summary of Monopolizing the Economy:

• Amazon uses its vast financial resources to sell many products below its own cost as a tactic for both eliminating competitors that lack similarly deep pockets and hooking customers into its Prime ecosystem, which sharply reduces the chances they will shop around in the future. (Pages 15-16)

• By using Prime to corral an ever-larger share of online shoppers, Amazon has left rival retailers and manufacturers with little choice but to become third-party sellers on its platform. In effect, Amazon is supplanting an open market with a privately controlled one, giving it the power to dictate the terms by which its competitors can operate, and to levy a kind of tax on their revenue. (Pages 17-19)

• Amazon leverages the interplay between the direct retail and platform sides of its business to maximize its dominance over suppliers. As it extracts more fees from them, it’s hollowing out their companies and reducing their ability to invent and develop new products. (Pages 18-23)

• Meanwhile, Amazon is rapidly expanding its own product lines, using the trove of data that it gathers from its platform to understand its suppliers’ industries and compete directly against them. Many of these Amazon products appear at the top of its search listings. (Pages 24–25)

• Amazon is fueling a sharp decline in the number of independent retail businesses, a trend manufacturers say is harming their industries by making it harder for new products and new authors and creators to find an audience. (Pages 25-28)

• Amazon poses a particular danger in the book industry, where its power to manipulate what we encounter, remove books from its search results, and direct our attention to select titles threatens the open exchange of ideas and information. (Page 28)

• Already there’s evidence that Amazon is using its huge trove of data about our buying habits to raise prices, and it’s also started blocking access to certain products, charging higher prices, and delaying shipping times for customers who decline to join its Prime program. (Pages 29-30)

• To focus too much on prices, though, is to miss the real costs of monopoly. Amazon’s tightening grip is damaging our ability to earn a living and curtailing our freedom as producers of value. New business formation has plummeted over the last decade, which economists say is stunting job creation, squeezing the middle class, and worsening income inequality. (Pages 30-31)

This is not healthy.

 

[WaterAstro]

I think on-demand delivery, especially if they can do it perfectly for groceries, is going far better than having stores. Grocery wastes would be reduced by so much if we didn't have to overstock big box stores and throw it all away the day after.

Have everything on demand and get what you need, and that will reduce the amount being thrown away.

There will still be things that need stores, like trying on shoes, glasses, etc. Some things will need stores, but items that aren't clothing or require demos can just be bought online.

 

[More_Badass]

Theres a little bit more to it than good prices and good service. From the reports summary of Monopolizing the Economy:

snip

This is not healthy.

So Amazon is basically a scary cyberpunk megacorp...

I always knew Amazon was huge, but I never realized that they had so much control in all those aspects

 

[kirblar]

The fact that you believe yourself to be left of center within the American political spectrum is mildly frightening to me.

Like someone else posted though, kind of explains a lot.

Because being in favor of universal healthcare, a strong social safety net, and things like gay and trans rights and reproductive freedom are oh, so conservative?

 

[Muppet of a Man]

This paints a very grim picture but I also remember 15+ years ago a ton of people ringing similar alarm bells about Walmart and how they were going to put every other super market out of business and such and destroy the very fiber of the communities they popped up in and now? Walmart doesn't really scare people anymore.

In xx amount of years some other online commerce store will likely raise up to challenge Amazon.

But it did do those things. The country has had a right-wing populist upheaval directly attributable to the consolidation of wealth and power companies like Walmart and Amazon perpetrate. With the direction things are continuing to trend towards, there are 2 possible outcomes:

-Further right-wing populist vs. left-wing populist political strife and social/community breakdown if capital is not invested elsewhere (see below).

-OR-

-A high tech boom in a different sector of the economy (i.e., sustainable energy and infrastructure most likely) offsets the fallout from where the lowest-common-denominator commoditized service economy is heading.

 

[CountAntonius]

Walmart rightfully get's a lot of shit for the damage it's done to economies but I don't see Amazon getting that hate eventhough it seems like it's impossible to compete with nowadays.

 

[HotHamBoy]

But what about the miserable hellscapes that are Amazon Warehouses?

Tons of people get work there!

Walmart rightfully get's a lot of shit for the damage it's done to economies but I don't see Amazon getting that hate eventhough it seems like it's impossible to compete with nowadays.

You can see a Wal-Mart in your community and you can see the direct effect it has in a lot of ways. Amazon, as a store front, is intangible.

 

[dallow_bg]

I am absolutely STUNNED that HALF of all American households have Prime. That's insane!

I kinda refuse to believe that stat.
It's nuts!

 

[TheLaughingStock]

If the Trump admin, Republicans, and Dems combat concentrated economic/political power and shift ideology on antitrust back to what it used to be years ago then Amazon and other shady businesses that have received invaluable gov't assistance will be dealt with.

 

[HotHamBoy]

If the Trump admin, Republicans, and Dems combat concentrated economic/political power and shift ideology on antitrust back to what it used to be years ago then Amazon and other shady businesses that have received invaluable gov't assistance will be dealt with.

 

[jabuseika]

Amazon is bringing drones to my front step, what did the retail giants ever do? Fuck em.

 

[Shauni]

Walmart rightfully get's a lot of shit for the damage it's done to economies but I don't see Amazon getting that hate eventhough it seems like it's impossible to compete with nowadays.

Most people probably aren't aware because there's not a physical presence of Amazon in the same way there was for Wal-Mart

 

[water_wendi]

I kinda refuse to believe that stat.
It's nuts!

Theres like 80 million Prime members. 2016 had 125 million households. Thats over 60%.

 

[Emdeepee]

Half of all US households have Prime? That's incredible. Almost unbelievable.

One fascinating thing is that companies like amazon, facebook, etc have been unable to get into China.

Amazon operate in China, and whilst I don't know how popular they are compared to the Chinese operators they seem pretty popular. Offer lots of US/EU import items and same day delivery on local shipping, which also has cash on delivery.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

I went to Walmart, of all places, to buy a mouse for my gaming pc. I ended up having to crawl back to Newegg to buy one (would have been Amazon if there was no good deal on Newegg). It's sad that local stores aren't able to supply people with the variety of things an online store can.

Walmart didn't have a single good non standard mouse. I later found out I have to order them online where I can have it shipped to the store or to my house. That's one way to do it I guess.

Half of all US households have Prime? That's incredible. Almost unbelievable.

Wow, I never saw the value in it. My brother and sister have it though. I don't mind the shipping speed outside of prime.

 

[Media]

I tend to live rural, so Amazon has been a godsend in getting stuff I would otherwise have to drive four or more hours to find.

Also, them fucking over Walmart makes me a little happy.

A monopoly sucks, but at this point, what could be done about it? They need to stop dodging taxes yes, but how can they stop being so powerful?

 

[DR2K]

As people earn less money they have to spend it wisely. Amazon flat out offers better value, all at the click of a button.

 

[metalslimer]

I mean I love Amazon but you can't deny that one company reaching into the market and controlling that much is not good for a lot of people. It's permanently changed the way I shop for goods and it's extremely hard to go back

 

[AstroLad]

As people earn less money they have to spend it wisely. Amazon flat out offers better value, all at the click of a button.

Not always true. For board games they're always overpriced if you know where to shop. Heck, some of the shops sell on Amazon for like 15% more than their own online stores. I think the laziness and the assumption you've made above make this a pretty good strategy probably in multiple areas.

 

[Madao]

the discounts i get vs the crazy ripoff prices in my country are just too good to pass up.

i'd stop buying stuff full stop before stopping buying from amazon to willingly get ripped off by local businesses. for games, i save around $20 per game after factoring all the shipping costs and that's a lot.
i dunno how they eat up those losses with prime memberships but there's no good alternative.

 

[Evil Monkey DTT]

I'm not against capitalism but we don't have enough to prevent this kind of shit from happening, we just reward it for more power.

 

[Ploid 3.0]

What if someone mad an app to find good local deals and stores like uber. Something to .. nah it still wouldn't be better than having the items show up at your door for no gas and travel time.

 

[Mr. F]

This paints a very grim picture but I also remember 15+ years ago a ton of people ringing similar alarm bells about Walmart and how they were going to put every other super market out of business and such and destroy the very fiber of the communities they popped up in and now? Walmart doesn't really scare people anymore.

In xx amount of years some other online commerce store will likely raise up to challenge Amazon.

As others have mentioned it goes deeper than the fact that Amazon is a storefront. Their various divisions are pervasive at multiple levels of infrastructure both online and off.

 

[Iadien]

Wow, I never saw the value in it. My brother and sister have it though. I don't mind the shipping speed outside of prime.

I've had Prime from almost the beginning, and have used it at least once a week for the past few years. It would feel weird not having it at this point.

 

[Syriel]

There is a ton to unpack in this report. One thing i want to point out that while sales tax is no longer an issue it is still covered in the report (remember that Amazon only just stopped the sales tax evasion in all states as of a couple months ago). There is this little choice piece tucked away on page 66:

Anyone want to explain how the reality we find ourselves in is nothing more than a broken window fallacy or are the doubters ready to admit there is a problem here?

It was never Amazon evading sales taxes. It was individuals cheating on their taxes.

Put the blame where it belongs.

 

[Ozigizo]

This paints a very grim picture but I also remember 15+ years ago a ton of people ringing similar alarm bells about Walmart and how they were going to put every other super market out of business and such and destroy the very fiber of the communities they popped up in and now? Walmart doesn't really scare people anymore.

In xx amount of years some other online commerce store will likely raise up to challenge Amazon.

Except that Walmart did do that.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/walmart-closings/

Everything you described is exactly what happened in these areas, and now there's nothing left to fill the void they left.

 

[kirblar]

Except that Walmart did do that.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/business/walmart-closings/

Everything you described is exactly what happened in these areas, and now there's nothing left to fill the void they left.

Those places were dying or dead long before Wal-Mart pulled out.

 

[Ozigizo]

Those places were dying or dead long before Wal-Mart pulled out.

I feel like that's beside the point. They contributed to the demise.

 

[water_wendi]

It was never Amazon evading sales taxes. It was individuals cheating on their taxes.

Put the blame where it belongs.

The tax evasion via loopholes was a business decision by Bezos from the start. The blame falls on Amazon and Bezos.

Although Bezos has downplayed the strategic value of this exemption, Amazon’s actions over the years tell a different story. In an interview with Fast Company in 1996, Bezos explained his decision to locate the company in Seattle: “It had to be in a small state. In the mail-order business, you have to charge sales tax to customers who live in any state where you have a business presence... We thought about the Bay Area, which is the single best source for echnical talent. But it didn’t pass the small-state test."

 

[kirblar]

I feel like that's beside the point. They contributed to the demise.

It's not besides the point.

These low-density rural areas are dying off because their natural industries are dying off w/ new fuel sources and automation replacing the need to have mass amounts of people living there. Or where a singular factory was supporting a town but is no longer neeeded, moved elsewhere, etc.

Wal-Mart isn't pushing out the types of economic industries that anchor these places. Those are leaving all on their own.

If a place like that can't support a Wal-Mart, it can't support 10 smaller stores doing the equivalent either.

 

[forms]

We are soon in the era where countries are really, really small, and mega-corporations run everything. Yes, I know things are already almost like that, but I mean in public. Corporations doing statements together with countries, government being a shared function etc.

 

[Syriel]

The tax evasion via loopholes was a business decision by Bezos from the start. The blame falls on Amazon and Bezos.

Bezos made a bet that most people were selfish and greedy and would evade taxes if they thought they could get away with it.

He was right.

But he wasn't the one doing the evading. Every single item that was sold that way had a use tax that was due. Millions upon millions just decided to risk not paying it and the states didn't enforce collection.

 

[Jaraghan]

Damn.

And these mofos started out selling BOOKS.

 

[curiouscharles]

My own personal pet peeve about all of this is what Amazon has trained people to expect from mail order service. I sell products online and we're absolutely forced to use the cheapest availible shipping options because we can't afford to take the loss from paying for more expensive shipping ourselves and if we raise our shipping costs from $5 to what things actually would cost, which would be like $15, people flip the fuck out and our sales fall through the floor. And then people are surprised when their packages take a while to arrive, or get lost, or don't have insurance. What do you think $5 shipping buys any company that isn't Amazon?

PREACH.

i run two online businesses, both selling clothes, and stores like amazon have completely blinded people to the realities of actual shipping costs.

i spent the first five years with my first online business just building up enough shipping volume to negotiate decent rates [ie - 70% off] with fedex and/or dhl - and even then the cost i'd ask of my customers would insult them so much they'd refuse to buy my products [and i'd still subsidize most of the discounted shipping cost myself].

fucking amazon.

but, at the same time, almost can't blame them for what they've done - if capitalism was the game of thrones bezos be sitting on some forged swords right about now.

 

[FrenchMovieTheme]

PREACH.

i run two online businesses, both selling clothes, and stores like amazon have completely blinded people to the realities of actual shipping costs.

i spent the first five years with my first online business just building up enough shipping volume to negotiate decent rates [ie - 70% off] with fedex and/or dhl - and even then the cost i'd ask of my customers would insult them so much they'd refuse to buy my products [and i'd still subsidize most of the discounted shipping cost myself].

fucking amazon.

but, at the same time, almost can't blame them for what they've done - if capitalism was the game of thrones bezos be sitting on some forged swords right about now.

I buy all my clothes from Amazon because it's impossible to find things that fit tall skinny guys at regular retail stores with any consistency. Also, Amazon gives free shipping back which is huge because "slim fit" shirts are a crap shoot. Sometimes I get one and it's like I'm swimming in it. If an online store could provide accurate measurements of the clothing, I'd shop there exclusively regardless of price.

 

[poppedcollar69]

But he wasn't the one doing the evading. Every single item that was sold that way had a use tax that was due. Millions upon millions just decided to risk not paying it and the states didn't enforce collection.

Yep. Use tax is not a very well known concept. All the tourists and washingtonians who think they're gaming the system by shopping in Oregon have no idea.

 

[numble]

It was never Amazon evading sales taxes. It was individuals cheating on their taxes.

Put the blame where it belongs.

Bezos made a bet that most people were selfish and greedy and would evade taxes if they thought they could get away with it.

He was right.

But he wasn't the one doing the evading. Every single item that was sold that way had a use tax that was due. Millions upon millions just decided to risk not paying it and the states didn't enforce collection.

There are plenty of cases where Amazon started collecting taxes because they were not willing to face a state nexus case, started collecting sales tax as part of a deal to not pay back taxes or in exchange for a tax incentive (Utah), and in some cases Amazon has had to pay back some taxes.

Many of Amazon's agreements to collect sales taxes are part of a deal to collect on a going-forward basis and to not seek unpaid taxes from Amazon. The situation isn't as black and white as you think and the Supreme Court was giving indications that it supported the nexus arguments of the states by supporting lower court decisions against Amazon.

Here's Neil Gorsuch's concurrence in the Colorado Amazon case--he basically says the old mail order rule established in Bellas Hess, the Supreme Court case that says out of state mail order companies do not need to collect sales tax, should be done away with:

It is a fact — if an analytical oddity — that the Bellas Hess branch of dormant commerce clause jurisprudence guarantees a competitive benefit to certain firms simply because of the organizational form they choose to assume while the mainstream of dormant commerce clause jurisprudence associated with West Lynn Creamery is all about preventing discrimination between firms. And the plaintiffs might well complain that the competitive advantage they enjoy will be diluted by our decision in this case.
...
In this way too Quill is perhaps unusual but hardly unprecedented, for while some precedential islands manage to survive indefinitely even when surrounded by a sea of contrary law (e.g., Federal Baseball), a good many others disappear when reliance interests never form around them or erode over time (e.g., Montejo v. Louisiana, 556 U.S. 778, 792-93 (2009)). And Quill's very reasoning — its ratio decidendi — seems deliberately designed to ensure
that Bellas Hess's precedential island would never expand but would, if anything, wash away with the tides of time.

 

[Ozigizo]

It's not besides the point.

These low-density rural areas are dying off because their natural industries are dying off w/ new fuel sources and automation replacing the need to have mass amounts of people living there. Or where a singular factory was supporting a town but is no longer neeeded, moved elsewhere, etc.

Wal-Mart isn't pushing out the types of economic industries that anchor these places. Those are leaving all on their own.

If a place like that can't support a Wal-Mart, it can't support 10 smaller stores doing the equivalent either.

Ok.

Walmart's impact on an urban area::
http://ecommons.luc.edu/curl_pubs/3/

"The overall community leader response emerging from our discussions is that elected
officials should not be so quick to invite in larger corporate retailers into communities,
under the assumption that these large businesses will produce more tax revenue, better
retail options for residents, and more jobs. This study shows that some of these promises
of growth may not be realized after stores are built. Where the long-term impact will not be one of growth, but merely a process of replacing small retailers with a larger retailer,
government leaders need to be more cautious."

Edit: this also references an earlier study from the 90's by Kenneth Stone, which is here in PDF:
http://www2.econ.iastate.edu/faculty/stone/Effect%20of%20Walmart%20-%201988%20paper%20scanned.pdf

 

[gatti-man]

Bezos made a bet that most people were selfish and greedy and would evade taxes if they thought they could get away with it.

He was right.

But he wasn't the one doing the evading. Every single item that was sold that way had a use tax that was due. Millions upon millions just decided to risk not paying it and the states didn't enforce collection.

You've got to be shitting me here. Seriously. Amazon didn't collect because it gave them a huge leg up in the market place. It's not a bet if it's a guaranteed win.

Every other business collects taxes. You can't just say it's on consumers to report it and wash amazons hands clean, they were the perpetrators and it's easy to see why.

 

[water_wendi]

But he wasn't the one doing the evading. Every single item that was sold that way had a use tax that was due. Millions upon millions just decided to risk not paying it and the states didn't enforce collection.

When the company is set up to take advantage of a tax loophole i consider that evading taxes. Regardless of who you blame Amazon was the beneficiary of such an arrangement in that it gave them an unfair price advantage over the competition. As a result of that and other underhanded advantage the company is now a massive beast that has extended its reach to every nook and cranny of the US economy. Either we are dealing with essentially whats a MegaCorp or there is a Amazon bubble coming. Maybe both?

 

[gatti-man]

When the company is set up to take advantage of a tax loophole i consider that evading taxes. Regardless of who you blame Amazon was the beneficiary of such an arrangement in that it gave them an unfair price advantage over the competition. As a result of that and other underhanded advantage the company is now a massive beast that has extended its reach to every nook and cranny of the US economy. Either we are dealing with essentially whats a MegaCorp or there is a Amazon bubble coming. Maybe both?

Oh Amazon is going to be legislated against its just a matter of time. I doubt trump has the balls to do it though so maybe in 3 years time.

 

[PhoncipleBone]

When the company is set up to take advantage of a tax loophole i consider that evading taxes. Regardless of who you blame Amazon was the beneficiary of such an arrangement in that it gave them an unfair price advantage over the competition. As a result of that and other underhanded advantage the company is now a massive beast that has extended its reach to every nook and cranny of the US economy. Either we are dealing with essentially whats a MegaCorp or there is a Amazon bubble coming. Maybe both?

Precisely the issue. Thank you.

 

[dreamcastmaster]

we've seen this story before. 20 years ago it was Wal-Mart. 20 years from now it will be some free energy company.

Whoever is ontop always becomes the poster child for the countries issues. At one time it was McDonalds being the blame for environmental and health issues. Another sperate point was I can remember clearly that it was believed that nobody could stop EBay in the online sales market, yet here we are with Amazon and I already see China has been mentioned in this topic. This is a cycle and it's not one company in control of it but rather the current climate allowing them to thrive. Ten years from now it could be about Taobao and how they make no jobs for Americans and how those Amazon workers are now unemployed.

 

[Joeytj]

Well, when amazon is doing pretty much everything right whereas their competitors are lagging far behind in terms of accessibility of products and its sales then by all means let it happen.this is why so many companies are closing stores and going bankrupt, they either can not or will not keep up with things amazon are doing with its service. I mean, when you live in a capitalist society this can happen.

The prices are just too good and the shipping is just too convenient. Ain't no reason to go to a regular store anymore

Free two-day shipping is a hell of a thing.

To be fair though I'd probably shop at an actual store if it was conveniently located within walking distance, had all the things I needed and I didn't have to talk to a single person while shopping. But that's Amazons next project anyway.

Geeez. Matt Stoller is right. A lot of what ails the Democrats and so-called progressives has its roots on this type of appeasement of monopolies and concentration of power from their base.

Yeah, we all love it with some companies grow thanks to their innovation and bringing down the monoliths of the past, but too many of you forget that it's the job of the public trust and government to make sure those same companies don't become the very thing they used to hate or the obstacles to further innovation.

Google, Amazon and Facebook are indeed becoming too powerful to be kept all in one piece, the same as telecoms and other companies in other industries.

The reason you all had such a boom in cellular and mobile technology innovation in the 2000s was in large part thanks to the breakup of AT&T and the Bell System.

Imagine the innovation we could achieve if maybe next year or bye 2020, Google or Amazon get broken up and forced to compete.

Even Samsung and Apple are reaching or have reached duopoly status in many parts of the world.

 

[Gunslinger]

When Amazon ultimately destroys all but wallmart. What can those people out of jobs do? And how will it affect economy?

 

[Briarios]

I believe in their reach and most of what was said ... I don't believe that half of all American households have Amazon Prime.

Edit: Here's a Wired response to the piece: https://www.wired.com/2017/03/sorry-amazon-isnt-actually-annihilating-retail-jobs/

 

[kirblar]

Geeez. Matt Stoller is right. A lot of what ails the Democrats and so-called progressives has its roots on this type of appeasement of monopolies and concentration of power from their base.

Yeah, we all love it with some companies grow thanks to their innovation and bringing down the monoliths of the past, but too many of you forget that it's the job of the public trust and government to make sure those same companies don't become the very thing they used to hate or the obstacles to further innovation.

Google, Amazon and Facebook are indeed becoming too powerful to be kept all in one piece, the same as telecoms and other companies in other industries.

The reason you all had such a boom in cellular and mobile technology innovation in the 2000s was in large part thanks to the breakup of AT&T and the Bell System.

Imagine the innovation we could achieve if maybe next year or bye 2020, Amazon gets broken up and forced to actually compete.

Amazon is competing. Wal-Mart. eBay. Best Buy. Costco. Netflix. These are competitors!

I'm in favor of forcing competition at the local level w/ cable companies. Our current situation w/ Cell carriers is pretty great, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, AT&T being forced to compete results in a net benefit for consumers! Allowing the T-Mobile/Sprint merger to happen woudl be a bad idea!

I'm not worried about local businesses being taken away by Amazon/Wal-Mart etc. because this is an inevitable process that has been happening for decades and willl continue to happen, because these kinds of businesses have massive advantages when you can get mass amounts of scale involved. Letting behemoths slug it out in the heavens for our business is just fine, there just need to be multiple titans in the ring!

Things like Google, Apple, Samsung, Facebook, etc. - Operating systems, a social network to stay in contact w/ family - these are the sort of thing that naturally go down to only a few options in the marketplace due to their very nature.

 

[LinkAndEpona]

Between Amazon and eBay, there isn't much need for me to use any other store.

 

[Nydius]

Google, Amazon and Facebook are indeed becoming too powerful to be kept all in one piece, the same as telecoms and other companies in other industries.

The reason you all had such a boom in cellular and mobile technology innovation in the 2000s was in large part thanks to the breakup of AT&T and the Bell System.

Not really. By the early 2000's, almost all of the broken up Baby Bells of the early 1980's had been bought up by other larger telecom companies or had merged together to form larger companies. The biggest impact of the telecom breakup was in terms of landline competition for long distance providers in the 1980's through mid-1990's - most people still only had one Regional Bell post-breakup. By 2006, just before the rise of the iPhone, AT&T was back to owning most of the Regional Bells with Verizon owning a few. Some breakup!

Cellular and wireless innovations happened because they were emerging technologies during the technology boom of the late 90's. But here we see most directly the problems with the telecom industry in that innovation became stifled due to the natural monopolies that had emerged in the 20 years following the Bell breakup. It's why, until LTE, we had to deal with such ridiculousness as GSM vs. CDMA, and carrier lock in based on quasi-proprietary standards. Cellular providers are back to the same tricks as their pre-breakup AT&T/Bell telecome forebears and probably need scrutinizing again.

Don't misinterpret this post as me somehow saying breakups are bad. They're generally good for the consumer when they're maintained. The problem is they're rarely maintained. After a few years, the breakups are forgotten about and companies just start merging and buying one another until we're nearly back to where we were before. If not for VoIP solutions, I'd still have only ONE landline phone option: Verizon, which bought Bell Atlantic in 1996. Even with VoIP solutions, I only have TWO landline phone options: Verizon (as FiOS or copper line) or Cox Communications.

Let's say, for the sake of argument, that anti-trust breaks up Amazon sometime this year. How long would it be before some other large companies start buying up the pieces of what used to be Amazon and reassemble them the same way AT&T did with the Baby Bells?

 

[water_wendi]

I believe in their reach and most of what was said ... I don't believe that half of all American households have Amazon Prime.

Edit: Here's a Wired response to the piece: https://www.wired.com/2017/03/sorry-amazon-isnt-actually-annihilating-retail-jobs/

This is Wireds summation:

Spoons Aren't the Solution

Of course, technological and organizational change can disrupt people's lives and livelihoods in unwelcome ways. But hasty regulatory "fixes," which are among the most significant causes of sluggish growth (and thus job loss), are not the answer. Imposing laws and regulations to punish innovators and protect traditional jobs from the perceived threats of the future would stifle productivity, mandate inefficiency, and restrain progress just as readily (and just as sensibly) as would hiring laborers to dig a canal with spoons instead of backhoes.

Instead, we need sound, compassionate policies targeted at empowering the displaced to acquire the education and skills to succeed in ever-shifting job markets—retail and otherwise. Business accelerators, for example, are among the initiatives that have proven successful in stimulating employment. A host of other ideas, ranging from some form of universal basic income to Trade Adjustment Assistance, may offer the potential for transitional aid aimed not at thwarting economic dynamism, but at helping the human workforce to adapt and evolve.

Whatever the right answer, one thing is certain: Banning ice cream cones is a terrible way to stave off shark attacks.

This is three paragraphs of nothingness. You agree with this?

i guess it shouldnt be so much of a surprise that authors receiving funding from Amazon wouldnt have a harsh regulatory stance on them.