Jeff Bezos Is Now Worth Over $150 Billion - Page 17 - Politics and Economics

Online shopping existed long before Amazon did, but that's not the point.

Entire industries exist to service massive companies like Amazon. Their economies of scale allow me to press a button and have a $6 spatula delivered to my house in 3 hours for free if I wanted so. If you decided that "nobody is allowed to be worth more than $100,000,000" like some other guy ITT says, our entire way of life changes, and not for the better.

IBM, Apple, Microsoft, Google. What does a world look like when IBM is forced to stop growth and expansion back in 1962 because they were "too rich" by then and we decided that money was better spent on relatively minor increases in worker pay?

Their economies of scale allow me to
Their economies of scale allow me to
Their economies of scale allow me to
Their economies of scale allow me to
Their economies of scale allow me to
Their economies of scale allow me to
Their economies of scale allow me to

Jeff Bezos did not invent network effects he just happened to benefit from them to the tune of 10,000 fortunes. We just want 9999 of those fortunes. We'll even let him keep 1.

10-05-2018 , 05:10 PM

#402

6ix

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 4,783

Venezuela!

And that's a bingo!!

10-05-2018 , 05:11 PM

#403

MrWookie

Don't Call Me Meredith

Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 94,159

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6ix

Venezuela!

And that's a bingo!!

Man, I had four and needed "Sweden can only do it because of homogeneity."

10-05-2018 , 05:15 PM

#404

goofyballer

Carpal \'Tunnel

Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 70,719

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inso0

If you hate America and capitalism, there are plenty of pseudo-socialist countries you can apply for residency in.

Some questions I find interesting (Patrick Collison, CEO and co-founder of Stripe)

Quote:

Why are there so many successful startups in Stockholm?

London and Paris have surprisingly few successful tech startups for their size. Stockholm, a city of less than 1 million people, has Spotify, King, Klarna, iZettle, and Mojang, all valued at more than $1 billion. What's true of Stockholm that isn't true of other European cities?

10-05-2018 , 05:18 PM

#405

goofyballer

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Not to mention more traditional global powerhouse companies like Ikea, Volvo, H&M, Ericsson coming from a country with less people than North Carolina. But hurr durr USA#1, no other countries allow business to succeed, blah blah talking point meowchow

10-05-2018 , 05:19 PM

#406

Inso0

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Quote:

Originally Posted by tomdemaine

We just want 9999 of those fortunes. We'll even let him keep 1.

He wouldn't have 9999 fortunes to give if you had your way, DUCY?

Socialism doesn't work. Just stop.

10-05-2018 , 05:22 PM

#407

Inso0

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Quote:

Originally Posted by goofyballer

The IKEA guy is worth $60 billion. Where are the calls for him to donate his fortune to all the CNC machines that run his company?

What say the Swedes about such disgusting wealth?

10-05-2018 , 05:24 PM

#408

John21

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,558

Quote:

Originally Posted by 6ix

He can transfer some shares to his employees?

Sure, or give them to you.

10-05-2018 , 05:25 PM

#409

goofyballer

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Dumb conservatives when you point out social benefits of the Nordic model: "Sweden style socialism can't work in the USA"
Dumb conservatives when you point out successful Nordic businesses: "Sweden isn't socialist at all actually"

10-05-2018 , 05:26 PM

#410

6ix

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 4,783

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomdemaine

What you don't understand is the internet was a stupid piece of **** before Inso0 could get spatulas teleported to his house or whatever.

10-05-2018 , 05:26 PM

#411

Inso0

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Uh oh, I just read that IKEA starting wage is $9.25 in retail. Average is under $11.

90% 89.9% of IKEA employees are in their retail division.

HONEY, WHERE IS MY PITCHFORK!?

Last edited by Inso0; 10-05-2018 at 05:28 PM. Reason: Didn't want to get called out for exaggerating

10-05-2018 , 05:27 PM

#412

6ix

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 4,783

DARPANet? More like DERPanet amirite?

10-05-2018 , 05:30 PM

#413

6ix

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 4,783

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inso0

Uh oh, I just read that IKEA starting wage is $9.25 in retail. Average is under $11.

90% 89.9% of IKEA employees are in their retail division.

HONEY, WHERE IS MY PITCHFORK!?

Don't worry they're all gonna quit and start their own Ikeas. Problem solved.

10-05-2018 , 05:30 PM

#414

goofyballer

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Inso0

Uh oh, I just read that IKEA starting wage is $9.25 in retail. Average is under $11.

90% 89.9% of IKEA employees are in their retail division.

HONEY, WHERE IS MY PITCHFORK!?

Quote:

Originally Posted by goofyballer

10-05-2018 , 05:35 PM

#415

Inso0

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 6ix

Don't worry they're all gonna quit and start their own Ikeas. Problem solved.

Well, they don't have to go that far. They could learn a useful skill and fill one of the many vacant jobs that pay significantly more than $11.

That said, cabinetmaking and carpentry is definitely one of those jobs they could learn and make a ton of money at, so starting their own isn't completely out of the question.

10-05-2018 , 05:38 PM

#416

6ix

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Aug 2017 Posts: 4,783

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrWookie

Man, I had four and needed "Sweden can only do it because of homogeneity."

threw you a curveball at the last second

10-05-2018 , 05:40 PM

#417

John21

Pooh-Bah

Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,558

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shuffle

Socialism or corporate overlords. No in between. Decide now!!!

Give me oligarchy or give me death!

10-05-2018 , 06:42 PM

#418

kerowo

lolcat

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 37,190

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inso0

If you dismantle IBM in the 60s because they were "too rich" like the other guy alluded to, Bezos may well have been a plumber. He pursued an education in computer science, and you can thank the fat cats at IBM and Xerox for that.

In the 60's IBM paid their employees a living wage in line with the profits they were making. If we had dismantled IBM in the 60's we would have had more competition in the PC market and possibly a less homogenous computing environment today.

10-05-2018 , 06:46 PM

#419

kerowo

lolcat

Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 37,190

Quote:

Originally Posted by Inso0

Uh oh, I just read that IKEA starting wage is $9.25 in retail. Average is under $11.

90% 89.9% of IKEA employees are in their retail division.

HONEY, WHERE IS MY PITCHFORK!?

How much do you want to be this is in their home country and doesn't take into account either the currency conversion factor or that health care isn't part of the salary because of socialized medicine?

10-05-2018 , 06:48 PM

#420

27AllIn

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Better to have someone like Elon Musk or Jeff Bazos have 100 billion+- of capital to invest in a successful project, than the government who's gonna light it on fire. Not to mention those individuals actually earned it.

Last edited by 27AllIn; 10-05-2018 at 06:54 PM.

10-05-2018 , 06:51 PM

#421

otatop

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Quote:

Originally Posted by Inso0

The IKEA guy is worth $60 billion. Where are the calls for him to donate his fortune to all the CNC machines that run his company?

Kamprad died in his sleep of pneumonia at his home in Småland, Sweden, on 27 January 2018 at the age of 91. According to his will, half of Kamprad's inheritance will go to projects in Norrland, a sparsely populated part of Sweden. Kamprad reportedly wanted to develop Norrland and make it possible for young people to live there.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 27AllIn

Who the **** is arguing for the money to go to the government?

10-05-2018 , 06:53 PM

#422

Huehuecoyotl

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Quote:

Originally Posted by 27AllIn

Bezos and Musk did not earn their net worths. Large portions of their wealth flow from ownership which does not require any work at all.

10-05-2018 , 07:07 PM

#423

Huehuecoyotl

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There's a switch that occurs when talking about the poor and the rich. When talking about the poor the refrain we often here is that virtually all Americans aren't absolutely poor but might be comparelty poor and as such we shouldn't worry about them too much. But for the rich they have to make X amount of dollars or they absolutely will not innovate regardless of how high that income is.

It seems like we could say that that the entrepreneurship happens when someone wants to be wealthy relative to others and as such Bezos would innovate even if he were only mildly richer than everyone else, not astronomically. In that case we could squish the incomes of the rich and poor and have nearly the same amount of innovation.