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The people should decide the future of Amazon [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-02-10
The goodness of the “Amazon model” is taken for granted.
Cheaper prices, fast delivery, business efficiency—these things are assumed to be the ideal. But there are downsides to the "Amazon model", too. Cheaper prices come with poor working conditions. Efficiency kills jobs and small businesses. Wages are kept low.
The balance of values—labor rights and efficiency, big or small business—is an important debate to have. Unfortunately, policymakers condescendingly dismiss those who question the "Amazon model".
The growth of Amazon is an unquestionably good (and inevitable) historical development, the thinking goes. If you object, you don't know what's good for you, or haven't studied enough economics. Maybe you're just stupid.
I find this thinking condescendingly anti-democratic. We aren't human beings whose opinions matter. Rather, we're treated as crying children who must be managed by politicians who know how to run our lives better than we do.
I say we form a democratic consensus on these topics rather than have economic and policy elites dictate to us how our own lives are going to be run. Do we accept the poor working conditions of Amazon as a price for fast and cheap delivery? Do we accept big Amazon warehouses dotting the landscape? Do we want one large efficient business, or many small diverse businesses?
Most importantly: do we want companies like Amazon to continue to flourish? Or do we want our government to put a pause on their growth and cut off their government funding?
I think we should have nationwide forums to discuss the topic. Let's have a vote on it. It's beyond time we started demanding to have input on the massive economic forces shaping our lives.
We can start right now. Vote on whether you think we should subsidize Amazon and comment your opinion below.
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