This NYT writer doesn't understand what business is for.

[Harshaw]

El Chapo.

Gave plenty of people the buzz they wanted. He couldn't have $14 billion to seize without massive demand.

But the cocaine trade has already been discussed in this thread.

 

[Harshaw]

No comments about my summation of the problem, and/or my suggestion to possibly remedy the situation?

None, as they have nothing to do with the thread topic. Seems like you should start your own thread about the evils of profit.

 

[Harshaw]

I couldn't disagree with you more on this statement. Sure, I absolutely love Amazon. I've had bi-lateral knee replacements and walking store to store in a huge shopping mall just to buy myself a new sweater or going to Home Depot to see if I can find the exact right replacement part for the broken belt on our rider mower absolutely kills me. I could spend hours walking around stores looking for 'exactly' the right thing I'm looking for and still leave empty-handed. But I can do a few clicks of my mouse and find it on Amazon. So, I love Amazon.

But Amazon didn't make the world a better place, not by any means.

You spend your first paragraph directly contradicting the first sentence of your second.

 

[Harshaw]

I'm absolutely amazed that someone is actually trying to argue the point that people getting quick, short-term gratification from chemical substances that are known to bare serious health effects and cause much societal harm are a net-benefit to society.

Apparently you and Greenbeard have the same problem.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

All Bezos had to do was sweeten the pot a little more, give some hope to the folks who would be toiling away endless hours for his crap wages.
Had he been just a wee bit more willing in that regard, he probably would have won.
Of course people wanted Amazon's HQ, but in the long term, they also want a secure future. And if that future turns out dismal, it's the pols they will blame.

 

[Checkerboard Strangler]

I don't have to tell them anything. Per the CDC, about 70% of adult smokers report that they want to quit the product completely. The fact that it's so difficult for them to do so--review above posts for why if you've forgotten--is a tremendous asymmetry in favor of the seller and to the detriment of the buyer (and to the rest of society that bears the externalities).

I found crack cocaine easier to quit than smoking cigarettes. I've been free of the cocaine addiction for going on twenty-five years, and never have the slightest cravings for coke whatsoever. I can't even imagine myself as a coke fiend and that's been in my core for at least twenty-four of those twenty five years.
Once I finally shook myself free of it, it was a done deal.

I would give literally anything to have that be the case with my addiction to cigarettes.
The only people who can sit there and make a justification or otherwise normalize addiction to cigarettes are tobacco company lawyers.

"Thank You For Smoking"

 

[HumblePi]

You spend your first paragraph directly contradicting the first sentence of your second.

I was quite clear but I will go one step beyond my already clear comment, I will explain in more simple words that you can comprehend. #1. Yes, I like Amazon. #2. I completely disagree with the OP opinion; "To contend that Amazon hasn't made the world a better, more convenient, more enjoyable place is just idiocy on stilts. Of course they have. And it wasn't by accident."

If you had read my entire comment, I couldn't have been any more intelligible.

 

[Harshaw]

I was quite clear but I will go one step beyond my already clear comment, I will explain in more simple words that you can comprehend. #1. Yes, I like Amazon. #2. I completely disagree with the OP opinion; "To contend that Amazon hasn't made the world a better, more convenient, more enjoyable place is just idiocy on stilts. Of course they have. And it wasn't by accident."

If you had read my entire comment, I couldn't have been any more intelligible.

You described exactly how Amazon made the world a better place, and then said it hasn't made the world a better place, "not by any means." Your words.

You then went on to describe what you think are the downsides, which boil down to "I liked this other stuff, and it's going away because of Amazon."

If people in general thought that other stuff was better, then they wouldn't use Amazon so much. But you do as well, for the same reasons as anyone else, so you're part of what you say is the problem.

But you're not alone; I've seen a lot of people lament the demise of retail shops they haven't themselves set foot in for years.

Not that brick-and-mortal retail isn't making a comeback.

How Brick And Mortar Stores Are Making A Comeback With Millennials And Gen Zers

 

[Cramer]

None, as they have nothing to do with the thread topic. Seems like you should start your own thread about the evils of profit.

It is certainly related to business, and business practices which certainly is in line with the theme of the thread.

But fair enough.. I am fairly new here, and in my past experience in forums like these, threads would meander around the subject...but I can adjust.

To quickly respond...there is nothing evil about profit in of itself....unfettered/unregulated capitalism?....That can be one evil system. Too much regulation stifles it, not enough and it becomes a cancer. There needs to be a balance. That was my point.

 

[LouC]

Especially innovative business.

Headline:



Subheadline:



Opinion | Amazon Isn’t Interested in Making the World a Better Place - The New York Times

And I'm not saying this because the point of business is profit, not altruism, or anything like that (though it's true).

I'm saying it because any successful business makes the world a better place. A better, more convenient, more enjoyable place.

If they didn't, no one would give them their money.

It's especially true of tech innovators who find way to do things differently, and if they're successful, better, than anyone's done it before.

And that, of course, is the whole point of going into that business -- to do something better, and to make money because it's better.

So, seeking to make the world a better place is indeed a core component of what Amazon built itself on.

To contend that Amazon hasn't made the world a better, more convenient, more enjoyable place is just idiocy on stilts. Of course they have. And it wasn't by accident.

So a NYT opinion writer has an opinion about Amazon and you have an opinion that that opinion writer is wrong!

GOD love America!

 

[HumblePi]

You described exactly how Amazon made the world a better place, and then said it hasn't made the world a better place, "not by any means." Your words.

You then went on to describe what you think are the downsides, which boil down to "I liked this other stuff, and it's going away because of Amazon."

If people in general thought that other stuff was better, then they wouldn't use Amazon so much. But you do as well, for the same reasons as anyone else, so you're part of what you say is the problem.

But you're not alone; I've seen a lot of people lament the demise of retail shops they haven't themselves set foot in for years.

Not that brick-and-mortal retail isn't making a comeback.

How Brick And Mortar Stores Are Making A Comeback With Millennials And Gen Zers

Alright, you tell me how the 'world is a better place'. Go on, I'll wait. And by the way, brick and mortar stores MAY make a comeback at the cost of huge malls that are shutting down.

 

[MauiMan]

Especially innovative business.

Headline:



Subheadline:



Opinion | Amazon Isn’t Interested in Making the World a Better Place - The New York Times

And I'm not saying this because the point of business is profit, not altruism, or anything like that (though it's true).

I'm saying it because any successful business makes the world a better place. A better, more convenient, more enjoyable place.

If they didn't, no one would give them their money.

It's especially true of tech innovators who find way to do things differently, and if they're successful, better, than anyone's done it before.

And that, of course, is the whole point of going into that business -- to do something better, and to make money because it's better.

So, seeking to make the world a better place is indeed a core component of what Amazon built itself on.

To contend that Amazon hasn't made the world a better, more convenient, more enjoyable place is just idiocy on stilts. Of course they have. And it wasn't by accident.

What happened in New York is comical. Here’s the core of the problem (quoted from the article):

“When it was revealed exactly how much — $3 billion in tax breaks after largely secret negotiations between civil potentates like Gov. Andrew Cuomo and faceless Amazon execs — the situation was ripe for disruption.”

“Many New Yorkers had cheered on the opposition, assuming that it might persuade Amazon to strike a better deal with the city. They mostly agreed that more tech jobs would be good for New York (good salaries and more money for retailers, restaurants and the real estate industry) more than bad (gentrification, congestion)”.

I find it strange that the people of New York don’t understand the leverage that big businesses have over them. This is in spite of living in arguably one of the most capitalist cities in the world. Tax breaks are one of the advantages big businesses have over small ones, and is to be expected. We are a capitalist society. Do New Yorkers want to change this?

New Yorkers lost a great opportunity—Amazon will continue to grow, and now New York will not have the economic stimulus of those jobs, nor the tax revenue from the people employed by Amazon.

 

[Harshaw]

It is certainly related to business, and business practices which certainly is in line with the theme of the thread.

But fair enough.. I am fairly new here, and in my past experience in forums like these, threads would meander around the subject...but I can adjust.

To quickly respond...there is nothing evil about profit in of itself....unfettered/unregulated capitalism?....That can be one evil system. Too much regulation stifles it, not enough and it becomes a cancer. There needs to be a balance. That was my point.

This thread isn't about any of that.

 

[Harshaw]

What happened in New York is comical. Here’s the core of the problem (quoted from the article):

“When it was revealed exactly how much — $3 billion in tax breaks after largely secret negotiations between civil potentates like Gov. Andrew Cuomo and faceless Amazon execs — the situation was ripe for disruption.”

“Many New Yorkers had cheered on the opposition, assuming that it might persuade Amazon to strike a better deal with the city. They mostly agreed that more tech jobs would be good for New York (good salaries and more money for retailers, restaurants and the real estate industry) more than bad (gentrification, congestion)”.

I find it strange that the people of New York don’t understand the leverage that big businesses have over them. This is in spite of living in arguably one of the most capitalist cities in the world. Tax breaks are one of the advantages big businesses have over small ones, and is to be expected. We are a capitalist society. Do New Yorkers want to change this?

New Yorkers lost a great opportunity—Amazon will continue to grow, and now New York will not have the economic stimulus of those jobs, nor the tax revenue from the people employed by Amazon.

Maybe, but that's not at all my point.

 

[HumblePi]

50 haunting photos of abandoned shopping malls across America




American malls are closing all over the US.
A report done by Credit Suisse estimates that 20% to 25% of malls would shutter over the next five years, largely because of store closures.
In 2017, 6,400 stores closed - a further 3,600 are expected to close in 2018.

American malls are dying out.

Retail complexes all over the US are being clobbered by store closures sweeping the country.

In 2017, more than 6,400 stores closed and another 3,600 are expected to shutter in 2018. According to a report done by Credit Suisse, this will result in 20% to 25% of malls closing in the next five years.

A national retail apocalypse has crippled US malls as anchor stores such as Macy's and Sears, which take up large retail spaces and drive foot traffic, have shuttered stores and left malls with enormous gaps to fill.

For many malls, this is an impossible task.

How in the HELL could this be 'good for America'?

 

[Harshaw]

Alright, you tell me how the 'world is a better place'. Go on, I'll wait.

You already did, with all the reasons you like to use Amazon.

And by the way, brick and mortar stores MAY make a comeback at the cost of huge malls that are shutting down.

So your brick-and-mortars make the world worse, too, because they're mall-killers?

 

[Harshaw]

50 haunting photos of abandoned shopping malls across America




American malls are closing all over the US.
A report done by Credit Suisse estimates that 20% to 25% of malls would shutter over the next five years, largely because of store closures.
In 2017, 6,400 stores closed - a further 3,600 are expected to close in 2018.

American malls are dying out.

Retail complexes all over the US are being clobbered by store closures sweeping the country.

In 2017, more than 6,400 stores closed and another 3,600 are expected to shutter in 2018. According to a report done by Credit Suisse, this will result in 20% to 25% of malls closing in the next five years.

A national retail apocalypse has crippled US malls as anchor stores such as Macy's and Sears, which take up large retail spaces and drive foot traffic, have shuttered stores and left malls with enormous gaps to fill.

For many malls, this is an impossible task.

How in the HELL could this be 'good for America'?

I'm really starting to get the impression that you think any change of any kind makes the world worse.

 

[HumblePi]

You already did, with all the reasons you like to use Amazon.



So your brick-and-mortars make the world worse, too, because they're mall-killers?

The reasons that I and others like Amazon have nothing whatsoever to do with the OP comment that Amazon has made the world a better place. You're intentionally conflating the two things and they're entirely separate.

If you said that Amazon shopping has made it easier for people to find what they need or want online then yes, that's true. But to say that the world is a better place because of Amazon is just not true.

 

[Harshaw]

So a NYT opinion writer has an opinion about Amazon and you have an opinion that that opinion writer is wrong!

One way or another, that describes every thread on DP. Why are you here?

 

[LouC]

One way or another, that describes every thread on DP. Why are you here?

None of your business!

But thanks for asking!

 

[Harshaw]

The reasons that I and others like Amazon have nothing whatsoever to do with the OP comment that Amazon has made the world a better place. You're intentionally conflating the two things and they're entirely separate.

If you said that Amazon shopping has made it easier for people to find what they need or want online then yes, that's true. But to say that the world is a better place because of Amazon is just not true.

It's like the answer is dangling right in front your face and you're batting it away, unaware of what it is.

 

[Harshaw]

None of your business!

But thanks for asking!

Great. I'll pay no further attention to you.

 

[LouC]

Great. I'll pay no further attention to you.

Why did you in the first place?

You wasted my time on someone who really deserved none of it.

Buh Bye!!!

 

[Harshaw]

Why did you in the first place?

You wasted my time on someone who really deserved none of it.

Buh Bye!!!

 

[Cramer]

Especially innovative business.

Headline:



Subheadline:



Opinion | Amazon Isn’t Interested in Making the World a Better Place - The New York Times

And I'm not saying this because the point of business is profit, not altruism, or anything like that (though it's true).

I'm saying it because any successful business makes the world a better place. A better, more convenient, more enjoyable place.

If they didn't, no one would give them their money.

It's especially true of tech innovators who find way to do things differently, and if they're successful, better, than anyone's done it before.

And that, of course, is the whole point of going into that business -- to do something better, and to make money because it's better.

So, seeking to make the world a better place is indeed a core component of what Amazon built itself on.

To contend that Amazon hasn't made the world a better, more convenient, more enjoyable place is just idiocy on stilts. Of course they have. And it wasn't by accident.

Ok..
To stay on point of your OP, define "better".
Oh wait, you cannot....something "better" is incredibly subjective.

Are we "better" because of Facebook and Twitter?

Walmart?

Your OP is just an opinion, backed up, by feelings and emotion.

I wasted my time trying to have an intelligent conversation.