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"who don't get a vote on the matter" -> They elected the representatives that they trust to make these decisions; that's representational democracy, the corners

"who don't get a vote on the matter" -> They elected the representatives that they trust to make these decisions; that's representational democracy, the cornerstone of most of the world's countries. To change it, you as a citizen need to demand better of your politicians. Amazon's not the problem; they're just doing what's best for their shareholders, which is the whole point of a corporation. It's the government that needs to be held accountable for this situation; they're the ones going along with the bidding war - your suggestion of such a bidding war being made illegal is definitely a start.

adjkant 8y ago
In today's America, demanding politicians only goes so far and I would say its one of many broken parts of our system. You can say that I "as a citizen" should do X but the reality is that citizens have lost control of their government and have for some time now. I personally believe that representational democracy is very flawed and would love to see a return to more direct democracy. Amazon isn't the source of the problem but a company that exploits the problems of others for their gain is not a not moral company in my book. And of course there is a spectrum here as it's impossible for law to match morals, but for a company in such a large and good position to do this without need is a notable action from a moral perspective. So no, Amazon is not the problem, but given that no one has really quite done this at this scale, they basically created the problem in the first place and Amazon deserves scrutiny and blame for that 100%.
- coralreef 8y ago
  Petitioning local governments for incentives to build factories/business related enterprises has been around for a while. Pretty much every major sports team ownership group goes for subsidized stadium construction.
  - Apocryphon 8y ago
    And all of those processes have been widely criticized for being bad deals that hurt taxpayers. Just because Amazon is playing a long-established game doesn't mean that game isn't crooked, and that they shouldn't be criticized for indulging in such a farce, especially when they have the wealth and resources to do otherwise.

adjkant 8y ago

In today's America, demanding politicians only goes so far and I would say its one of many broken parts of our system. You can say that I "as a citizen" should do X but the reality is that citizens have lost control of their government and have for some time now. I personally believe that representational democracy is very flawed and would love to see a return to more direct democracy. Amazon isn't the source of the problem but a company that exploits the problems of others for their gain is not a not moral company in my book. And of course there is a spectrum here as it's impossible for law to match morals, but for a company in such a large and good position to do this without need is a notable action from a moral perspective. So no, Amazon is not the problem, but given that no one has really quite done this at this scale, they basically created the problem in the first place and Amazon deserves scrutiny and blame for that 100%.

coralreef 8y ago
Petitioning local governments for incentives to build factories/business related enterprises has been around for a while. Pretty much every major sports team ownership group goes for subsidized stadium construction.
- Apocryphon 8y ago
  And all of those processes have been widely criticized for being bad deals that hurt taxpayers. Just because Amazon is playing a long-established game doesn't mean that game isn't crooked, and that they shouldn't be criticized for indulging in such a farce, especially when they have the wealth and resources to do otherwise.