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> I'd like to say this is just politics but I'm not even sure it's good politics. How many people are really concerned about the size of Amazon, Facebook, Googl

> I'd like to say this is just politics but I'm not even sure it's good politics. How many people are really concerned about the size of Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc Oh, lots and lots. > If people are that concerned, why do so many people I know have Prime? The reason so many of the people you know have Prime is because of Amazon's dominant market position. > The fossil fuel industry continues to run rampant. As does the Military Industrial Complex. The former is a key player in the degradation of the planet; the latter is a money sucking Hover that is sucking the life out of infrastructure, education, etc. > The environment and peace are much bigger issues than taking down and busting up the tech giants. Good points, but can we not do all three of these things? (1) Shrink the Defense budget and (2) Invest in renewables including nuclear tech, (3) Tackle Facebook and Google's dominance of net advertising and search and social media and Amazon's of e-commerce and so on … > Editorial: I want to like Liz Warren. I can related to some of her ideals. Unfortunately, as a politician she too often comes off as inexperienced, out of touch and/or naive. This is another one of those times. ? “Elizabeth Ann Warren (née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and academic serving as the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts since 2013. Warren was formerly a prominent scholar specializing in bankruptcy law. A noted progressive leader, Warren has focused on consumer protection, economic opportunity, and the social safety net while in the Senate. Some commentators describe her position as left-wing populism.[2][3][4] Warren is a graduate of the University of Houston and Rutgers Law School. She taught law at several universities, including the University of Houston, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard University. Warren's initial foray into public policy began in 1995 when she worked to oppose what eventually became a 2005 act restricting bankruptcy access for individuals. Her profile rose due to her forceful stances in favor of more stringent banking regulations following the 2007–2008 financial crisis. She served as chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel of the Troubled Asset Relief Program and was instrumental in the creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for which she served as the first Special Advisor.”

chiefalchemist 8y ago
> I'd like to say this is just politics but I'm not even sure it's good politics. How many people are really concerned about the size of Amazon, Facebook, Google, etc Oh, lots and lots. > If people are that concerned, why do so many people I know have Prime? The reason so many of the people you know have Prime is because of Amazon's dominant market position. Yes. But if they are THAT concerned they would be dropping Prime and shopping elsewhere. The "lots and lots" - if they exist (you added no link) - are likely to be the Coastal Elites. The same minds who were so out of touch we got DJT. Regardless, to think that Middle America is going to go from "build a wall" to "break up Facebook" is, at best, a stretch. As politics goes, this is a non-issue. p.a. After the crash of 2008 we were told by many a political "leader" (including the POTUS at the time) how there was too much power concentrated on Wall Street. Liz W was one of those "leaders". Yet there were no breakups, etc. While I wouldn't put SV in the same class as WS, it's hard to imagine anything changing.
- igravious 8y ago
  > Yes. But if they are THAT concerned they would be dropping Prime and shopping elsewhere. You know and I know that that's not true. People stick with things because of inertia, convenience, network effects, … To use a tech analogy, many people back in the day hated Microsoft's stranglehold on the desktop and server operating system market but very few initially changed to MacOS or Linux. To this day Microsoft still has a stranglehold on the consumer desktop market, the difference being that smartphones and tablets and chromebooks (browser appliances) have given people alternatives. No, for me (a European) lots and lots refers to the many people outside of the US that would like to see non-US companies taking a bigger slice of the tech pie. Of course Americans are going to have less of a problem with US companies dominating the web. I hold no firm political allegiance other than it is clear the establishment is happy with the status quo, anybody who promises to tackle concentrations of power in either big media, big tech, big finance, big you name it, gets my approval. If we spent some time talking about concrete issues and policies I bet we'd agree on a lot of things!

chiefalchemist 8y ago

igravious 8y ago
> Yes. But if they are THAT concerned they would be dropping Prime and shopping elsewhere. You know and I know that that's not true. People stick with things because of inertia, convenience, network effects, … To use a tech analogy, many people back in the day hated Microsoft's stranglehold on the desktop and server operating system market but very few initially changed to MacOS or Linux. To this day Microsoft still has a stranglehold on the consumer desktop market, the difference being that smartphones and tablets and chromebooks (browser appliances) have given people alternatives. No, for me (a European) lots and lots refers to the many people outside of the US that would like to see non-US companies taking a bigger slice of the tech pie. Of course Americans are going to have less of a problem with US companies dominating the web. I hold no firm political allegiance other than it is clear the establishment is happy with the status quo, anybody who promises to tackle concentrations of power in either big media, big tech, big finance, big you name it, gets my approval. If we spent some time talking about concrete issues and policies I bet we'd agree on a lot of things!