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The U.S. seems to be the only country with this weird, masochistic inclination toward destroying the things that made it successful.

viscanti 7y ago
The U.S isn't a monolith. Tech is the thing that made places like San Francisco really successful. But people in the midwest haven't really benefited from big tech companies (outside of access to those products - they can google things and have FB accounts). If anything, big tech is accelerating a trend of brain drain across the U.S. That said, breaking up companies is a pretty ham-fisted attempt at addressing a real issue. Big tech companies do a lot of lobbying, potentially for things that aren't in the interests of the general public. They've also taken advantage of the global nature of tech to shelter billions of dollars of profits from tax. Big companies (tech or no) should probably have less influence on the government and they should probably pay their fair share of taxes (you'll be hard pressed to find many who would say that Amazon is paying their fair share given their $0 tax bill right now along with wild sales figures).
- apta 7y ago
  > (you'll be hard pressed to find many who would say that Amazon is paying their fair share given their $0 tax bill right now along with wild sales figures). You can argue that even if Amazon is not paying taxes directly, it generated so many jobs that the income taxes that come out of it are already beyond what so many other companies can generate.
gbacon 7y ago
It’s a Leftist fetish. They say they don’t want anyone in charge — or delude themselves into believing “we’re all in charge” by unfurling the Democratic Socialism banner above Leviathan. Strangely in a screed about promoting competition, the Warren team reveals a core tenet: they won’t tolerate even the perception of competition with the state. Witness the piece’s pearl clutching over large companies “acting like governments,” whatever that means. They agitate for making the state the biggest, baddest bully on the block: “It’d be a shame for something to happen to that nice tech company of yours.” But then when the eschatology of historical determinism kicks in, I guess the Elizabeth Warrens of the world will quietly abdicate. It’s a worldview riddled with holes. Maybe it is a form of masochism.

viscanti 7y ago

The U.S isn't a monolith. Tech is the thing that made places like San Francisco really successful. But people in the midwest haven't really benefited from big tech companies (outside of access to those products - they can google things and have FB accounts). If anything, big tech is accelerating a trend of brain drain across the U.S. That said, breaking up companies is a pretty ham-fisted attempt at addressing a real issue. Big tech companies do a lot of lobbying, potentially for things that aren't in the interests of the general public. They've also taken advantage of the global nature of tech to shelter billions of dollars of profits from tax. Big companies (tech or no) should probably have less influence on the government and they should probably pay their fair share of taxes (you'll be hard pressed to find many who would say that Amazon is paying their fair share given their $0 tax bill right now along with wild sales figures).

apta 7y ago
> (you'll be hard pressed to find many who would say that Amazon is paying their fair share given their $0 tax bill right now along with wild sales figures). You can argue that even if Amazon is not paying taxes directly, it generated so many jobs that the income taxes that come out of it are already beyond what so many other companies can generate.

gbacon 7y ago

It’s a Leftist fetish. They say they don’t want anyone in charge — or delude themselves into believing “we’re all in charge” by unfurling the Democratic Socialism banner above Leviathan. Strangely in a screed about promoting competition, the Warren team reveals a core tenet: they won’t tolerate even the perception of competition with the state. Witness the piece’s pearl clutching over large companies “acting like governments,” whatever that means. They agitate for making the state the biggest, baddest bully on the block: “It’d be a shame for something to happen to that nice tech company of yours.” But then when the eschatology of historical determinism kicks in, I guess the Elizabeth Warrens of the world will quietly abdicate. It’s a worldview riddled with holes. Maybe it is a form of masochism.