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Are they trying to get ahead of government regulation with this? It looks like a declaration of self-regulation to me. If they really intend to switch gears a

Are they trying to get ahead of government regulation with this? It looks like a declaration of self-regulation to me. If they really intend to switch gears and prioritize other stakeholders, that may require some enforceable agreements among them to prevent competition from causing a race to the bottom, and I wonder if such agreements would be legal.

Retric 7y ago
Companies can work together on a wide range of issues. It’s mostly product prices they need to compete on. Industry groups are surprisingly common consider MPAA, “got milk” etc.
naravara 7y ago
>Are they trying to get ahead of government regulation with this? It looks like a declaration of self-regulation to me. I think it's more a bit like the Henry Ford deal where he insisted on paying his workers enough to actually be able to afford the cars. Anemic demand is one of those things that can get an economy stuck in a low-growth poverty trap. Either that or they're trying to get ahead of the guillotines.
- zanybear 7y ago
  My impression is the last sentence - self preservation. With the threat of automation, they can see the pressure mounting on finding solutions that do not result in unions or pitchforks.
  - milofeynman 7y ago
    My assumption is that all the union talk and action in the last few months has board members scared and they want to put on a show to employees that they're doing stuff to make things more fair, in order to push off folks unionizing. Growing inequality...
pessimizer 7y ago
To me, a company that isn't single-mindedly pursuing profit, including breaking laws that have a quantity (penalties * probability of enforcement) that is small in comparison to the upside of breaking those laws - that's a sign of corruption at the company, not the opposite behavior. It just means that somebody is using the company to direct business to other companies that they have more control over, and are easier to loot. Governments are supposed to circumscribe the actions of public companies; they're chartered by governments as a tool of governments to accomplish government business. Companies should, within those boundaries, pursue profit for their owners.

Retric 7y ago

Companies can work together on a wide range of issues. It’s mostly product prices they need to compete on. Industry groups are surprisingly common consider MPAA, “got milk” etc.

naravara 7y ago

>Are they trying to get ahead of government regulation with this? It looks like a declaration of self-regulation to me. I think it's more a bit like the Henry Ford deal where he insisted on paying his workers enough to actually be able to afford the cars. Anemic demand is one of those things that can get an economy stuck in a low-growth poverty trap. Either that or they're trying to get ahead of the guillotines.

zanybear 7y ago
My impression is the last sentence - self preservation. With the threat of automation, they can see the pressure mounting on finding solutions that do not result in unions or pitchforks.
- milofeynman 7y ago
  My assumption is that all the union talk and action in the last few months has board members scared and they want to put on a show to employees that they're doing stuff to make things more fair, in order to push off folks unionizing. Growing inequality...

pessimizer 7y ago

To me, a company that isn't single-mindedly pursuing profit, including breaking laws that have a quantity (penalties * probability of enforcement) that is small in comparison to the upside of breaking those laws - that's a sign of corruption at the company, not the opposite behavior. It just means that somebody is using the company to direct business to other companies that they have more control over, and are easier to loot. Governments are supposed to circumscribe the actions of public companies; they're chartered by governments as a tool of governments to accomplish government business. Companies should, within those boundaries, pursue profit for their owners.