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> If you think Big Tech can't be replaced, then you haven't been paying attention. I never said that. They are not safe. Specifically they are not safe from
by danans 2y ago
> If you think Big Tech can't be replaced, then you haven't been paying attention.
I never said that. They are not safe. Specifically they are not safe from anti-trust enforcement and the threat that the corporate tax rate will rise to what it was before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and those are strong motivators for them to get ahead of the political ball.
Big tech is probably also talking to the Harris campaign before the election, to try to negotiate the de-fanging of the FTC and preserving their tax cuts to the extent they can if she wins. Some of Harris wealthy tech donors specifically want Lina Khan removed.
They are smart (and cynical) by covering all their bases. Trump talks about it because he feels (not incorrectly) that name-dropping those conversations helps him.
There is little long-term risk of these corporations losing business over this stuff. Consumers have demonstrated for a long time that they don't care much about the unethical behavior of corporations, especially if changing their consuming behavior affects their lifestyle in any way.
Between now and the election or holiday season, what are Apple, Google and Amazon's customers going to do to boycott? Delay an iPhone purchase? Stop advertising on Google (conceding attention space to competitors)? Shop instead at ... Walmart?
- taylodl 2y agoGetting back around to the original topic - none of this substantiates Trump's lie that Tim Cook called him. There is zero reason to believe such a conversation ever took place. Sorry. Trump lies incessantly. At this point the correct approach is to assume what Trump says is a lie and see if there's any reason that wouldn't be the case. In this case, there's no reason at all to believe Trump isn't lying. As far as what customers may be willing to do, do you think Bud Light drinkers stopped drinking beer? I'm not confident we can rely on past customer behavior to predict future customer behavior in today's political climate. That's the very essence of chaos.
- danans 2y ago> Sorry. Trump lies incessantly. At this point the correct approach is to assume what Trump says is a lie and see I agree that most of his statements are lies, but his claim that big corporation CEOs called him is far more plausible than his lie about Haitians eating cats and dogs. Again, why haven't the CEOs debunked his claims? If anyone else with a similar megaphone to Trump made such false claims, they would immediately release a statement to the contrary. Their lack of rebuttal of his supposedly false claim is incredible telling of how much they hope to gain from him if elected. > As far as what customers may be willing to do, do you think Bud Light drinkers stopped drinking beer? Please explain what is the serious non Bigtech option for your next smartphone, or the serious retail alternative to Amazon or Walmart (without trading off convenience - which most consumers will not do). In contrast, there are a ton of cheap beer alternatives to Bud Light, like Coors, Pabst, etc.
- taylodl 2y agoOkay. You completely ignored my previous statements. I'm done with you.
- danans 2y agoI suspect we largely agree with each other, per your other posts, that corporations will willingly go along with demagogic nationalist authoritarians, as evidenced from Nazi era German corporations through to Russian oligarchs, and possibly in the US going forward. What we seen to disagree about and are arguing about are the subtleties of the posturing and timing rather than the intent.