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Forced means something else when you’re among the most rich and powerful people on earth - they chose to do this. It’s far more demeaning and should haunt them

Forced means something else when you’re among the most rich and powerful people on earth - they chose to do this. It’s far more demeaning and should haunt them to their graves.

CamperBob2 9mo ago
Bezos can afford anything on Earth, but he can't afford to alienate Trump. Tariffs could end Amazon overnight. Same is true for Musk, whose fortune hinges on government largesse and regulatory collegiality. But Apple? Screw those asshats, they have no such excuses.
- mayneack 9mo ago
  They absolutely can afford to be a-political. It may not maximize their wealth, but they can afford a little less maximizing.
  - Gud 9mo ago
    Donald Trump is an extreme narcissist and you are either with him or against him. There is no “a-political”.
    - mindslight 9mo ago
      Any one of these so-called titans of industry could have stood against Trump, and then parlayed the inevitable tantrum into the launch of their own Presidential campaign. But weak men create hard times.
- mikeyouse 9mo ago
  I’m sure that’s what Bezos tells himself. Which is both wrong and absolutely ignominious. And if Elon’s X feed contains his real thoughts, his brain has turned to pudding and he earnestly believes a bunch of really vile racist garbage, so I guess it makes sense he’s hanging out with the rest of the deplorables in this administration.
- jp_nc 9mo ago
  End Amazon overnight and see what the response is from the people. What I don’t get about these guys is that they have their OWN power base - their customers. Just look at the leverage TikTok had because of their users
  - deaux 9mo ago
    > What I don’t get about these guys is that they have their OWN power base - their customers What do you not get about these guys? It's very simple. The likes of Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos are the exact same as Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. The last two are just louder about it. They have their own power base, but relying on it doesn't maximize their wealth. In a best case scenario, they could achieve maybe 50% of the wealth by relying on their own power base, compared to kowtowing to The Party. They don't want 50%, they want 100%, and there's absolutely nothing that they won't do for it.
- com2kid 9mo ago
  Each round of Chinese tariffs had an exception for smartphones. That wasn't by chance. iPhones going up in price 50% would kill Apple very quickly.
  - mikeyouse 9mo ago
    All phones would be subject to the same - it’s not like Pixel devices are made in West Virginia or something.
    - brewdad 9mo ago
      Apple relies on people churning their phones every year or two far more than Google or any other Android manufacturer.
- ofrzeta 9mo ago
  > Tariffs could end Amazon overnight. Is this really true? Tariffs can be applied only if products go inside/outside the US. They could still operate from othe locations.

Forced means something else when you’re among the most rich and powerful people on earth - they chose to do this. It’s far more demeaning and should haunt them to their graves.

CamperBob2 9mo ago

Bezos can afford anything on Earth, but he can't afford to alienate Trump. Tariffs could end Amazon overnight. Same is true for Musk, whose fortune hinges on government largesse and regulatory collegiality. But Apple? Screw those asshats, they have no such excuses.

mayneack 9mo ago
They absolutely can afford to be a-political. It may not maximize their wealth, but they can afford a little less maximizing.
- Gud 9mo ago
  Donald Trump is an extreme narcissist and you are either with him or against him. There is no “a-political”.
  - mindslight 9mo ago
    Any one of these so-called titans of industry could have stood against Trump, and then parlayed the inevitable tantrum into the launch of their own Presidential campaign. But weak men create hard times.
mikeyouse 9mo ago
I’m sure that’s what Bezos tells himself. Which is both wrong and absolutely ignominious. And if Elon’s X feed contains his real thoughts, his brain has turned to pudding and he earnestly believes a bunch of really vile racist garbage, so I guess it makes sense he’s hanging out with the rest of the deplorables in this administration.
jp_nc 9mo ago
End Amazon overnight and see what the response is from the people. What I don’t get about these guys is that they have their OWN power base - their customers. Just look at the leverage TikTok had because of their users
- deaux 9mo ago
  > What I don’t get about these guys is that they have their OWN power base - their customers What do you not get about these guys? It's very simple. The likes of Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos are the exact same as Peter Thiel and Elon Musk. The last two are just louder about it. They have their own power base, but relying on it doesn't maximize their wealth. In a best case scenario, they could achieve maybe 50% of the wealth by relying on their own power base, compared to kowtowing to The Party. They don't want 50%, they want 100%, and there's absolutely nothing that they won't do for it.
com2kid 9mo ago
Each round of Chinese tariffs had an exception for smartphones. That wasn't by chance. iPhones going up in price 50% would kill Apple very quickly.
- mikeyouse 9mo ago
  All phones would be subject to the same - it’s not like Pixel devices are made in West Virginia or something.
  - brewdad 9mo ago
    Apple relies on people churning their phones every year or two far more than Google or any other Android manufacturer.
ofrzeta 9mo ago
> Tariffs could end Amazon overnight. Is this really true? Tariffs can be applied only if products go inside/outside the US. They could still operate from othe locations.