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I agree, but I'm no milkman. Amazon (books etc), Google and Facebook (advertising), Apple (music and movies), and many other Internet companies take jobs from

by flexie 12y ago

I agree, but I'm no milkman. Amazon (books etc), Google and Facebook (advertising), Apple (music and movies), and many other Internet companies take jobs from Hungarian voters. And as far as I remember these companies don't pay much tax. They probably add some jobs, but if you worked in the bookstore, the advertising agency or the record store, and your job was lost to the Internet, you would be the one feeling the externalities of the Internet.

allendoerfer 12y ago
I don't know, why he is downvoted. He actually makes valid points. The internet and globalization as a whole open possibilities for less developed countries. At the same time, they are often exposing their markets to competition they simply cannot compete with at this point. The common argument is, that these countries should open up, catch up in education and participate in the next wave of innovation (e.g. skip the web, go directly to mobile) or learn from the faults of the first movers (e.g. European cc-payments requiring pin). But when we look at the country arguably profiting the most from globalization, China, we find that it is massively protecting its market by requiring joint ventures with local companies and blocking internet-based companies, which could circumvent these measurements. These points do not mean, that taxing internet traffic is the right thing to do, it just means, that not all regulations are bad. You have to look carefully at each industry. In Germany taxis are strongly regulated. Drivers get special trainings, the cars have to be checked more often than regular cars, a taxi has to accept every passenger and so on. I support them fighting Uber, which ignores these regulations and is trying to build a monopoly by competing on price. And monopolies are bad for workers and in the end customers, even if Peter Thiel wants to sell a book. Edit: His parent comment is now dead, but you can get the context out of nightcrackers answer.
tempodox 12y ago
Right, and after losing their job those people are supposed to pay the taxes that Amazon, Apple, etc don't. Because as an out-of-work individual you're much better posed to pay taxes than a transnational company that's too rich for its own good. Sounds like a perfect Mafia scheme to me.

by flexie 12y ago

allendoerfer 12y ago

I don't know, why he is downvoted. He actually makes valid points. The internet and globalization as a whole open possibilities for less developed countries. At the same time, they are often exposing their markets to competition they simply cannot compete with at this point. The common argument is, that these countries should open up, catch up in education and participate in the next wave of innovation (e.g. skip the web, go directly to mobile) or learn from the faults of the first movers (e.g. European cc-payments requiring pin). But when we look at the country arguably profiting the most from globalization, China, we find that it is massively protecting its market by requiring joint ventures with local companies and blocking internet-based companies, which could circumvent these measurements. These points do not mean, that taxing internet traffic is the right thing to do, it just means, that not all regulations are bad. You have to look carefully at each industry. In Germany taxis are strongly regulated. Drivers get special trainings, the cars have to be checked more often than regular cars, a taxi has to accept every passenger and so on. I support them fighting Uber, which ignores these regulations and is trying to build a monopoly by competing on price. And monopolies are bad for workers and in the end customers, even if Peter Thiel wants to sell a book. Edit: His parent comment is now dead, but you can get the context out of nightcrackers answer.

tempodox 12y ago

Right, and after losing their job those people are supposed to pay the taxes that Amazon, Apple, etc don't. Because as an out-of-work individual you're much better posed to pay taxes than a transnational company that's too rich for its own good. Sounds like a perfect Mafia scheme to me.