mikeash

54 ms·

601.
by mikeash 7y ago
The average new car in the US sells for about $37,500. Slightly above average doesn’t seem too absurd for “mass market.”
602.
by mikeash 7y ago
The car production lines are working just fine right now. The current constraint on their production numbers is battery production, which is largely up to Panasonic.
603.
by mikeash 7y ago
I think those numbers are old, as you can tell from the "excludes terrorism" qualifier. If you look at, say, the last decade, terrorism doesn't make any difference. This isn't entirely arbitrary: air travel has gotten a
604.
by mikeash 7y ago
Just say “don’t send humans into space.” It’ll save you a lot of typing and you end up in the same place.
605.
by mikeash 7y ago
Comparing per departure would give an enormous advantage to cars. The average airliner trip is hundreds or thousands of miles. The typical car trip is single or double digits. Cars thus make many more departures for the same distance travel
606.
by mikeash 7y ago
I don’t see what giving myself $50 for making coffee has to do with any of this.
607.
by mikeash 7y ago
So you’re saying they could afford to give their workers a $5/hour raise and still retain a healthy profit? Why the snide question at the beginning, then?
608.
by mikeash 7y ago
Why?
609.
by mikeash 7y ago
$11 billion divided by 650,000 workers isn’t $5,000. In any case, the point is that they can pay more. You can quibble over the amount. You can argue about whether or not they should. But they can , in the same way that I can buy an enti
610.
by mikeash 7y ago
Doesn’t matter if your claim is actually correct or not? That’s a hell of an argument. I’m responsible for the tips waiters receive from me. Amazon is responsible for the wages their workers receive from them. Makes sense to me.
611.
by mikeash 7y ago
Airliners are the safest form of transport ever devised. You’re safer in an airliner than you are in the shower. Space travel is one of the most dangerous forms of transport ever devised. Even the most insane, wildly optimistic estimates fo
612.
by mikeash 7y ago
Who said anything about running at a loss? I’m just stating that they can pay more by taking less of a profit, “the market” doesn’t stop them.
613.
by mikeash 7y ago
“If you were to tip say $50 to $100 each time you ate out this could be a reality.” Exactly how often do you think I eat out?
614.
by mikeash 7y ago
Money is fungible. Amazon can afford to pay better. The only data you need to know that is what I gave. You’re giving a reason why they might not want to. I don’t think anyone here is arguing that they want to. If they wanted to, they would
615.
by mikeash 7y ago
Google Amazon profit ($11 billion and change last year), workforce size (650,000ish) and divide. That gives you a lower bound for the worst case where all Amazon employees are warehouse workers.
616.
by mikeash 7y ago
It’s more than enough to pay their warehouse workers substantially better without making any changes to their prices.
617.
by mikeash 7y ago
How are taxes not artificial? How do taxes not distort the prices of goods?
618.
by mikeash 7y ago
And yet some retailers make tons of profit. If it were so easy to swoop in and defeat the top dog with lower prices, how is Amazon still dominating?
619.
by mikeash 7y ago
If Amazon pays their workers more but keeps prices the same, how does that create an opportunity for a competitor?
620.
by mikeash 7y ago
I don’t understand, how is that different from taxing and giving workers money that way? They should have the same effect in terms of economic efficiency. The only reason we use taxes for this sort of thing is because it’s harder to cheat.
621.
by mikeash 7y ago
Why don’t you do that now? Amazon takes in billions in profit, meaning that their prices are substantially higher than they could be. Why aren’t you (or some other competitor) taking advantage of this? It’s funny how this sort of argument n
622.
by mikeash 7y ago
I try to tip well. If you think I should tip better, make your case. If I disagree, I’ll make my case. I can guarantee you that if that happens, my argument won’t be that I’m tipping the market rate.
623.
by mikeash 7y ago
I completely agree. If Amazon pays their workers better, that won’t fix the millions of other workers stuck with bad pay and abusive jobs. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore the individual companies. Certainly, our energies should be fo
624.
by mikeash 7y ago
Amazon has a profit of over $11 billion last year. They can definitely afford to pay their warehouse workers better.
625.
by mikeash 7y ago
It’s more like blaming the local power company for local energy prices. Nobody is blaming Amazon for wages worldwide. They’re blaming Amazon for the wages of their own workers. And why not? “The market” isn’t a magic answer here. The market
626.
by mikeash 7y ago
Where do you get that? The request is clearly described as being for the method of execution. Requesting their names wouldn’t make any sense anyway. That’s already publicly available.
627.
by mikeash 7y ago
Because the only two possibilities are worker abuse or communism?
628.
by mikeash 7y ago
The state is using illegal drugs, administered without the care or advice of a doctor, to kill its citizens and you think it should remain secret for the sake of the privacy of the condemned? I can’t even.
629.
by mikeash 7y ago
Then you have a condemned criminal sitting in a cell instead of being tortured in Hell like he’s supposed to be. Can’t have that.
630.
by mikeash 7y ago
They do, but they’re less accurate than the ground station’s clocks. If not updated regularly, they’ll drift, with a gradual loss of positional accuracy.

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