Phil1111

Yes and thats why people that have a hard on for them are just not being fair. If statutes allow business to shield income. Common practice suggests any responsible business should take advantage of those tax breaks. The same for the owners. Ok But The USSC ruled again and again to allow unrestricted lobbying. Americans have had the opportunity to vote on lobbying. The opportunity to vote on kicking out congressmen who are beholden to certain industries. Americans have refused to seriously address it. Amazon doesn't employ nurses and teachers. They pay warehouse workers more than minimum wage. Bezos does however use monopoly advantages unfairly. Using insider information against his own private business customers. Once again US laws tackling monopolies is weak. What laws exist are unenforced. America is fortunate to have people and their associated business like Gates, Bezos, Musk, etc. I admire all of them. But American acceptance of lobbying and unfair tax laws is destroying its social fabric.

Serves you right for arguing with feelings.

Perhaps, but: Amazon Scooped Up Data From Its Own Sellers to Launch Competing Products "Contrary to assertions to Congress, employees often consulted sales information on third-party vendors when developing private-label merchandise" Amazon copied products and rigged search results to promote its own brands, documents show Because of the USSC approvals and lobbyists antitrust laws in the US are weak. Supreme Court decision weakens FTC’s enforcement authority

That is probably correct more or less. There is certainly nothing wrong with billionaires like Musk and Bezos driving economic growth. Even nothing wrong with Amazon's institutional efficiency driving little "mom and pop" business, out of business. But the divergence in fair taxation starting with the Regan administration. Has driven a huge wedge in US society. With the rich paying far less than any other western country. The Secret IRS Files: Trove of Never-Before-Seen Records Reveal How the Wealthiest Avoid Income Tax a Propublica story. Which found that these ultra rich only paid "a true tax rate of only 3.4%."

Jeff worships at his own church and his congregation is Washington. "After building out a powerful influence machine in Washington over the last few years, Amazon is going on the attack. The Seattle-based company is pushing aside trade groups it doesn’t like and creating new ones it does. It’s dispatching senior executives to woo antitrust enforcers. And it’s poaching senior staff from government agencies and congressional offices. Federal records show that Amazon.com Inc. lobbied more government entities than any other tech company in 2018 and sought to exert its influence over more issues than any of its tech peers except Alphabet Inc.’s Google. Last year, Amazon spent $14.2 million on lobbying, a record for the company, up from its previous high mark of $12.8 million in 2017."

Good morning and seasons greetings fellow heathen. Good morning and Merry Christmas.

Outstanding definition of fuzzy math. Keep going for a couple more paragraphs and you'll be negative for 'the number of nones".

You give religions more than $82.5 billion a year Thats a direct quote of the WP story. Not to imply that your personal generosity is that significant.

More so than most people know. "a fact of life: Evangelicals are Republicans, and Republicans are evangelicals" Sixty three percent of republicans believe that declining devotion to god is "a bad thing". So they sold their souls to Lucifer. Gerrymandering, vote rigging, insurrections, etc. a complete scorched earth policy is how they will fight their retreat. trump is not the last to pander to the pulpit of the right who hid behind their gods. The so called "value voters" will do whatever is necessary to maintain their control of the levers of power. There is no such affiliations attributed to non-believers. Certainly atheists don't enjoy the tax advantages and power that those who bow to Lucifer do. Err the GOP party. "Texas prides itself on being one of the most religious -- and down here, that pretty much means Christian -- states in the nation. And yet, collectively, we lead the nation in suppressing the vote of racial and ethnic minorities."

Meanwhile pickup drivers will have to look past the F150 Lightning as a different truck won Motor Trend truck of the year award.

At church receiving lectures about the dangers of vaccinations from the pulpit. Or at the bar discussing all the black Friday gun sales.

Your fear of Harris mandating vaccines.then taking away your bibles and guns. Is consistent.

It seems to me that it all warrants a political discussion thread here because Brent will be along to deny it all. W/o pictures it never happened.

Typical

Why must you torture poor Windsor? Each one of those horrific possibilities will play in his subconscious forever now. A liberal Black woman spearheading lesbian rights and in the same bill restricting the number of toilets for men! Cue the black darkness and Marlon Brando the horror, the horror.

Oh boohoo. Everything bad about America is because of leadership.Because most people care about local needs and issues. Look at Japan's debt. Look at italy's Belescroni. Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy America is like the family next door. Sure they have issues but they are far, far above most of the rest of the street. This, not his quoted post above.

Such a defining statement about your character, compassion and nature.

So....Winsor.....is right

Wendy understands excess testosterone on the male mind.

Thanks for that. Now i understand why you get paid the big bucks as a mod.

Wendy, you're such a diplomat.

Whats more Americana than your wife with a Tommy gun and your 13 year old daughter with a Uzi? All together for the Christmas family photo for your constituents. I can hardly hear for all the dog whistles a-blowing.

Do you mean the parenting system? The American justice system? Or the whole arming of US society system?

With parents like those what chance did the ......never-mind, bring on the lawyers. Parents indifferent to causal effects of their actions.Of their thinking.

Obtaining natural immunity through infection is a .......oh hell all just a part of God's plan.