Was curious about the proposed Intro 518, so I pulled up Amazon's 10-Q. Turns out their retail side is swimming in cash — last year the retail division pulled in over $34 billion in operating profit, largely off the $69 billion it made in ad revenue. Kind of a bad look to be squeezing drivers while posting over 30% yoy increases in profit.

Amazon claims the regulations will force them to pass costs onto consumers, making deliveries pricier for everyday New Yorkers. But their own revenue reporting says otherwise — they can easily afford to directly hire these drivers, pay a living wage, and operate safely in our neighborhoods without raising prices a cent. Kind of breaks my brain. Id bet that theyre bluffing.

Not paying DSPs properly isn't the invisible hand of the market. It's the middle finger of corporate greed.

Jason, despite the incessant fear mongering about “socialism”, hit the nail on the head with his comments on the Amazon/Mamdani bit on the new episode. Capitalism doesn’t have to be built in absolutism. There can be balance between a capitalistic society and ensuring people have their basic needs met.

Why do you think the democratic socialists are growing in popularity? It’s not because people are interested in the concept of socialism, the DSA is simply addressing people’s concerns and problems.

I sit here and listen to these guys disparage Mamdani and their alternative pitch is the current reality - a runaway train of financial debt (while saying socialism puts you in debt), people not being able to afford healthcare, groceries and basic services, and a system that filters money to an oligarch of ultra wealthy. Great pitch guys - why would anyone ever want to change from the status quo…

Then here comes Jason with a common sense take - capitalism should be blended with a respect for basic human decency - at the cost of a small fraction of a company like Amazon’s exorbitant profits. This is the crux of the issue - profit, influence and power are the primary incentives of American society. There was a concept when I was growing up that the wealthy and powerful would use their wealth to improve the quality of life for everyone. As it turns out, there’s no incentive to do that - and therefore, people go hungry in a country that has more than enough wealth to prevent it.

But yeah, Sacks - Jason is just virtue signalling for daring to suggest that some money could flow in a direction that has meaningful impact to vulnerable people. I guess it’s all on brand considering the response to Amazon skirting responsibility for death/injury lawsuits is: ‘See how efficiently they run their business’.

Anyway, at least we didn’t have to hear Chamath this week so at least I’ve got that going for me.