Trump hits Amazon again

[Calminian]

Politico article:

"This Post Office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now," President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo

Trump escalates attack on Amazon, demands Washington Post register as 'lobbyist'

By BRENT D. GRIFFITHS


03/31/2018 09:53 AM EDT

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President Donald Trump continued to needle Amazon on Saturday, claiming the internet commerce giant maintains an advantageous relationship with the U.S Postal Service amounting to a "scam" worth "billions of dollars."

"While we are on the subject, it is reported that the U.S. Post Office will lose $1.50 on average for each package it delivers for Amazon," the president wrote on Twitter. "That amounts to Billions of Dollars. The Failing N.Y. Times reports that “the size of the company’s lobbying staff has ballooned,” and that..."

Trump added that Amazon's lobbying staff does not "include the Fake Washington Post" and that the newspaper, which is owned by billionaire and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, is a "lobbyist" and should register accordingly.

"If the P.O. 'increased its parcel rates, Amazon’s shipping costs would rise by $2.6 Billion,' the president continued. "This Post Office scam must stop. Amazon must pay real costs (and taxes) now!"​

the man has a point.

 

[Baptist Believer]

the man has a point.

Not really.

If what was reported here is true:
(1) Why did the Post Office agree to deliver packages at a loss?
(2) Why is it Amazon’s fault that the Post Office negotiated bad rates or cannot operate efficiently?
(3) Shouldn’t the President (the great negotiator and stable genius), be lambasting the Post Office for their inefficiency and/or bad deal making?

 

[Calminian]

...(1) Why did the Post Office agree to deliver packages at a loss?...

Same reason our country agrees to unfair trade policies. We have stupid politicians.

 

[church mouse guy]

Big business has always gotten cheap rates from the Post Office, causing the taxpayers to subsidize direct sales. Jeff Bezos hates Trump and yet wants Trump to give him corporate welfare. We have four Amazon warehouses in the Indy area--no one says that they are good places to work because of the high production quotas.

 

[Baptist Believer]

Same reason our country agrees to unfair trade policies. We have stupid politicians.

So you agree that Trump is wrong to lash out at Amazon instead of making some sort of point about issues with the USPS? That’s quite reasonable of you.

 

[Baptist Believer]

A source other than the President gives a broader picture and reveals that the package delivery portion of the Post Office is actually one of the revenue-enhancing segments of the USPS.

 

[church mouse guy]

Why should the taxpayers give welfare to Bezos?

 

[InTheLight]

Possible conversations...

Jeff Bezos to USPS: "You can either accept our bids for postage rate deliveries of Amazon packages or else Amazon will dump the USPS, create our own delivery service, applying efficiencies we've learned over the years, and deliver our own packages. We might even open it up for people who want to ship stuff unrelated to Amazon. The USPS will be defunct."

USPS to Bezos: "OK."

Stable Genius: "I want to pick more winners and losers in the marketplace.'

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

[Baptist Believer]

Why should the taxpayers give welfare to Bezos?

(1) Are they actually doing that? It is unclear that it is true. From my quick review of the issue, Amazon might actually be saving the USPS.
(2) We should stop government handouts to corporations that pay no taxes AND get rebates (welfare), like General Electric and about 17 other large business (this category does not include Amazon).
(3) Again, the focus should be on why a quasi-government agency has entered into a losing deal (if that is actually true), not the private business that struck a good deal.
(4) This whole thing seems very personal because the President hates the Washington Post.

 

[church mouse guy]

No, it is an old problem that direct sales corporations get a government subsidy. Bezos is the richest man in the world--he is prime minister of the universe. The poorest taxpayers have contributed to his wealth. He would do anything for a buck.

 

[InTheLight]

President Attacks Free Enterprise Again

President Trump took a run at the United States' third largest corporation today. Claiming to be a tax cutter and a regulations cutter he called for new taxes and regulations on this one particular company while leaving other companies with the same business model like eBay, Wayfair, NewEgg, WalMart online, and the like, unmentioned and unaffected.

"Just because my arch nemesis Jeff Bezos, principal owner of Amazon also happens to own the failing Washington Post, purveyor of Fake News, has nothing whatsoever to do with my call for new taxes and regulations on Amazon."

The President then resumed his golf game, briefly stopping to watch course workers drain a swamp that was threatening to damage a nearby sand bunker.



Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

[church mouse guy]

ITL, do you think that the postal subsidy to direct sales corporations should continue?

 

[InTheLight]

ITL, do you think that the postal subsidy to direct sales corporations should continue?

First tell me what it is and I'll answer.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

[church mouse guy]

First tell me what it is and I'll answer.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

I worked for a direct sales company for six or seven years in the late nineties. They got to or three semis full of mail a day some days. (It was when they shipped that they saved since they did pay the full cost.) There are many direct sales companies, large and small. For example, I bought some DVDs through the mail today.

Postal rates are so low that the Post Office always runs a deficit. It is called corporate welfare. The public pays the bill and the corporation pockets the difference.

 

[Calminian]

So you agree that Trump is wrong to lash out at Amazon instead of making some sort of point about issues with the USPS? That’s quite reasonable of you.

That's exactly what he has done. He's not asking Amazon to change anything, but he's also rightly pointing out that Amazon is advocating for things to remain the same. He says it's a ripoff, and he is correct. The man has a point.

 

[InTheLight]

I worked for a direct sales company for six or seven years in the late nineties. They got to or three semis full of mail a day some days. (It was when they shipped that they saved since they did pay the full cost.) There are many direct sales companies, large and small. For example, I bought some DVDs through the mail today.

Postal rates are so low that the Post Office always runs a deficit. It is called corporate welfare. The public pays the bill and the corporation pockets the difference.

Well, then the Post Office needs to raise their rates on bulk discount customers.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL

 

[Baptist Believer]

That's exactly what he has done.

No, he's lashing out at Amazon, not the USPS. Feel free to point me to a tweet or statement that shows he is not attacking Amazon, but rather, the Post Office.

He's not asking Amazon to change anything, but he's also rightly pointing out that Amazon is advocating for things to remain the same.

Can you show me where is claims Amazon is "advocating for things to remain the same?

He says it's a ripoff, and he is correct. The man has a point.

Not too sure about that. I have read in several places that the Post Office actually makes money on package shipping. The biggest issue with the Post Office is the amount of money they owe for retiree benefits. The way things are structured, they have to fully fund the benefits as they go, not as they are needed.

 

[Calminian]

No, he's lashing out at Amazon, not the USPS. Feel free to point me to a tweet or statement that shows he is not attacking Amazon, but rather, the Post Office.....

Amazon is advocating for things to remain the same and Trump is saying it's a ripoff. What is the problem?

 

[Baptist Believer]

Amazon is advocating for things to remain the same and Trump is saying it's a ripoff. What is the problem?

The problem is that what you are claiming Trump is saying is not what Trump is actually saying.

That's clear because he is targeting ONE direct shipper -- Amazon -- and tying it to his disdain for the Washington Post.

If he is saying what you claim, he should be directing his comments toward the Post Office and/or ALL direct shippers.

Moreover, from the evidence I have seen by reading a number of fact check articles on this, the Post Office actually makes money on this part of the business. As a frequent Amazon customer, I know that the Post Office only recently got into the packaging delivery business with Amazon in a big way. They use UPS and FedEx to ship packages to a local post office and the local post office delivers the packages seven days a week.

Beyond all of this, the President has made a number of false claims against Amazon saying that they don't pay taxes. That's not true at all, except for perhaps some local tax breaks that are given when they open new warehouses and distribution points.

 

[Calminian]

The problem is that what you are claiming Trump is saying is not what Trump is actually saying.

That's clear because he is targeting ONE direct shipper -- Amazon -- and tying it to his disdain for the Washington Post.

If he is saying what you claim, he should be directing his comments toward the Post Office and/or ALL direct shippers.

Moreover, from the evidence I have seen by reading a number of fact check articles on this, the Post Office actually makes money on this part of the business. As a frequent Amazon customer, I know that the Post Office only recently got into the packaging delivery business with Amazon in a big way. They use UPS and FedEx to ship packages to a local post office and the local post office delivers the packages seven days a week.

Beyond all of this, the President has made a number of false claims against Amazon saying that they don't pay taxes. That's not true at all, except for perhaps some local tax breaks that are given when they open new warehouses and distribution points.

All lies.

[overlay type]
Trump’s Amazon attacks aren’t personal: White House