Obama Praises Amazon At One of Its Controversial Warehouses 435
theodp writes "In his first term, President Obama was a big booster of indie bookstores. But on Tuesday, the President chose to deliver his speech on Jobs for the Middle Class at one of Amazon's controversial fulfillment centers in Chattanooga, TN. 'Amazon is a great example of what's possible,' said Obama, who also toured the 'amazing facility' where workers can make $10.50-$11.50 an hour as an employee of Integrity Staffing Group, 'may also be eligible for medical and dental benefits', and 'must be able to stand/walk for up to 10-12 hours' in temperatures that 'will occasionally exceed 90 degrees.' So, are '21st century migrant workers' the new middle class?"
Re:Misleading summary (Score:3, Interesting)
Obama isn't a Democrat (Score:5, Interesting)
He's like all politicians, just a Corporatist who happens to have either a "D" or "R" after his name.
Re:Misleading summary (Score:5, Interesting)
who really works there (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Keep up the selfishness.. (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:"Be content to be slaves" (Score:5, Interesting)
I think it is simpler than that. He knows that Amazon is popular. He also knows most of the people that support him will not research anything he says and just take what he says at face value.
It's like the Travon thing. He mentions that Travon could have been him when he was younger. He makes these types of racial comments often. Most of the people that I know that support him honestly assume that he struggled and grew up in the deep south (instead of Hawaii) like them.
This appearance makes him look like he is pro-corporate and pro-middle class without actually doing anything but make a speech. And, judging by your post and people I know, he will fool most people.
Re:Keep up the selfishness.. (Score:4, Interesting)
Careful you don't fall off that high horse.
I'm a frequent and long-term Amazon customer (their first year, I even got some swag from them for being an early adopter). I rarely buy something on Amazon because it's cheaper, and when price is the deciding factor, it's between Amazon and another online retailer, not between Amazon and a local retailer.
I'm picky about what I buy, and I do not miss at all the days of walking into a retail establishment with the goal of buying a specific (shoe, gadget, book, whatever), being told that they don't have it in stock, and then either having to settle for something less than I wanted, deal with being upsold by some sales rat, or wait for them to order it and deal with another trip to the location. I don't miss at all the days of the $5 trip on the subway to buy an $8 book, assuming there was something at the bookstore that appealed to me when I got there.
Governments that think that levying sales taxes on online companies will magically cure retailer woes are morons, because for the people that are buying the stuff, it's selection, convenience, and then price. Physical stores are always going to lose the first, quite often the second, and at best tie on the third. And I bet the guys stocking the local supermarket would be happier with a full-time with benefits job at an Amazon warehouse than where they are now.
Retailers are middle-men. Good ones offer services and experiences beyond the mere exchange of cash for goods, but they're still middle-men, and if the internet has taught us anything, it's that it eats middle-men. Record stores, game stores, drug stores, book stores...
Re:doctors & lawyers, you're next... (Score:5, Interesting)
It's a useful baseline as the term middle class has been distorted to the point where it has no meaning whatsoever anymore.
If you are working for all of your money, you simply aren't middle class and weren't ever really. That's just a lie that people in power like to tell to keep the huddling masses from getting discontent.
If people realized they were really part of the underclass they might be more inclined to act out or just differently.
A lot of higher paid wage slaves have themselves convinced that they are something different than people that fill Amazon orders and that's not really the case.
Re:What's your boggle, citizen? (Score:5, Interesting)
These are shitty, high stress jobs for people near the end of their ropes.
Ah, so these are the new middle class American jobs!
Exactly. This is the new reality. What we used to call "working class" is being re-defined as "middle class", and the new American Dream is "just getting by."
Re:doctors & lawyers, you're next... (Score:5, Interesting)
This is a very good definition, but unfortunately (at least where I live), many people simply make the choice not to be middle class in favor of lifestyle.
Now, I'm in a reasonably well off "economic bubble" city, so take what I have to say with a grain of salt, but....
Many of the people I work around have 2400+ sq foot houses, 2 expensive (40K+) cars, re-modelled kitchens, multiple cell phone plans (at $80+ a pop), gadgets galore, all brand-name clothing, take 1-2 out of country vacations per year, and some even own vacation property.
Yet they live in debt.
They allow their money to actively work against them, which astonishes me.
Why are people constantly lined up a starbucks to pay $5+ for a cup of coffee? Are name-brand clothes so much better than Wal-Mart that they are worth 3-4x the price? Do they really need a data plan on your cell phone for $80 a month? etc. etc. etc.
As much as we like to blame: the president, the government, big banks, wall street, global economy, immigration policies, etc for the current financial situation, at least where I am, I see the biggest issue being: people themselves.
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Be constructive (Score:4, Interesting)
How about instead of criticizing a company for creating all these jobs, innovating an entire new industry, producing incredible value for customers, and instead praise them for doing so?
Working for low wages sucks. I know plenty of people who do this. Often they are recent immigrants or children of recent immigrants. Both parents may need to work. Grandmother may need to live with them and do child care. Their kids might not have their own bedrooms.
But having wages of this level means they can have a (used) car, refrigerator, microwave, TV, running water and a flush toilet - things they may not have had if they were unable to come to the US. So they are happy about that. But life is still challenging, though they get by and have a life as enjoyable as anyone else (I know unhappy rich people and happy poor people).
Low wages are an important price signal. It says perhaps you should finish high school, or go to college like 66% of high school graduates, or go to a trade school, or become an entrepreneur and start your own business (I know a Central American immigrant who started as a maid, saved up money, and now owns a chain of restaurants). Or perhaps you should move to areas with higher wages, like the Bakken or Eagle Shale areas.
Don't be like Washington DC and destroy thousands of potential jobs [nwahomepage.com] by saying Walmart should pay higher wages than the minimum wage. Don't force people to be unemployed.
If you really want to help these people, first let them have jobs (i.e. at the market wage) rather than try to manipulate their wages and making them unemployed. Give them a chance to make some money now. Then they may figure out they need to save to get more skills, move, stay in place and learn how to move into management, etc.
Then ask yourself why our unionized socialized government monopoly schools might not be preparing everyone for high-skill, high-productivity jobs.
Re:Wow - how did this one get approved at /. ??? (Score:2, Interesting)
My son had to do an analysis of the impact of Obamacare regulations on businesses around the fifty employee mark. He was a sophomore in college and it was VERY clear from the research he showed me that this would be the outcome.
(1) Stay below the minimum employees and avoid regulation. CHECK - happened with ADA
(2) Penalties cheaper than offering insurance. CHECK - cost tradeoffs are easy for accountants and finance types.
(3) Keep employees below minimum hours to avoid regulation. CHECK See (1).
(4) Not enough rebate/incentive money to buy personal insurance. CHECK
Folks are not stupid. Create a system where you have to take specific actions to avoid costs or obligations and people will take those actions. It didn't take a Nobel prize winning economist -- just a logical analysis.