MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
… compsssion like a woman scorned.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55313522
Jeff is giving away a bit too. Be nice for the world if they decide to see who is nicest and give away the most. Whatever their reasons it will hopefully bring help to some who need it.
See also Bill and Melinda Gates.
Nice story. 🙂
Hell hath no…
...snowmen?
Very good.
Mrs_oab have discussed winning the lottery before (aye, right), and both agree we would spend our time trying to benefit good causes so that we leave no cash behind.
perchypanther
Hell hath no…
…snowmen?
Well the ninth circle is pretty chilly, but I don't know whether anyone there is in the mood to make snowmen.
Bezos has given away plenty of money before, but if this forces him to up his game to avoid looking bad then great 😃 Makes me feel better about all the money I send his way too 🤣
ALTHOUGH... her wealth has MASSIVELY increased this year, at a guess because she has interests in Amazon and obviously coronavirus has hugely boosted their revenue, so this $4.2B actually only represents about 18% of the extra cash she's made this year alone...
I would argue that whilst obviously this donation is a very good thing, it's a bad thing that this is so notable/newsworthy. It should be the default response for the Uber-rich to give away huge chunks of cashola rather than being unusual! Hopefully the Giving Pledge will gain even more traction and can go some way to addressing the huge wealth imbalance.
Gates has been mentioned.
Can I mention my boss (ok I’ve never spoken to him, but I’ve been in the same room as him a few times and at least one of his direct reports is on first name terms with me - int ah posh) - Warren Buffet, steady making his way down the rich list even when he’s making money.
She’s on the board of Giving Pledge and has been for ages. I expect to see another 30billion from her when she can decide on the best way to distribute it.
Very impressive of her, but a rather sad inditement of society that we allow such wealth disparity to exist; esp as Amazon makes it's money from min wage employees in warehouses, treated little better than farm animals.
but a rather sad inditement of society that we actively support such wealth disparity by buying from Amazon
Fixed it.
Bit harsh footflaps, I regularly get a number of amazon employees on my bus going to/from work, they all seem like regular guys/gals going about their normal business.
They certainly don’t seem unhappy.
Personally, although I don’t work there, I’m just glad to have a job these days.
Actors Chow Yun Fat and Michael Sheen.
but a rather sad inditement of society that we actively support such wealth disparity by buying from Amazon
It's the employment legislation which is the root cause of the problem. Their behaviour isn't unique, they just employ people to the minimum standard that the UK consider acceptable. We need to change that standard; it would impact the profits a tiny bit, but they'd still make money and we'd have better looked after staff.
I regularly get a number of amazon employees on my bus going to/from work, they all seem like regular guys/gals going about their normal business.
Well I've only read about it, but supposed to be pretty brutal work, highly monitored, highly controlled, very exhausting with high burn out / injury rate. But if it's that or being unemployed / UC, I suspect people are happier working there than not working at all.
It’s Bullshit philanthropy. If Amazon paid tax to a country other than Luxembourg we wouldn’t need to be so grateful for their charity. £14m in corporation tax on £3B revenue last year.
I would imagine conditions in the US may be worse than they are here. We've got a little bit of time left before the Tories can start eroding our working conditions.
Anyway, here's Bill Gates' inspiration:
Still not taking anything away from Mackenzie Scott. That's a very generous thing to do.
min wage employees in warehouses
The warehouse employees get paid above minimum wage, about £11 an hour I think. I'd have been happy with that when I was an unskilled worker - working in bars/kitchens and getting bang on the minimum possible.
Edit: just googled it and it's less, 9.50 outside London and 10.50 in London.
The warehouse employees get paid above minimum wage, about £11 an hour I think.
Yep - can only speak for the UK, but a mate worked at the local Amazon depot after losing his IT job following a few months on furlough, and before starting another IT job. He's not an unskilled bloke but thoroughly enjoyed his 2-3 months with Amazon from all accounts.
But agree, proper tax would be a start.
It's all just numbers I can't fathom.
I mean it's really good of her to give away 4billion dollars, but when you have another 56 billion in the bank it really makes no difference.
If you only have £60, £4 is a loss, but even if she gave away 59 billion, she still wouldn't ever have to worry about feeding her family or heating the house....
🤷
Well I’ve only read about it, but supposed to be pretty brutal work,
depends what you mean by brutal. There's no sitting around waiting for something to happen or posting on bike forums, but I know someone who went from pick/pack/ship in the warehouse to a carehome and says Amazon was a doddle. Her boyfriend went from Amazon to Ikea and says there's no way he'd go back to Amazon because the hours are better at Ikea - but physically the work is more demanding in Ikea (bigger heavier boxes etc).
highly monitored, highly controlled,
we employ a former amazon supervisor and he doesn't think most of it was as bad as people make out. They run a tight ship and manage things closely, but he says the people with a problem were the ones who turned up hungover or with an attitude that wasn't about actually working. He reckons the drivers get the worst end of the deal that the warehouse people.
very exhausting with high burn out / injury rate.
there's high staff turnover but I don't think its necessarily burn out - they aren't going to lie in a darkened room for months to recover. It sounded to me like the biggest issue was people wanting to work 9-5 type hours. I've never heard him mention an injury I'll need to grill him.
But if it’s that or being unemployed / UC, I suspect people are happier working there than not working at all.
How many jobs that require essentially zero training do you think people are doing because they wake up every day and see lets go to work for the love of it - rather than simply to pay the rent / feed their kids?
It’s Bullshit philanthropy
It's philanthropy, not bullshit philanthropy - the problem is our government allowing them to pay zero tax, not Amazon paying what the system currently allows them to.
For proper philanthropy - have look at Andrew Carnegie. He gave away more than 90% of his wealth before he died and all of it in the end.