今年5月13日,亞馬遜公司(Amazon)的創(chuàng)始人、世界第二富豪杰夫·貝佐斯與美國(guó)白宮就企業(yè)是否是造成高通脹的主要因素展開(kāi)了長(zhǎng)達(dá)數(shù)日的口水戰(zhàn),并使口水戰(zhàn)升級(jí)。
直到最近,貝佐斯在推特(Twitter)上發(fā)表的內(nèi)容僅限于亞馬遜公司的特定內(nèi)容以及他的太空探索事業(yè)的最新消息,只在最近幾個(gè)月才開(kāi)始使用該平臺(tái)表達(dá)政治意識(shí)形態(tài)觀點(diǎn),并在今年5月中旬開(kāi)始越來(lái)越多地將矛頭指向美國(guó)總統(tǒng)喬·拜登的政府。
爭(zhēng)論的根源似乎是拜登總統(tǒng)在5月13日發(fā)表的一條推文,該推文提議加大對(duì)富裕公司的征稅力度以控制通貨膨脹。
當(dāng)天,貝佐斯在推特上指責(zé)拜登“誤導(dǎo)民眾”。他寫(xiě)道:“加大對(duì)企業(yè)的征稅力度是可以討論的。抑制通脹的討論也是至關(guān)重要的。將它們混為一談,只是誤導(dǎo)民眾。”
5月16日,貝佐斯繼續(xù)批評(píng)白宮。他在推特上發(fā)文:“看,那有一只松鼠!”而后,他補(bǔ)充說(shuō):“他們(白宮)想要混淆視聽(tīng)是能夠理解的。他們知道通貨膨脹對(duì)最需要幫助的人傷害最大。但工會(huì)不會(huì)造成通貨膨脹,富人也不會(huì)造成通貨膨脹?!彼又鴮?xiě)道,如果拜登政府成功地通過(guò)了他數(shù)萬(wàn)億美元的“重建更好未來(lái)”(Build Back Better)議程,那么現(xiàn)在的通貨膨脹率將會(huì)更高。
這讓貝佐斯進(jìn)入了所謂的中間派陣營(yíng),例如來(lái)自美國(guó)西弗吉尼亞州的民主黨參議員喬·曼欽也是中間派陣營(yíng)成員。他因?yàn)椤爸亟ǜ梦磥?lái)法案”花費(fèi)太大而拒絕支持該法案。曼欽對(duì)該法案的兒童稅收抵免將使兒童貧困減半的論點(diǎn)不為所動(dòng)。
“亞馬遜,我們來(lái)了”
貝佐斯此前曾經(jīng)在推特上再次辯稱(chēng),拜登政府只是花了太多錢(qián)。他在5月15日發(fā)推文稱(chēng):“事實(shí)上,政府極力想為已經(jīng)過(guò)熱的通貨膨脹經(jīng)濟(jì)注入更多的刺激,只有曼欽實(shí)現(xiàn)了自救?!?/p>
貝佐斯在5月16日的評(píng)論是對(duì)白宮發(fā)言人安德魯·貝茨在給《華盛頓郵報(bào)》(Washington Post)的記者杰夫·斯坦的聲明中批評(píng)他的回應(yīng):
“不需要太大的思維跳躍就可以理解為什么地球上最富有的人之一反對(duì)為中產(chǎn)階級(jí)制定的經(jīng)濟(jì)議程,該議程削減了各個(gè)家庭面臨的一些大成本開(kāi)銷(xiāo),指導(dǎo)如何長(zhǎng)期對(duì)抗通貨膨脹,并加大了歷史性赤字削減,這是通過(guò)要求最富有的納稅人和企業(yè)繳納應(yīng)繳稅款而實(shí)現(xiàn)的。這條推文是在總統(tǒng)會(huì)見(jiàn)了包括亞馬遜的員工在內(nèi)的勞工組織者之后發(fā)表的,這也不足為奇?!?/p>
今年4月,獨(dú)立的亞馬遜工會(huì)(Amazon Labor Union)成功地在美國(guó)的第一個(gè)亞馬遜倉(cāng)庫(kù)成立了工會(huì)。亞馬遜工會(huì)的主席克里斯·斯莫爾斯是亞馬遜公司的一名前員工,他在新冠肺炎疫情爆發(fā)時(shí),抗議不安全工作條件,因?yàn)樯嫦舆`反健康和安全協(xié)議而被解雇,此后他與拜登會(huì)面,并在美國(guó)參議院預(yù)算委員會(huì)(Senate Budget Committee)面前作證。
在會(huì)見(jiàn)斯莫爾斯時(shí),拜登還會(huì)見(jiàn)了勞工工會(huì)(Workers United)的工會(huì)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人,勞工工會(huì)代表全國(guó)各地的星巴克公司(Starbucks)的工作者。對(duì)此,星巴克的全球傳播高級(jí)副總裁AJ·瓊斯二世在會(huì)面后致信拜登的總顧問(wèn)史蒂夫·里凱蒂:“我們對(duì)勞工工會(huì)……被邀請(qǐng)參會(huì),而沒(méi)有邀請(qǐng)星巴克的官方代表參會(huì)討論我們對(duì)此事的看法深表關(guān)注?!?/p>
今年4月初,拜登在美國(guó)勞工聯(lián)合會(huì)-產(chǎn)業(yè)工會(huì)聯(lián)合會(huì)(AFL-CIO)下屬的一個(gè)部門(mén),即北美建筑業(yè)工會(huì)(North America’s Building Trades Unions)的立法會(huì)議上發(fā)表講話時(shí),提到了亞馬遜工會(huì)在前一周取得的勝利?!皝嗰R遜,我們來(lái)了?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
今年5月13日,亞馬遜公司(Amazon)的創(chuàng)始人、世界第二富豪杰夫·貝佐斯與美國(guó)白宮就企業(yè)是否是造成高通脹的主要因素展開(kāi)了長(zhǎng)達(dá)數(shù)日的口水戰(zhàn),并使口水戰(zhàn)升級(jí)。
直到最近,貝佐斯在推特(Twitter)上發(fā)表的內(nèi)容僅限于亞馬遜公司的特定內(nèi)容以及他的太空探索事業(yè)的最新消息,只在最近幾個(gè)月才開(kāi)始使用該平臺(tái)表達(dá)政治意識(shí)形態(tài)觀點(diǎn),并在今年5月中旬開(kāi)始越來(lái)越多地將矛頭指向美國(guó)總統(tǒng)喬·拜登的政府。
爭(zhēng)論的根源似乎是拜登總統(tǒng)在5月13日發(fā)表的一條推文,該推文提議加大對(duì)富裕公司的征稅力度以控制通貨膨脹。
當(dāng)天,貝佐斯在推特上指責(zé)拜登“誤導(dǎo)民眾”。他寫(xiě)道:“加大對(duì)企業(yè)的征稅力度是可以討論的。抑制通脹的討論也是至關(guān)重要的。將它們混為一談,只是誤導(dǎo)民眾?!?/p>
5月16日,貝佐斯繼續(xù)批評(píng)白宮。他在推特上發(fā)文:“看,那有一只松鼠!”而后,他補(bǔ)充說(shuō):“他們(白宮)想要混淆視聽(tīng)是能夠理解的。他們知道通貨膨脹對(duì)最需要幫助的人傷害最大。但工會(huì)不會(huì)造成通貨膨脹,富人也不會(huì)造成通貨膨脹?!彼又鴮?xiě)道,如果拜登政府成功地通過(guò)了他數(shù)萬(wàn)億美元的“重建更好未來(lái)”(Build Back Better)議程,那么現(xiàn)在的通貨膨脹率將會(huì)更高。
這讓貝佐斯進(jìn)入了所謂的中間派陣營(yíng),例如來(lái)自美國(guó)西弗吉尼亞州的民主黨參議員喬·曼欽也是中間派陣營(yíng)成員。他因?yàn)椤爸亟ǜ梦磥?lái)法案”花費(fèi)太大而拒絕支持該法案。曼欽對(duì)該法案的兒童稅收抵免將使兒童貧困減半的論點(diǎn)不為所動(dòng)。
“亞馬遜,我們來(lái)了”
貝佐斯此前曾經(jīng)在推特上再次辯稱(chēng),拜登政府只是花了太多錢(qián)。他在5月15日發(fā)推文稱(chēng):“事實(shí)上,政府極力想為已經(jīng)過(guò)熱的通貨膨脹經(jīng)濟(jì)注入更多的刺激,只有曼欽實(shí)現(xiàn)了自救?!?/p>
貝佐斯在5月16日的評(píng)論是對(duì)白宮發(fā)言人安德魯·貝茨在給《華盛頓郵報(bào)》(Washington Post)的記者杰夫·斯坦的聲明中批評(píng)他的回應(yīng):
“不需要太大的思維跳躍就可以理解為什么地球上最富有的人之一反對(duì)為中產(chǎn)階級(jí)制定的經(jīng)濟(jì)議程,該議程削減了各個(gè)家庭面臨的一些大成本開(kāi)銷(xiāo),指導(dǎo)如何長(zhǎng)期對(duì)抗通貨膨脹,并加大了歷史性赤字削減,這是通過(guò)要求最富有的納稅人和企業(yè)繳納應(yīng)繳稅款而實(shí)現(xiàn)的。這條推文是在總統(tǒng)會(huì)見(jiàn)了包括亞馬遜的員工在內(nèi)的勞工組織者之后發(fā)表的,這也不足為奇?!?/p>
今年4月,獨(dú)立的亞馬遜工會(huì)(Amazon Labor Union)成功地在美國(guó)的第一個(gè)亞馬遜倉(cāng)庫(kù)成立了工會(huì)。亞馬遜工會(huì)的主席克里斯·斯莫爾斯是亞馬遜公司的一名前員工,他在新冠肺炎疫情爆發(fā)時(shí),抗議不安全工作條件,因?yàn)樯嫦舆`反健康和安全協(xié)議而被解雇,此后他與拜登會(huì)面,并在美國(guó)參議院預(yù)算委員會(huì)(Senate Budget Committee)面前作證。
在會(huì)見(jiàn)斯莫爾斯時(shí),拜登還會(huì)見(jiàn)了勞工工會(huì)(Workers United)的工會(huì)領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人,勞工工會(huì)代表全國(guó)各地的星巴克公司(Starbucks)的工作者。對(duì)此,星巴克的全球傳播高級(jí)副總裁AJ·瓊斯二世在會(huì)面后致信拜登的總顧問(wèn)史蒂夫·里凱蒂:“我們對(duì)勞工工會(huì)……被邀請(qǐng)參會(huì),而沒(méi)有邀請(qǐng)星巴克的官方代表參會(huì)討論我們對(duì)此事的看法深表關(guān)注?!?/p>
今年4月初,拜登在美國(guó)勞工聯(lián)合會(huì)-產(chǎn)業(yè)工會(huì)聯(lián)合會(huì)(AFL-CIO)下屬的一個(gè)部門(mén),即北美建筑業(yè)工會(huì)(North America’s Building Trades Unions)的立法會(huì)議上發(fā)表講話時(shí),提到了亞馬遜工會(huì)在前一周取得的勝利。“亞馬遜,我們來(lái)了?!保ㄘ?cái)富中文網(wǎng))
譯者:中慧言-王芳
On May 13, Amazon founder and the second-richest man in the world Jeff Bezos escalated a days-long war of words with the White House over whether corporations are a leading cause of high inflation.
Bezos, whose Twitter presence until recently was limited to Amazon-specific content along with updates on his space exploration ventures, only began to use the platform to express political ideology in recent months, and in mid-May he began increasingly taking aim at the Joe Biden administration.
The root of the issue seems to be a May 13 tweet from President Joe Biden’s account that proposed increasing taxes on wealthy corporations to rein in inflation.
That day, Bezos accused Biden of “misdirection” on Twitter. “Raising corp taxes is fine to discuss. Taming inflation is critical to discuss. Mushing them together is just misdirection,” he wrote.
On May 16, Bezos kept up his critique. “Look, a squirrel!” he tweeted, adding that “They [the White House] understandably want to muddy the topic. They know inflation hurts the neediest the most. But unions aren’t causing inflation and neither are wealthy people.” He went on to write that inflation would be even higher now if Biden had succeeded in passing his multitrillion-dollar Build Back Better agenda.
This puts Bezos in the camp of so-called centrists such as Sen. Joe Manchin, the Democratic senator from West Virginia who spiked Build Back Better because it was too expensive. Manchin was unmoved by arguments that the legislation's child tax credit would cut child poverty in half.
“Amazon here we come”
Bezos had previously argued, again on Twitter, that Biden’s government was just spending too much money. “In fact, the administration tried hard to inject even more stimulus into an already over-heated, inflationary economy and only Manchin saved them from themselves,” he tweeted on May 15.
May 16’s comments came in response to White House spokesperson Andrew Bates criticizing him in a statement to The Washington Post’s Jeff Stein:
“It doesn't require a huge leap to figure out why one of the wealthiest individuals on Earth opposes an economic agenda for the middle class that cuts some of the biggest costs families face, fights inflation for the long haul, and adds to the historic deficit reduction the President is achieving by asking the richest taxpayers and corporations to pay their fair share. It's also unsurprising that this tweet comes after the President met with labor organizers, including Amazon employees.”
In April, the independent Amazon Labor Union (ALU) successfully unionized the first Amazon warehouse in the U.S. ALU president Chris Smalls, a former Amazon worker who was fired for allegedly violating health and safety protocols while protesting against unsafe working conditions at the start of the pandemic, has since met with Biden and testified in front of the Senate budget committee.
While meeting with Smalls, Biden also met with union leaders from Workers United, the union seeking to represent Starbucks workers across the country. In response, Starbucks’ senior vice president of global communications AJ Jones II sent a letter to Biden’s general counsel Steve Ricchetti after the meeting: “We are deeply concerned that Workers United...was invited to the meeting while not inviting official Starbucks representatives, to discuss our view on the matter.”
In a speech in early April at the legislative conference for North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), a department of the AFL-CIO, Biden referenced ALU’s win the week before: “Amazon here we come.”