Well yer a boring bunch a fannies . . .

[Nick]

.
Why are people so anti- Amazon?

Personally I find it unlikely their corporate culture is in fact worse than many others, and of course there are thousands of sellers other than Amazon themselves using the platform.

[aquaplane]

Because Amazon don't pay tax and we have to.

Because Amazon pay minimum wage and rely on tax payers to top it up to a liveable wage but don't pay tax. And they are a excrement employer basically slave drivers.

Because they are all bar a monopoly and I hate a monopoly, free market economy my fornicating arse.

I don't hold strong opinions.

And they shaft all the other sellers out there using their platform forcing them to charge more because Amazon charge them a percentage, or pare their margin down so Amazon still makes a killing, free market economy my fornicating arse.

[BlowingOldBoots]

Amazon's reason for existing is to maximise the return to its shareholders. It therefore should be expected to optimise all legal methods to do this. Governments allow this by making or not making laws that limit opportunities to make profit. Change the laws to increase the minimum wage and remove tax credits and Amazon will have this opportunity removed; change taxation law and Amazon will pay tax on all UK sales.

The reason that Amazon, Dyson and Starbucks etc behave the way they do is because our representatives in Government let them. The bottom line is that Amazon is massively convenient, which is why people use them. However, Google Shopping usually finds a lower cost product than Amazon anyway, I find.

[Nick]

Well said BOB

Expecting large companies to develop a conscience when they are run by accountants for the benefit of shareholders is fantasy. It is up to government to create equitable taxation systems and implement humane employment and wages legislation.

[wully]

It is up to government to create equitable taxation systems and implement humane employment and wages legislation.

And/ or up to us to not spend our hard earned with greedy corporations...

[Nick]

It is up to government to create equitable taxation systems and implement humane employment and wages legislation.

And/ or up to us to not spend our hard earned with greedy corporations...

Tell me Wully, about your ethically sourced electronics. Apple, Samsung? Tell me how they look after their workers. Where is your foul weather gear made and what are the conditions like in the factories in China?

We can all pretend to be ethical consumers but in reality the phrase is an oxymoron. Amazon is UK based though and the UK government is in a position to legislate to improve its business practices, yet chooses not to.

Anyway, nice to know you are all such an ethical bunch. Perhaps I should look for a more ethical affiliate programme. Would Ebay be more likely to tempt you?

[Telo]

Governments, of course, can influence corporate behaviour, but so also can NGOs, consumers and shareowners.

[BlowingOldBoots]

It is up to government to create equitable taxation systems and implement humane employment and wages legislation.

And/ or up to us to not spend our hard earned with greedy corporations...

That's very true but as a form of protest it really needs to be coordinated at a national level to be effective and even then it has to be sustained. My own personal view is that all of us have little opportunity to have our opinions heard and have even less opportunity to influence anything. Party politics in the UK is a total failure having delivered nothing but lower standards in every aspect of life for many years now. At what point do we wake up and smell the coffee and shake the country to it's very foundations?

[Nick]

At what point do we wake up and smell the coffee and shake the country to it's very foundations?

Hopefully soon, but probably never.

[Aja]

It is up to government to create equitable taxation systems and implement humane employment and wages legislation.

And/ or up to us to not spend our hard earned with greedy corporations...

That's very true but as a form of protest it really needs to be coordinated at a national level to be effective and even then it has to be sustained. My own personal view is that all of us have little opportunity to have our opinions heard and have even less opportunity to influence anything. Party politics in the UK is a total failure having delivered nothing but lower standards in every aspect of life for many years now. At what point do we wake up and smell the coffee and shake the country to it's very foundations?

If it is Independence (whatever that means) that you mean to shake the foundations, well, that probably means the status quo. I wouldn't expect any change in the way that Scotland is governed politically. The socialist parties of Scotland will find out that they will get popular support until the coffers run dry. How long will that take? Well that will be the gamble.

Donald

[aquaplane]

We are heading back to Victorian working conditions. Eventually workers will feel so pissed off that Unions will get more members and the balance will swing back a bit, but only enough to avoid a proper revolution.

What is really needed is a revolution. Full on "come the glorious day you will be the first against the wall" type revolution.

We may need a guillotine.

[Aja]

Hmm. 1789 and all that? There's progress for you

Donald

[wully]

It is up to government to create equitable taxation systems and implement humane employment and wages legislation.

And/ or up to us to not spend our hard earned with greedy corporations...

Tell me Wully, about your ethically sourced electronics. Apple, Samsung? Tell me how they look after their workers. Where is your foul weather gear made and what are the conditions like in the factories in China?

We can all pretend to be ethical consumers but in reality the phrase is an oxymoron. Amazon is UK based though and the UK government is in a position to legislate to improve its business practices, yet chooses not to.

Anyway, nice to know you are all such an ethical bunch. Perhaps I should look for a more ethical affiliate programme. Would Ebay be more likely to tempt you?

1. I always look to the uk first when I want to buy ' stuff' . Digital Yacht for leccie and Plastimo for my cooker for example. I buy boots from Yorkshire and my next toaster will be UK made now I've found an actual manufacturer here. If I need some breeks soon then there's some folk , also in Yorkshire who have started making there.
2. Doubt I'll buy Dubarry again since you can't get your refurbed boots refurbed in Ireland since they sold their workers jobs abroad.
3. As far as I'm aware no one make foulies in the UK currently. If they do I'll buy from them.

I TRY to buy ' local' when ever I can, as long as the quality is good enough and the price isn't stupid. ( example - I bought a Renault van instead of the identical Vauxhall as it was cheaper, better equipped, 1 year extra warranty, more toys. I went to a Vauxhall dealer to see if he'd match the Renault deal...not interested..


Sorry, I won't be planning clicking through to Amazon unless I have no other options but if I do, I'll do it from here.

[BlowingOldBoots]

And/ or up to us to not spend our hard earned with greedy corporations...

That's very true but as a form of protest it really needs to be coordinated at a national level to be effective and even then it has to be sustained. My own personal view is that all of us have little opportunity to have our opinions heard and have even less opportunity to influence anything. Party politics in the UK is a total failure having delivered nothing but lower standards in every aspect of life for many years now. At what point do we wake up and smell the coffee and shake the country to it's very foundations?

If it is Independence (whatever that means) that you mean to shake the foundations, well, that probably means the status quo. I wouldn't expect any change in the way that Scotland is governed politically. The socialist parties of Scotland will find out that they will get popular support until the coffers run dry. How long will that take? Well that will be the gamble.

Donald

No Donald, not Independence although that could be part of it. Perhaps, Brexit if it ends up in a series of job losses and economic bad news for everyone, could be part of it. My wonderings are really around at what point do the people of the UK realise that the current first past the post, class based, them and us, party politics is doing us no favours.

Britain could have been like Germany and Japan, we had the technology, the intelligence, the creativity, enterprise and the work ethic. In my opinion we are slowly but surely sinking in a mire of our own making. A topical example of the failure of the education system is the claim being made yesterday that apprenticeships are seen by parents and kids as a dead end, unable to achieve the top positions and that University is the way to go. This belief shows where our values lie, in one up-man-ship, getting to the top, not in the value of honest labour or the honour of working in a trade.

The trades and SMEs are the key to a vibrant working country, where people feel valued and appreciate their self worth at the hand of their own labour. Party politics and the maintenance of the class system in the UK is what is holding us back, that is where the revolution needs to happen.

On the Scottish Independence point that you make, I don't agree that it would be an SNP, or socialist, bankrupt outcome. I believe that the SNP would have their wings clipped post independence and hopefully we would see the rise of new parties and the destruction of Labour as a political party. Post independence I would be voting for more enterprise focussed parties that supported less state intervention. I am not a believer in big government although there is some sense in centralisation where economies of scale can be better achieved.

[BlowingOldBoots]

....1. I always look to the uk first when I want to buy ' stuff' .....

I must do better Wully! That's my intent too (Scotland, UK, EU, ROTW) and for years I pretty much managed my purchasing that way but have long since fallen by the way side.

As some old Conservative and once chairman of the 1922 committee said, 'the jobs are where you spend your money', a truism, if ever there was one.

If you have not bought your new anchor, buy the Knox, honestly, you will not be disappointed, I researched it well before replacing my CQR and I am very happy with the quality and performance. Plus it's made in Scotland.