The frothing spittle spewing about makes that article hard to read.
Yes, Amazon made arrangements to deliver below cost. When you are supplying a large fraction of the service provider’s revenue, you can make deals like that. (Lose Amazon’s business, USPS could actually go under.)
Yes, Intel said the devices worked as intended. Extremely creative individuals figured out how to abuse what is otherwise beneficial capabilities. (The technique is staggeringly clever.)
Etc.
No, it’s NOT stealing. Everyone has the opportunity to cease business as they see fit. Yes, there’s consequences - that’s why the system built up the way it has: on the whole it benefits everyone more than not. Don’t like what’s happening? then stop using Amazon, USPS, Netflix, Intel, etc - and see how life really was better.
Imho, the article is seriously overstated. However, I did have the cited bank try to rip off about $1500 In junk fees on a loan (including an attempted $500 for a non- existent appraisal) — and more recently we had another bank actually take a course hundred dollars out of a customer account with zero cause or even notice - they just took it. Numerous communications since have confirmed it was a “bank error” - but repeated promises to return the customer’s funds have gone unfulfilled. In short, sometimes huge businesses really do screw customers over - and it can be extremely difficult to get your money back or your HP computer fixed under its so-called warranty. Imho, customers are often better off patronizing smaller businesses ( and the phone company has reaggregated after we broke it’s near- monopoly up — just try to get their billing computer to send correct bills without it adding fifty dollars extra ripoff charge! We finally got it fixed but it took nearly two years and approximately 200 hours of work despite many nice agents acknowledging the “mistakes” and promising they’d be fixed by each successive bill). Etc. there are some big companies that have been honest with us —Costco and the old (definitely not the new) sears, also amazon — sonitscnot as generalized a problem as the author asserts. But he still has a point and some of these huge outfits really should be broken up with the largely- dormant, ignored anti- trust laws
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Yes, Amazon made arrangements to deliver below cost. When you are supplying a large fraction of the service provider’s revenue, you can make deals like that. (Lose Amazon’s business, USPS could actually go under.)
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Don’t like what’s happening? then stop using Amazon, USPS, Netflix, Intel, etc
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Aside from the USPS (a govt monopoly. Being so, it cannot adopt to market forces, nor ‘go under’ [though, IMO, it should]...and others doing the same is *ILLEGAL*), I believe the point is that Fascism/Socialism have taken such a hold in the U.S. that the choices/availability of competition are limited BECAUSE of the same.
BIG govt allows (near) MONOPOLIES. Govt refuses to not only deregulate, but also break-up the same. TV/news/cable...run, by what, 3 diff. conglomerates? Banks GOBBLED up by BOA/Chase/etc. ‘too big to fail’. Hell, I’m surprised Tesla could break-out as he did (presuming no ‘greased palms’....RIGHT).
We need a restoration of the Free Market and the watchful eye of govt to ensure an equal playing field...no picking the winners (donors) and losers (taxpayers/Freedom).