Episode 114: How Amazon Dodges Taxes; 22 Million Workers Get A Raise!
Episode 114: I’ve spent a fair amount of time recently on the very bad deal made by New York and Virginia with Amazon to lure the company to build its new headquarters in those two states. Amazon is an important story because of the power it exercises over our economy—a power that grows every day. This week, I talk with Oren Teicher, the CEO of the American Booksellers Association, whose perspective goes beyond the damage Amazon has done to book stores; he and I talk specifically about the hundreds of millions of dollars states and cities lose because of Amazon’s on-going shenanigans around sales tax collections, and how the company hurts businesses and communities on just about every block in the country. In the second segment, I celebrate and discuss with Yannet Lathrop of the National Employment Law Project the extra money 22 million workers will see in their paychecks this year because of state and local hikes in the minimum wage (yes: the federal minimum wage still stands at an immoral $7.25-an-hour). Our Robber Baron of the week is the CEO of Standard & Poor’s.
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