Acton Institute Powerblog Archives

Post Tagged 'amazon'

Alexa’s Just Not That into You

A few weeks ago, software engineer Brandon Jackson found himself shut out of his smart home for a full week. When Alexa wouldn’t respond to his commands, he called the Amazon help desk to see what the issue was. Continue Reading...

Are billionaires evil?

Criticizing billionaires has become a popular cultural trend, based on anti-rich sentiment that was recently exacerbated by a ProPublica report that leaked the tax returns of the 25 wealthiest Americans. The report’s findings were interesting but not particularly surprising, mostly confirming the long-held speculation that the ultra-rich don’t pay taxes proportional to their levels of wealth and frequently use legal avenues to shield their earnings from the government’s fingertips. Continue Reading...

How the $15 minimum wage accelerates community decline

As Congress debates the specifics of yet another stimulus bill, President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders continue to push for the inclusion a $15 federal minimum wage – a policy that is only likely to prolong pandemic pain for America’s most vulnerable businesses and workers. Continue Reading...

The Tucker Carlson-Sean Hannity showdown: Who was right?

The underlying tensions between national conservatism and a more pro-business Republican orthodoxy burst into the open during a 24-second, primetime exchange on Fox News Channel. During the hand-off between hosts Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity on Tuesday night, Hannity seemingly rebuked his lead-in for criticizing Jeff Bezos’ fortune. Continue Reading...

Don’t save Barnes & Noble!

First it happened to Toys ‘R’ Us, but we did nothing (except complain). Now it may be happening to Barnes & Noble, and we will do nothing again. (Nothing except complain, that is. Continue Reading...

Amazon, Kmart, and the Moral Limits of Shopping

Good now, sit down, and tell me, he that knows, Why this same strict and most observant watch So nightly toils the subject of the land, And why such daily cast of brazen cannon, And foreign mart for implements of war; Why such impress of shipwrights, whose sore task Does not divide the Sunday from the week; What might be toward, that this sweaty haste Doth make the night joint-labourer with the day: Who is’t that can inform me? Continue Reading...