One of the rare occasions when I disagree with RSJ on a couple of points.
Yes, I do think that this could have been postponed for a while. When did we last have a pandemic/event that had such impact on lives and livelihoods? This is a once in a lifetime event and to expect some basic decency is not too much. It would have been a good year (as any) for Bezos to announce a decent minimum basic wage (or more?!) for his workers rather than rubbing his wealth in everyone's face.
Also, Billionaires get state-benefits in terms of tax rebates/other incentives in-lieu of providing employment and creating economic activity. However, is someone measuring (cost-benefit analysis) whether the benefits being accrued are commensurate with the incentives being given out? With states/provinces fighting for such large investments it is a race to the bottom in terms of providing incentives. So when large corps gain unprecedented wealth on account of such incentives (paid for by taxpayers), they do have a duty towards the taxpayers. Or at least try not to burn that money just for fun.
And for improvement in science and technology - I guess we will have to wait and watch. Whether it does anything for science or creates yet another monopolistic/duopolistic ecosystem to further the wealth of a few select individuals.
Also the state continues to help advance innovation and it didn't end in the 80's. e.g. here is an excerpt from the Economist (03/06/21)- "Using messenger rna to make vaccines was an unproven idea. But if it worked, the technique would revolutionise medicine, not least by providing protection against infectious diseases and biological weapons. So in 2013 America’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (darpa) gambled. It awarded a small, new firm called Moderna $25m to develop the idea. Eight years, and more than 175m doses later, Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine sits alongside weather satellites, gps, drones, stealth technology, voice interfaces, the personal computer and the internet on the list of innovations for which darpa can claim at least partial credit."
One of the rare occasions when I disagree with RSJ on a couple of points.
Yes, I do think that this could have been postponed for a while. When did we last have a pandemic/event that had such impact on lives and livelihoods? This is a once in a lifetime event and to expect some basic decency is not too much. It would have been a good year (as any) for Bezos to announce a decent minimum basic wage (or more?!) for his workers rather than rubbing his wealth in everyone's face.
Also, Billionaires get state-benefits in terms of tax rebates/other incentives in-lieu of providing employment and creating economic activity. However, is someone measuring (cost-benefit analysis) whether the benefits being accrued are commensurate with the incentives being given out? With states/provinces fighting for such large investments it is a race to the bottom in terms of providing incentives. So when large corps gain unprecedented wealth on account of such incentives (paid for by taxpayers), they do have a duty towards the taxpayers. Or at least try not to burn that money just for fun.
And for improvement in science and technology - I guess we will have to wait and watch. Whether it does anything for science or creates yet another monopolistic/duopolistic ecosystem to further the wealth of a few select individuals.
Also the state continues to help advance innovation and it didn't end in the 80's. e.g. here is an excerpt from the Economist (03/06/21)- "Using messenger rna to make vaccines was an unproven idea. But if it worked, the technique would revolutionise medicine, not least by providing protection against infectious diseases and biological weapons. So in 2013 America’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (darpa) gambled. It awarded a small, new firm called Moderna $25m to develop the idea. Eight years, and more than 175m doses later, Moderna’s covid-19 vaccine sits alongside weather satellites, gps, drones, stealth technology, voice interfaces, the personal computer and the internet on the list of innovations for which darpa can claim at least partial credit."