#121
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Another poster replied (sarcastically) "But... Big business is bad ." Business is business, and will maximize its profits any way that doesn't land leadership in jail. (And that's quite a ways, judging from recent history. But I digress...) The real problem with this HQ deal, IMO, is the expected rush of candidate cities to shower Amazon with offers of money from the public coffers (and that included foregone tax revenue) while the benefits are entirely speculative, and we can't even agree how to account for them. What guarantees are being offered by Amazon? Ask the folks in Harrisburg about all those great jobs at the Foxconn plant. I brought up the NFL because every analysis of economic benefits from new stadiums (save those commissioned by the sports leagues themselves) show trivial post-construction job gains at best. Bids to host the Olympics depend on similar creative accounting. Amazon isn't that bad AFAIK, but I would still keep my hand on my wallet when someone offers money, money, money. |
#122
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Here's what happened when Amazon moved to Schertz Tx https://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio...nt?oid=2246759 "The City of Schertz paid $7.6 million in subsidies to the mega-corporation in order to secure the 1.26 million-square-foot warehouse that will bring “good job[s] in a durable, growing industry” according to a recent speech from President Obama, delivered at an Amazon fulfillment center (company lingo for ‘warehouse’) in Tennessee. Later in the article, Amazon isn’t coming to Schertz to uplift Texas workers; it is coming here to exploit them." Many companies providing these so-called “middle-class” jobs have used the economic recession as an excuse to cut wages, which led to them realizing record profits. According to the National Employment Law Project, most of the jobs lost since 2008 paid between $13.53 and $20.66 an hour while the majority of the jobs gained in the same period paid between $7.51 and $13.52. Not as happy place to work as they would like you to believe.
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Cuando era joven Last edited by cmg; 09-11-2017 at 04:15 PM. |
#123
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The city does make a substantial amount of money on these deals, more than you think, but that all goes into city building projects, police, etc, the only way that money goes into politicians pockets of the city is if they vote themselves a raise. However the city does have special interest groups that get winning bids on projects, and those contractors will make money. So a lot of that money you don't see because it's absorbed by the infrastructure which when a big tax windfall comes to the city the city finds ways to spend the money as fast as it comes in so it appears nothing is being spent on city projects, the city might add more cops to the payroll, improve the sewer system, etc. Where I live the city lost International Company who decided to move to the outskirts of Chicago, and the city lost quite a bit of money. |
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Denver is doing fine without the addition of 50k mediocre jobs. The average new Amazon employee will struggle to find an affordable starter home, and will have to hunt for reasonable rent on their salary. Our unemployment is at a record low, so more people will move here to fill the void(?), if everything comes together. I hope the Mayor/City Council/et al who have sway don't cave on any expectations or demands the big A might have.
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#125
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Agreed it's not a nice place to work, I had them as a customer, and the churn of 3 global directors for "commodity" sourcing (electrical infrastructure) in 18 months was bad.. As to %age, AWS still says they do 100%, independent sites say "most" (2 versions of the story below): https://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies/netflix/ https://aws.amazon.com/solutions/case-studies/netflix/ Last edited by Davist; 09-12-2017 at 08:15 AM. |
#126
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#127
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Performance Bike = Starbucks (corporate)
i prefer the local small business bike shop. there are no Performance Bikes here but plenty of local shops with lot's of character. i went to a Performance in Ca years ago and it was so Walmart-esque feeling. no thanks! |
#128
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But when I go to an LBS and see their selection of tires like Vittoria Rubino Pro III tires for $95 but find them on line for $24 it doesn't take a genius to figure out which place I'm going to go to get those tires, most places have free shipping but even if I pay for shipping for those tires it will cost $12 to ship a pair, and now with taxes there will be an additional $3.36 for the pair, so the total cost will be $63.36 for a pair vs $203.30 for a pair plus taxes at the LBS, so sorry if I sound stupid to you but I would rather save $139 plus dollars! That is just one of thousands examples I can show. At my LBS the lowest costing socks they have is $12 for a pair, not a big deal but I needed 3 pairs which would have ran $36 plus tax brings it to $38.52, I got 3 pairs from Performance for $16 which included tax and shipping. Personally I think cycling sock prices are rip off no matter what, but that's the sport we're in. That doesn't mean I never buy from an LBS, I get about 90% of my purchases on line, occasionally I need something right now, or the price difference is so small it's just more convenient to get it at the LBS, but on most items I can save at least 30% (even after including shipping and taxes) by getting my cycling stuff on line. I don't buy everything from Performance or Nashbar (they are the same company now), but probably about 50% goes through them the rest is scattered out amoung other companies. I always get stuff on sale or usually closeouts which the LBS's in my town never reduce prices even on closeouts by more than 10% off retail, whereas on line I can get up to 75% off their already lower prices than an LBS. It just makes good sense to me, being a business man, to get my stuff where I can find it the cheapest. What I do isn't unlike what corporations do! Yup, it's the same reason corporations went to China to get their crap made because they could save money and make bigger profits, so I do basically the same thing, find the lowest prices and save money which leaves more money in my bank account to spend on other things...on sale of course! LOL! By the way, Performance is not like Walmart, Walmart will sell the cheapest thing they can get, they won't sell, for example only, Vittoria rubino Pro III tires, they'll sell Bell tires which no LBS in their right mind would carry and nor does any on line store including Performance, Performance only carries name brand stuff except for their own line of things. So no, Performance isn't even close to being like a Walmart. Last edited by froze; 09-13-2017 at 12:27 PM. |
#129
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It's limited knowledge and a focus on products that doesn't work for me, neither with PB nor with most LBS. Just walk into the average LBS and ask whether they will cold set a steel frame or try to buy a set of Campagnolo UT BB cups... |
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Why Amazon will (and should) put Performance Bike out of business
Perhaps I'm spoiled here in NYC. There are more than a few shops with excellent selection and knowledge (for the most part). As for prices, yes, we all know where to shop when we're are being price conscious, but I've never felt the need to shop online at PB. There are other online avenues with the same or much better prices with a great selection.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Last edited by r_mutt; 09-13-2017 at 02:17 PM. |
#131
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#132
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From an op-ed by Richard Florida in today's Daily News:
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It don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that certain je ne sais quoi. --Peter Schickele |
#133
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🏻* |
#134
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I ate spinach once years ago and got sick.
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©2004 The Elefantino Corp. All rights reserved. |
#135
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Performance is sort of like the Guitar Center of bike shops. I usually prefer to go to a LBS, but once in a while there will be a sale that makes it worth while. It's not my favorite place, but I hope they stick around.
This year I've seen 3 local bike shops in my area close. I'm trying to spend $ at the ones that are still open. Even if it's something small like tools, tubes, bartape, etc. Last edited by jwd; 09-14-2017 at 12:36 PM. |
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