Jackson Jambalaya

As the libo he is, Crawford is consumed with taxing everything known to man!In the words of the late, great Governor Kirk Fordice "he has never signed the front of a payroll check."

Without taxes this place won’t run.....period.

Amazon has opened fulfillment centers that employ over 2000 in Ohio. Perhaps a laid off employee from a failed Walmart should take their resume over to The fulfillment center, word has it Amazon has a fantastic benefits package.

Well, all very unfortunate, but really, is this any different from the cry of the horse-and-buggy trade once automobiles became the way to go? Times change, and the working business model of past days becomes cumbersome and outmoded. Sic transit everything. I love supporting my little local merchants, but also use Amazon all the time. Not sure what that makes me...

last year, state spending increased by over 13% from previous year. Over $2B increase in state spending

An analysis of state, local and federal spending would better serve than trying to find more ways to take more money from the citizen

There is no greed like government's greed. God forbid they learn to do with less income.

And, fwiw, amazon collects sales taxes on stuff they sell.

Serious question, KF -

Why does this anti-capitalist douche canoe get to post his boring drivel here regularly?

Native Seattlites don't too much care for Amazon either. Jeff Bezos thinks he's king of the city.

This tax break they're wanting to pass is going to balloon national government debt. It will mess things up and then a democrat will be voted in to fix it. Rinse. repeat.

There are basically two scenarios when it comes to this debt problem; either we'll become the next Greece OR the central banks of the world will just collapse and we'll have to figure out a new monetary system. I'm at the point to where I think the later of the two is more likely to happen--it plays into the notion of a global currency.


Actually, the situation is more like all of the world becoming like Greece simultaneously and we'll suffer so bad that a new, global banking system will be the only solution to continue global commerce and trade or we can just barter. One thing I do know is that the militarization of local police forces ins't just for pork barrel politics. There's a reason.

@1224 Over $2B more in state spending in Mississippi? Please back up that claim.

The rural areas of Mississippi will be completely gone in a few years.

Liberal or not, this article is spot on. Amazon has had an unfair advantage over companies located in the state. This is starting to change for the better. But if your kids or grandkids live and work in MS who gives a rats a$$ how many jobs a fulfillment center in Ohio employs? If you are too dumb to understand what it means to send all your money out of state than you are too dumb to find employment elsewhere when your local job closes shop.

Why is it that business innovates, and government stagnates? Are there no visionaries in government? It seems that state government could find opportunities to automate, consolidate and realize efficiencies through technology and reduce the cost of it. As long as Mississippi continues to feed the cowboy (government) and starve the horse (the economy), the state will never get ahead.

If the guy from The American Conservative is correct, a tax break FOR a British tea company is the last straw that caused the Boston tea party. Apparently they knew that an unfair advantage via taxation would put them at a disadvantage if not out of business.

One issue in this article that is discussed is not an issue of "anti-capitalism", but an unfair advantage via taxation which is sometimes called crony capitalism. It's a hot button issue not only for capitalists, but employees as well. If NAFTA and the TPP are "free trade", then my wiping buttocks is an investor-state dispute settlement.

If taxation equals theft, then why is it okay for government to steal more from one business than it is another?

I used--key word is used-- to be a buyer at Macy's, a company in St. Louis called may dept. stores and lastly McRaes. Amazon is killing traditional brick and mortar stores. Been in a wal-mart on Saturday or Sunday lately. No line whatsoever. creative destruction at its finest. I'm not worried about the tax dollars, I'm more concerned about the jobs, which ultimately provide tax dollars

I used--key word is used-- to be a buyer at Macy's, a company in St. Louis called may dept. stores and lastly McRaes. Amazon is killing traditional brick and mortar stores. Been in a wal-mart on Saturday or Sunday lately. No line whatsoever. creative destruction at its finest. I'm not worried about the tax dollars, I'm more concerned about the jobs, which ultimately provide tax dollars

Fierce competition breeds significant innovation. This year I have used Walmart’s Grocery app to shop for groceries and household items, and reserve a time to drive to my local Walmart store where very nice local Walmart employees load my car. No lines, and no waiting. If there had never been an Amazon, would Walmart have ever taken the time to innovate in this way?

Also, I agree there’s an unfair tax discrepancy between the two behemoths: Walmart is obviously paying too much!

With all that shipping, it's a wonder the USPS is a sinking ship instead of getting in on the action.

It's ok to wonder about and worry about where jobs are going to come from in the future. But if I need crap that is not unique, there's no advantage to be that crap from a local store versus Amazon. So let Amazon sell us crap, while local stores continue to sell us things that require hands on support and service. Fighting to keep minimum wage jobs at Dollar General or Walmart, is a waste of time. You can't fight the future.

USPS is in on the action. Unfortunately, one analyst believes they are getting hosed in the process:
http://fortune.com/2017/07/16/amazon-postal-service-subsidy/

@ October 14, 2017 at 2:44 PM

I'll do you one better, ask them whether the additional "$2 billion in spending" came from General/State funds or Federal funds.

Because I will guarantee you one thing, any additional money spent was appropriated from Federal dollars.

@ October 14, 2017 at 11:34 AM

Hell, tell that Triple Cheese Tater Thot Maximus and Joey "It's not your money" Filingane

Does that include Medicaid or not?

@ Kingfish

There weren't any increases for Medicaid in FY2017 or FY2018

In FY2017 the state contributed $949 million and the Feds contributed $5.1 billion

In FY2018 the state contributed $918 million and the Feds contributed about $5.1 billion again.

So Medicaid didn't have anything to do with @October 14, 2017 at 2:44 PM - so-called "Additional $2 billion in state spending.