Amazon's entire distribution network - the thing that enables 2-day Prime delivery and destroys competitors who can't match it - is built almost entirely on PUBLICLY-financed infrastructure that Amazon pays a negligible share of maintaining.
They also have HUGE contracts with the worst parts of the USG (Pentagon) in which the USG transfers billions of dollars stolen from individual's paychecks to Amazon in exchange for Amazon (AWS) helping the USG violate the civil liberties of Americans and murder foreigners. I've been reading Sheldon for 20+ years and would never accuse him of being dishonest but for this to not even get a passing mention makes this post seem incomplete (at best).
Amazon's entire distribution network - the thing that enables 2-day Prime delivery and destroys competitors who can't match it - is built almost entirely on PUBLICLY-financed infrastructure that Amazon pays a negligible share of maintaining.
They also have HUGE contracts with the worst parts of the USG (Pentagon) in which the USG transfers billions of dollars stolen from individual's paychecks to Amazon in exchange for Amazon (AWS) helping the USG violate the civil liberties of Americans and murder foreigners. I've been reading Sheldon for 20+ years and would never accuse him of being dishonest but for this to not even get a passing mention makes this post seem incomplete (at best).