Amazon Is The New Scrooge?

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While many corporate giants like Microsoft, Intel and others give away millions of dollars a year to charitable causes, Amazon is getting beat over the head in this article for being a miser. Is that fair? Unfair? Are companies obligated to give to charity?

While Amazon.com is famously cheap in its prices, it's also become infamously cheap to the community it lives in. The tacit silence over Amazon's stinginess was first broken in a 2007 complaint on a Publishers Weekly blog by a rival Seattle bricks-and-mortar bookseller.
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What amazon doesn't donate to seattle's art scene omg who gives a fuck?

Honestly the main reason most of these companies donate is to get out of paying taxes, in Nevada Casino's don't donate money but if they spend it on improvements on their casino they can write it off thats why they can remodel parts of their hotel each and every year because they are employing many people to fix their hotel and buying products so its helping the local economy just not the way most people would think of doing it.
 
Money should be given to the employees, who make the company what it is, instead of charities. Charities are a tax write-off. That and PR are the only reasons companies give to charity in the first place.
 
Steve said:
While many corporate giants like Microsoft, Intel and others give away millions of dollars a year to charitable causes, Amazon is getting beat over the head in this article for being a miser. Is that fair? Unfair? Are companies obligated to give to charity?
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What? a B&M bookseller talking smack about an online bookseller competition?

Sounds like they're just mad because Amazon has money they don't. Nobody's obligated to donate. It's awfully nice if you do though, and if you do, I give you props, but I'm not going to beat anyone up for not giving to charity. I've never been a fan of handouts anyways.

Teach a man to fish, I always say.
 
I love amazon. 3 dollar overnight shipping as a prime member and no CA tax.
 
It makes no sense to criticize companies for not giving to charity. Any expenditure, for which there is no return, gets passed on to the company and/or consumer, in the form of lower future pay, lower dividends, and/or higher consumer prices.

The old saying, "Charity begins at home," is certainly applicable. Donations should be voluntary at the individual level, whether the individual be a factory worker or a corporate magnate.

Of course, if the donation consists of the companies' products, for full retail value and for tax purposes, then the case for tax fraud could be made. If individuals' non-monetary gifts to charity can only be deducted for the actual value of the donation, then corporations should be held to the same standard, and only be able to deduct what their donation cost them, and not the full retail value of the item(s). After all, in the case of intellectual property, e.g. an operating system, you're paying for intellectual property. The cost of manufacturing the disk and case is negligible, and the recouping of the investment of its creation comes from future sales.

As long as this practice is allowed to continue, the vanishing middle class will continue to shoulder an ever-increasing burden of the cost it takes to run the country, as corporations continue to exploit legal loopholes in order to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Small businesses still employ the majority of Americans, and pay higher taxes, but big business controls about 85% of the wealth and manage to pay a substantially lesser percentage of tax, citing that they're reinvesting their wealth in the employment of individuals.

Sure they are...but an increasing number of these individuals aren't American, as corporations seek to "globalize" and move their profits out of the country, where they pay even less tax, if any at all.
 
It's their money. They can do whatever they want with it. It's not really charity if it is given out of obligation. That's more like a tax. There are many businesses that, rather than having to say yes to you and no to me for donations, say no to everyone. It is a choice. I believe that is one of the freedoms we still enjoy in the US.
 
Omerta said:
I love amazon. 3 dollar overnight shipping as a prime member and no CA tax.
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Amen to that. I really don't care if they donate or not as long as their prices are low and their customer service is helpful.
 
It's kinda like.... If I see that you need my help you can have it ... but if you demand my help I'll kick you in the balls
 
You should not be forced to give to charity and those who discloses their charitable donations are the ones who are using it as a PR spin or simply to get out of some tax holes.

Amazon gives a lot back, they are the only site out of Microsoft and Intel to actually allow people to sell their used stuff and make some money to put into savings.... which in its own form is a charitable cause.
 
Saist said:
maybe this is why Amazon posts a thing called a profit.
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That's a dirty word nowadays. All companies should strive to break even. Any profit should be given to the people for the betterment of the whole community. :eek:
 
Amazon is awesome. Better customer service I'd wager than the complaining brick n mortar comany.

BTW who was the complainer so I can boycott them.

NO ONE should feel pressured to give or donate to organizations such as churches 10% tithe, NYPD Officers association, blah blah blah. BTW don't EVER donate to one of thoe associations like the Firefighters , Highway patrol <something> association. Cause once you donate to one, they sell your number to ALL the rest and it's hassle city. Endless telemarketing phone calls to get you to donate to this or that. That have respectable sounding names but they are basically scams in that 90% of the money is spent on acquiring the money, vs the 10% amount that may actually go to the supposed "charity".
 
I agree with digitalfreak.

Many "charities" give about ten cents for each dollar they receive. The rest is eaten by companies that gather funds for them, executive pay and other "overhead". I view many of them like I do televangelists.

Often people give to charities because it makes them feel better about themselves and if they would spend time investigating these charities they'd discover often almost none of what they give makes it to their desired target.

However if you're just looking for a quick fix to feel like you're a "good" person, then throwing cash at a random charity may be extremely time efficient.
 
I think a company's money should go to the employees and shareholders. Let individuals decide where they want their charity dollars to go.
 
Hey if they dont want to donate to charity that is their call. Although I am surprised that they do not for tax write-off purposes.
 
I'm not sure about complaining that company is not giving anything to charity is the right approach. It might have served the B&M store better to ask what has Amazon given back to "the local" community instead of pure charity...Where I work my company strives to give back to the local community/people that keeps our company going strong as do other businesses in the area. That does not mean strictly charity, either, recognition, additional jobs, etc... goes a long way. We believe "up to a point" that if you live and work in the community you should support the businesses buy spending money locally.

Bottom line is if it comes down to giving to all these charities vs. laying of employees you bet your ass which one I'd pick...we area for profit company with shareholders to satisfy.
 
They also complained that people were not paying enough taxes. Well great I guess these people dont have to work themselves but live off others that sure is moral.
 
Charity is a nice thought, but just that. Amazon's money belongs to them and they have no obligation to the general population.
 
Lebowski said:
That's a dirty word nowadays. All companies should strive to break even. Any profit should be given to the people for the betterment of the whole community. :eek:
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If companies only try to break even, where will they get money for research and development when they need it later?

Also, this is bull. If I want to donate I'll do it myself. I don't need a donation tax at amazon so they can look better.
 
Amazon has no obligation to give a single penny to anyone. They earned that money just as I do my own. As mentioned above, I would also boycott anyone who sent in or escalated this "claim."
 
Whoever wrote that article needs to be quiet and empty THEIR wallet to a charity if its so important to them.

It makes me sick how these days in this country people feel the need to tell others to do with their time/money/property. Everyone wants a cut of something that is not theirs, government, churches, charities... did anyone ever stop to think in the midst of a global recession people arent going to give near as much to charity as that might have before?

Personally if I was amazon.com I would find a charity that directly competes with their art and donate to it. I think people fail to realize that opening your mouth and bitching can bring about circumstances far worse then the original conditions.

If I was the genius behind amazon.com and made 600+ million in profit I would do whatever I damn well pleased with that profit. Just because I or someone else makes a large amount of money - puts no obligation on our end to give it away to some needy group.

Bailouts, handouts, debt forgiveness, charity cases, everyone wants something for nothing these days. Everyone that is bitching about no one giving them money for stuff they want need to shut up, work harder, and make more intelligent decisions.
 
Screw charity, as long as amazon keeps the prices, shipping, and quality in good standing I have no problems at all with them.

The bleeding hearts need to farking bleed to death already and go away.
 
While my own political/economic ideology leans towards democratic socialism, I agree with this quote from the article:

The problem, contributor and Yale economist John Roemer notes in his tart essay "Just Tax the Rich," is not that corporations don't care enough—it's that we don't. "Repairing the present injustice should not be left to charity (or corporate philanthropy)," he writes, "but instead should be a state mandate."

That the injustice exists so as to seemingly demand corporate philanthropy is more of a stain on our society and government then it is on corporations who don't contribute to charities (or at least don't in the vain manner that a lot of them do).
 
Meh.... their customer service is great, selection is great, pricing is great.... I say support them and donate the money you save if you are that concerned.
 
I am a loyal Amazon customer.

They have the best return policies, and the best shipping deals, and the best prices, heck even if the prices are a little bit more, they are 100% more reliable than anyone else.

Fook charity! I like the cheap prices!
 
Heh...weird article. Most companies did that cuz they tried to cover their bad business sides. I think Amazon service is pretty good & their stuffs have descend prices, so obviously they don't feel the need to cover anything...

Moreover, Why bitching a company over charity giveaway. These 2 things don't mix. A company is a $ generator. It doesn't have any obligation to give away $ (beside the tax, ofcourse)
 
Went into Home Depot the other day and there was a desk setup for an organization trying to get donations. The young lady asked me if I would donate to their organization to help children. I asked her how much of the donations actually are used to help the children. She said it was a whopping 23%.

There are a lot of organizations, famous ones, that are a scam when it comes to collecting donations. Years ago I use to donate and I would be all proud and pat myself on the back. Then I looked into it I realized I was handing my hard earned money over to some corporate scum.

I don't blame Amazon at all. They are passing on the savings to their customers, well Amazon.com does, Amazon.ca is a different story.
 
lol at some whiney person complaining about company not giving to charity...wonder how much that person themselves gives to charity, I would guess not much if anything at all.....
 
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