So, did Bezos finally grow a pair or will he step in and scuttle this plan? If he's grown a pair, maybe he'll decide it's time to restore WAPO to being an actually newspaper. If not, he should sell it.
It's funny and disgusting at the same time that the "White House" considers it a "hostile and political" act to tell the American public the truth about Trump's tariffs.
Bezos will cave.
I don't think this is anti-Trump as much as it is about saving Amazon during the largest supply shock since Covid shut down shipping. 245% tariffs from the world's factory floor has a major impact on the world's largest consumer. Americans love their cheap products and Temu is already explicitly itemizing the costs to show item cost, shipping, sales tax, now adding "Import charges". Until it happens at Amazon, though, it's just rumor and could change.
Also, just noting that even if we think receipts should be simple, someone's put some thought into it and decisions have to be made. Just in the last 5 years we've seen restaurant adding line items for covid surcharges, living wage/health care surcharges, credit card costs added, and other things maybe less crazy like corkage fees, dish split costs that have been happening for ages. It's crazy that it's really complicated to figure out what's a fair thing to charge and how to explain it!
Let make a deal keep these tarrifs but eliminate all federal income taxes. Tariffs is how the country used to make the money they ran the country on, then around 1910 they decided to start the federal income tax program to generate the money to fund the country. So federal income tax is now a total mess with the rich and big corporations play little to no taxes and the middle class playing. So tariffs instead of income tax sounds good to me.
Tariffs have be screwing this country since it's earliest days when in the hands of greedy politicians. They love tariffs because the money just goes into a general funds that just kind of gets used up with little info on where.
Tariffs will still be far more impactful on the low and middle-class families who have to spend a majority of their pay on daily/monthly sustenance. The wealthy would still get a pass, in reality no different from income taxes. The rich and big companies would come out smelling like roses, but so much middle America.
Let make a deal keep these tarrifs but eliminate all federal income taxes. Tariffs is how the country used to make the money they ran the country on, then around 1910 they decided to start the federal income tax program to generate the money to fund the country. So federal income tax is now a total mess with the rich and big corporations play little to no taxes and the middle class playing. So tariffs instead of income tax sounds good to me.
Tariffs have be screwing this country since it's earliest days when in the hands of greedy politicians. They love tariffs because the money just goes into a general funds that just kind of gets used up with little info on where.
Eliminating income taxes sounds great but if I'm buying things with most of my paycheck, I'm still indirectly sending the money to the federal government. The rich (I'm not and I'm assuming you're not a billionaire) will contribute a decidedly lower amount. Anyway, the tariff approaches by this government is all cart-before-the-horse anyway since we don't have domestic capacity to take up the slack of losing suppliers from abroad.
This president is lying about how many countries are trying to make deals (he says they have 200 deals but there are only 195 countries, so...) and the tariffs have been on-again, off-again since the start of the term. Teasing the idea of ending income taxes just gives empty hope to those running out of reasons to believe sudden punishing tariffs are good policy. He goes back on his own deals, and remember, too, that cutting taxes on the wealthy is another of his goals so if he had to choose one, which would it be?
So, did Bezos finally grow a pair or will he step in and scuttle this plan? If he's grown a pair, maybe he'll decide it's time to restore WAPO to being an actually newspaper. If not, he should sell it.
It's funny and disgusting at the same time that the "White House" considers it a "hostile and political" act to tell the American public the truth about Trump's tariffs.
Bezos will cave.
A safe, and correct, prediction it seems. How did such a weenie ever build a company like Amazon?
There are practical reasons why Amazon might have deferred posting the cost of tariffs.
(1). The tariff rates keep jumping around, depending on Trump's whims. Constant revisions of those figures could get expensive.
(2) Some of what's being sold is pre-tariff stock. How can the pre- and post-costs be merged? No practical way.
(3) Unpredictable future tariffs and costs may lead some to raise prices in anticipation of what may come. Better to lose sales than lose money on sales.
Those concerned about getting a ball-park figure about the increases might check out Camelcamelcamel.com. It keeps a historic record of Amazon prices that'll allow rough before and after comparisons.
So many cute comments in here about "grifter-in-chief" and "hijacking the economy". How soon you forget about the 23.6% rise in CPI between 2020 and 2024. Do you all wear blinders when a Democrat is in office? Or is it like pregnancy - your hormones make you forget about the previous administration when there's a new one to harp on.
Also, "Amazon denies it had plans to be clear about consumer tariff costs" is click-batey at best. Where was the "clarity" on inflation when prices skyrocketed?
Let's try to be factual, please. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the change in CPI between 2020 and 2024, a four-year period, was closer to 9%, peaking in the period from 2020 to 2021. Nobody knows how the whole tariff thing will shake out, but I'm finding estimates of an increase in CPI of between 3% and 4% for the one coming year if the tariffs are as steep as Trump threatens to make them.
As far as pricing clarity goes, inflation (like deflation) may be something you can account for on a financial report, but it isn't a line item you can place on a bill. Taxes and fees are.
Let make a deal keep these tarrifs but eliminate all federal income taxes. Tariffs is how the country used to make the money they ran the country on, then around 1910 they decided to start the federal income tax program to generate the money to fund the country. So federal income tax is now a total mess with the rich and big corporations play little to no taxes and the middle class playing. So tariffs instead of income tax sounds good to me.
So... the entire stated goal behind the tariffs is to move production here so that we no longer import goods...
Which, if it occurred, would mean no income from tariffs. (Nothing imported, nothing taxed.) So how does that work again?
Regardless, Trumpy is going to use fake tariff math to justify yet another corporate tax cut and balloon the deficit even further.
As to displaying tariff prices on the receipt. Amazon should definitely do that.
So many cute comments in here about "grifter-in-chief" and "hijacking the economy". How soon you forget about the 23.6% rise in CPI between 2020 and 2024. Do you all wear blinders when a Democrat is in office? Or is it like pregnancy - your hormones make you forget about the previous administration when there's a new one to harp on.
Also, "Amazon denies it had plans to be clear about consumer tariff costs" is click-batey at best. Where was the "clarity" on inflation when prices skyrocketed?
Let's try to be factual, please. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the change in CPI between 2020 and 2024, a four-year period, was closer to 9%, peaking in the period from 2020 to 2021. Nobody knows how the whole tariff thing will shake out, but I'm finding estimates of an increase in CPI of between 3% and 4% for the one coming year if the tariffs are as steep as Trump threatens to make them.
As far as pricing clarity goes, inflation (like deflation) may be something you can account for on a financial report, but it isn't a line item you can place on a bill. Taxes and fees are.
Additionally, let's also note the unseriousness of the complaint (trotted out by the White House and regurgitated here by @sbdude) that Amazon didn't itemize the effects of inflation. Despite all the rumors to the contrary, a president does not have direct control over the rate of inflation. Next, inflation at some level is almost always occurring. It may be low, but while a one or two percent rate is generally considered acceptable, it still means prices are going up. So if Amazon were to try to note the effect of inflation on the price of goods it sells, what would be the baseline?
On the other hand, the current president is very proudly making it clear that he is setting tariff rates himself. For Amazon, showing the effect would be pretty straightforward. What was the price of an imported item the day before the tariff was levied? What was the price after? It's a simple calculation. Of course, Amazon says they weren't going to do that anyway, but there are probably a lot of items in their listings where that number could be easily generated.
One can only imagine that Jeff Bezos is making the mental note that a $1m donation, a high-profile endorsement and appearance at the inaugural, a narrow restriction on the subject-matter and stance of the Washington Post's editorial page and the inclusion of The Apprentice on Amazon Prime can all be quickly negated by a false internet rumor. Instead of having a staffer pick up the phone and check if the rumor is true, Trump sends out his Press Secretary to excoriate and threaten Amazon. If he didn't know it before, Bezos is surely aware now that a business or political relationship (or any relationship) with Donald Trump is not is so much transactional as it is mercurial.
What the emboldened Trump 2.0 is about to find out is that, as he increases the pace at which he turns on friends and allies, he will soon have no friends left. This time he's hired an inner circle that won't say no or even mildly make suggestions to temper his impulses, like making a phone call to check facts before issuing public attack on one of his wealthiest supporters. Trump may think he's powerful, but Bezos has enough FU money to generate a suddenly renewed interest among some Congressional Republicans to reassert their power over tariffs and other things. After all, Bezos wants free markets, deregulation and lower taxes, and what he's getting right now is a huge increase in taxes that will negatively impact his primary business, plus, today, a public attack on that same business.
Every seller of goods should be doing this. In fact, it should be required. We make every other tax a line item on a receipt and tariffs are a tax.
It is funny that the Trump Administration is so afraid of people seeing the results of their work. It is such a good idea why not be proud to if? So much for the most transparent administration ever.
I’m old enough to remember back to… 4 weeks ago… when Trump had a press conference with that huge cardboard chart. That huge cardboard chart with all the (not actually reciprocal) reciprocal tariffs listed. He proudly showed off that chart at a planned press conference in front of cameras. But now… it’s a hostile and political act for anyone else to acknowledge that tariffs exist.
So, did Bezos finally grow a pair or will he step in and scuttle this plan? If he's grown a pair, maybe he'll decide it's time to restore WAPO to being an actually newspaper. If not, he should sell it.
It's funny and disgusting at the same time that the "White House" considers it a "hostile and political" act to tell the American public the truth about Trump's tariffs.
Bezos will cave.
A safe, and correct, prediction it seems. How did such a weenie ever build a company like Amazon?
Spineless Jeff and his yes men lawyers probably decided to wait until Amazon is taken to court and ordered to do so or they are going to wait until their main competition Costco? shows a line item on their bills to the customer, ultimately big ticket consumer items like cars, trucks, furniture, stoves, refrigerators, big screen televisions etc hiding the cost won't fly for long irrespective of what the White House wants, the retailer isn't going to take the blame at ground zero....
And at the end of the day the customer is going to ask for a itemize bill Ha.Ha....
Let make a deal keep these tarrifs but eliminate all federal income taxes. Tariffs is how the country used to make the money they ran the country on, then around 1910 they decided to start the federal income tax program to generate the money to fund the country. So federal income tax is now a total mess with the rich and big corporations play little to no taxes and the middle class playing. So tariffs instead of income tax sounds good to me.
So... the entire stated goal behind the tariffs is to move production here so that we no longer import goods...
Which, if it occurred, would mean no income from tariffs. (Nothing imported, nothing taxed.) So how does that work again?
Regardless, Trumpy is going to use fake tariff math to justify yet another corporate tax cut and balloon the deficit even further.
As to displaying tariff prices on the receipt. Amazon should definitely do that.
So should Apple.
As an anarchist, these terms are acceptable. As a realist, I'm unfortunately quite confident that we'll end up keeping both income taxes and tariffs, and the deficit and national debt will still keep rising exponentially anyway.
Comments
Also, just noting that even if we think receipts should be simple, someone's put some thought into it and decisions have to be made. Just in the last 5 years we've seen restaurant adding line items for covid surcharges, living wage/health care surcharges, credit card costs added, and other things maybe less crazy like corkage fees, dish split costs that have been happening for ages. It's crazy that it's really complicated to figure out what's a fair thing to charge and how to explain it!
Eliminating income taxes sounds great but if I'm buying things with most of my paycheck, I'm still indirectly sending the money to the federal government. The rich (I'm not and I'm assuming you're not a billionaire) will contribute a decidedly lower amount. Anyway, the tariff approaches by this government is all cart-before-the-horse anyway since we don't have domestic capacity to take up the slack of losing suppliers from abroad.
This president is lying about how many countries are trying to make deals (he says they have 200 deals but there are only 195 countries, so...) and the tariffs have been on-again, off-again since the start of the term. Teasing the idea of ending income taxes just gives empty hope to those running out of reasons to believe sudden punishing tariffs are good policy. He goes back on his own deals, and remember, too, that cutting taxes on the wealthy is another of his goals so if he had to choose one, which would it be?
A safe, and correct, prediction it seems. How did such a weenie ever build a company like Amazon?
(1). The tariff rates keep jumping around, depending on Trump's whims. Constant revisions of those figures could get expensive.
(2) Some of what's being sold is pre-tariff stock. How can the pre- and post-costs be merged? No practical way.
(3) Unpredictable future tariffs and costs may lead some to raise prices in anticipation of what may come. Better to lose sales than lose money on sales.
Those concerned about getting a ball-park figure about the increases might check out Camelcamelcamel.com. It keeps a historic record of Amazon prices that'll allow rough before and after comparisons.
Which, if it occurred, would mean no income from tariffs. (Nothing imported, nothing taxed.) So how does that work again?
Regardless, Trumpy is going to use fake tariff math to justify yet another corporate tax cut and balloon the deficit even further.
As to displaying tariff prices on the receipt. Amazon should definitely do that.
On the other hand, the current president is very proudly making it clear that he is setting tariff rates himself. For Amazon, showing the effect would be pretty straightforward. What was the price of an imported item the day before the tariff was levied? What was the price after? It's a simple calculation. Of course, Amazon says they weren't going to do that anyway, but there are probably a lot of items in their listings where that number could be easily generated.
What the emboldened Trump 2.0 is about to find out is that, as he increases the pace at which he turns on friends and allies, he will soon have no friends left. This time he's hired an inner circle that won't say no or even mildly make suggestions to temper his impulses, like making a phone call to check facts before issuing public attack on one of his wealthiest supporters. Trump may think he's powerful, but Bezos has enough FU money to generate a suddenly renewed interest among some Congressional Republicans to reassert their power over tariffs and other things. After all, Bezos wants free markets, deregulation and lower taxes, and what he's getting right now is a huge increase in taxes that will negatively impact his primary business, plus, today, a public attack on that same business.
It is funny that the Trump Administration is so afraid of people seeing the results of their work. It is such a good idea why not be proud to if? So much for the most transparent administration ever.
Spineless Jeff and his yes men lawyers probably decided to wait until Amazon is taken to court and ordered to do so or they are going to wait until their main competition Costco? shows a line item on their bills to the customer, ultimately big ticket consumer items like cars, trucks, furniture, stoves, refrigerators, big screen televisions etc hiding the cost won't fly for long irrespective of what the White House wants, the retailer isn't going to take the blame at ground zero....
And at the end of the day the customer is going to ask for a itemize bill Ha.Ha....