Rick Marlette

There’s a live discussion in the UK about 1) levying an excess profits tax on pandemic profiteers like Amazon & 2) creating a fair tax system so that brick-and-mortar stores don't continue to pay a lot more than Amazon. Can we please do this here? telegraph.co.uk/politics/202…

In a landslide, Louisiana voters rejected giving big corporation access to more subsidies and tax breaks. All 64 parishes, including GOP strongholds, voted against. theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/…

Top officials at the US Postal Service are delaying delivery of your first-class & priority mail so that clerks can deliver Amazon packages first. Letter carriers in Maine have filed a complaint: pressherald.com/2020/07/21/f…

Both Cuomo & Trump are letting Blackstone execs set recovery policy. At the same time "the company is assuring investors that it’s well-equipped to profit...With $152B at its disposal, the investment giant is primed to scoop up assets at a discount.” therealdeal.com/issues_artic…

Finally, Congress and the FTC need to breakup Amazon by spinning off its platform to be a stand-alone neutral utility, completely separate from Amazon Retail. That's what I called for when I testified that day, after Sutton. 8/8 ilsr.org/ilsrs-stacy-mitchel…

Second, Congress should refer Amazon counsel Nate Sutton, who testified last July, to the DOJ for a criminal perjury investigation. (I was in the room when he testified and wasn’t alone in reacting audibly when he insisted that Amazon doesn't spy on sellers.) 7/

What needs to happen now? First, Jeff Bezos, who’s never testified before Congress (a stunning fact), must be called by the @HouseJudiciary as part of its Big Tech antitrust investigation. 6/

Not only does Amazon not enforce the fence — employees easily spied on individual sellers — but its definition of the “fence” is ludicrous. Amazon says it allows the use of "aggregated data," which it defines as data from just 2 sellers, even if 1 of those has no sales! 5/

Amazon is the mostly tightly controlled company I’ve ever studied. If they intended to enforce this supposed fence, they would have. 4/

Amazon is looking for a fall-guy. “”We strictly prohibit our employees from using nonpublic, seller-specific data to determine which private label products to launch.”’ Amazon said ... company has launched an internal investigation.” 3/

Interviews with over 20 Amazon employees reveal that they routinely gathered detailed sales & cost data from product makers selling on the site. They used the data to make competing Amazon-brand products. 2/

It seems Amazon lied to Congress. An exec testified in July that Amazon doesn’t use data from sellers to create its own rival products. Turns out it does. This is monopoly behavior, hence the coverup. @HouseJudiciary must call Bezos to testify. 1/ wsj.com/articles/amazon-scoo…

What does it say about Amazon — and the free rein we give it — that someone who got sick with coronavirus while working at Whole Foods fears that Amazon will retaliate against them if they talk about it publicly? #WeAreAthena

When the Everything Store becomes the Only Store… Amazon slashes commissions for publishers that use affiliate links to earn revenue. Another blow to the news industry, and a reminder that monopolies are a bad idea. cnbc.com/2020/04/14/amazon-s…

I can’t even process this… Amazon — you know, the one run by the richest man, the one whose sales have shot up during a pandemic — is doing an online fundraiser. Asking all of us to donate to support its warehouse temps & flex drivers hit by Covid. amazonrelieffund.org