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Comment by threatofrain | Hacker News Reader

It's silly to blame Amazon for what we think is immoral behavior, as if we were going to shame Amazon into decency. Amazon is following the law here. It is the law which is indecent. We must think not about why Amazon is indecent, but rather how Amazon is lawful.

In sum, Amazon should be mechanistically compelled into socially harmonious behavior, not shamed into it.

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Taking that point further, this is exactly what you would expect an efficient firm to do. They are maximizing productivity and minimizing costs within a regulatory framework. Its the regulatory framework that needs changing if we want to see broad improvements in the blue collar worker's plight.

Almost any improvement will be at the expense of cheap goods, so get be prepared to pay for that improvement too. I believe this is the key reason we never see anything done about immigration in the US or pollution in China: at the end of the day, we care more about the cheap goods than the workers or pollution.

Absolutely true. That super efficient customer service and package delivery also comes at cost of low paid workers.

It is ridiculous to say that we simply need to pass laws to address unacceptable behavior from companies. I firmly believe in regulation as a force for good, but attempting to create regulation that addresses specific companies or situations usually results in a mass of outdated regulation that becomes a hindrance in a few years. Companies should treat their workers well because it's the right thing to do, not simply adhere to the letter of the law because it's the lawful thing to do.

Wishing won't make it so.

I agree - definitely not saying that we can't use regulation to do some parts of this. But expecting companies to do whatever they can legally get away with is not the answer. Corporate responsibility has to play a role.

Public shaming of prominent abusive companies is frequently what triggers those changes in law.

I don't see any reason companies should be exempt from criticism for legal-but-immoral actions.

Well, I think shaming Amazon into decency might work if the negative publicity makes it difficult for them to hire. I'm not too sure it really worked though as it seems there's always going to be someone who is in need of a job and can't find it elsewhere.

Perhaps they will have a harder time finding talented developers though?

Amazon could be pretty easily compelled if the white collar workers joined up with the blue collar.

I don't see why it's silly. Just because they're doing the bare minimum doesn't mean they can't do better, especially when they very obviously have the resources to be able to.

We very much can consider whether Amazon is indecent. Whether Amazon is lawful is a decision for the government regulatory boards.

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