Jim Hightower's Radio Lowdown

Jeff Bezos Reveals His Desiccated Soul


Listen Later

The morning after December’s horrific nighttime tornado smashed a huge Amazon warehouse in Illinois, killing six workers, corporate CEO Jeff Bezos issued a personal video message.
Was he distressed and sorrowful? No, Boss Bezos was perversely giddy. That’s because the narcissistic gabillionaire had not made the video to mourn the deaths, but instead had chosen this hour of tragedy to gloat to the world that his private space tourism business had just rocketed a small group of extremely rich thrill seekers on a 10-minute joy ride. The “Popular Information” newsletter reports that Bezos, dressed in a pretend astronaut costume, exclaimed that everyone involved was really “happy.”
Back on Planet Earth, though, the families and co-workers of the employees crushed when Amazon’s cheaply-built structure collapsed on them were not happy with him. It took Bezos some 12 hours after his self-congratulatory media event before he finally issued a perfunctory tweet professing to be “heartbroken over the loss of our teammates.”
But they weren’t “lost” – they were killed by a deliberate corporate culture that routinely cuts corners on worker safety to put more profit in corporate pockets. First, the building itself was thrown up quickly with cheap preassembled, 40-foot-high concrete walls that collapse inward in a tornado; second, Amazon’s employees were expected to stay on the job that night even though there was a high risk of tornados; third, nearly all of the workers were classified as “contractors,” letting Amazon dodge liability for on-the-job harm.
This is Jim Hightower saying… Oh, and Jeff might also want to reconsider one more bit of corporate arrogance he revealed in this ugly incident: Those dead workers were not his “teammates,” as he so cynically called them – even a high-flying captain doesn’t treat teammates as throwaway units, carelessly sacrificing their lives for a few more dollars in corporate profit.
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Jim Hightower's Radio LowdownBy Jim Hightower

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

338 ratings


More shows like Jim Hightower's Radio Lowdown

View all
The Rachel Maddow Show by Rachel Maddow, MS NOW

The Rachel Maddow Show

37,385 Listeners

Political Gabfest by Slate Podcasts

Political Gabfest

8,483 Listeners

Democracy Now! Audio by Democracy Now!

Democracy Now! Audio

5,815 Listeners

The Nation Podcasts by The Nation Magazine

The Nation Podcasts

435 Listeners

Ralph Nader Radio Hour by Ralph Nader

Ralph Nader Radio Hour

1,209 Listeners

The Intercept Briefing by The Intercept

The Intercept Briefing

6,124 Listeners

The DSR Network by The DSR Network

The DSR Network

1,802 Listeners

Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

Stay Tuned with Preet

32,393 Listeners

The Hartmann Report by Thom Hartmann

The Hartmann Report

1,376 Listeners

Gaslit Nation by Andrea Chalupa

Gaslit Nation

3,968 Listeners

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer by Civic Ventures

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

1,498 Listeners

The Al Franken Podcast by The Al Franken Podcast

The Al Franken Podcast

8,607 Listeners

Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner by Crossover Media Group

Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner

2,949 Listeners

Letters from an American by Heather Cox Richardson

Letters from an American

6,254 Listeners

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich by Robert Reich

The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich

260 Listeners