Haiku Prompt
Compassion Subdued
22nd Feb 2020 Haiku/Tanka prompt “compassion”
Compassion subdued
In the pursuit of money
Heartless billionaire
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos reportedly makes $2498 per second. He is now considered the richest person in all history.
Yet many of Amazon’s employees are not only poorly paid but endure abysmal and unsustainable working conditions.
Business Insider notes:
An Amazon worker earning the $US15 minimum wage would need to work about 597,412 hours, or 24 hours a day for about 68 years, just to earn what Bezos makes in one hour.
And, of course, Amazon is not the only culprit. Many companies around the world make immense profits by exploiting workers in developing nations and using creative accounting methods to avoid paying tax.
Moreover, if they are allowed to get away with it, they are quite willing to cause massive environmental damage if it helps them make more money.
I confess that it baffles me.
People like Bezos would still be rich beyond imagining even if they paid their employees a decent wage and afforded them safe and pleasant working conditions.
