America’s Amazon Problem
Jeff Bezos has created an empire that’s quickly raising political questions.
Article/Op-Ed in HuffPost
June 16, 2017
Matthew Stoller wrote for HuffPost about how Amazon is expanding its power over Americans and their economy, and how the company's purchase of Whole Foods furthers that goal.
Like Google and Facebook, Amazon uses technology and data to sidestep traditional restrictions on monopoly power. Our lives are increasingly organized by the platforms these companies run, platforms which now mediate the way we communicate and engage in commerce with each other. We are living in a world organized by tech monopolists, a change in power relationships that no one voted for but has been imposed upon us nonetheless.
Now, Bezos is attempting to add more power to his empire with the surprise announcement that the company will pay $13.7 billion for Whole Foods Market. Amazon will now have a store footprint in neighborhoods across America.