Amazon has dangerously fueled our American consumerist obsession, and I wanted it nowhere near New York City, especially not in my beloved borough. Not only does the online retailer underpay workers and actively campaign against unionization, it has done more to decimate Main Streets and malls all across the country than any other American giant. Why we continue to seriously consider subsidizing its growth is astounding. Its exploits seem uncontrollable in a digital age pathologically loyal to an unchecked free market. Also, at that point in my experiments with Alexa — before I unplugged her and trashed her — she wasn’t working well enough to outweigh my disgust with her parents nor my exasperation with ever-growing surveillance capitalism.
What???s Your Midterms Plan? It???s Time to Take a Voluncation.
The midterms are coming, in about 150 days, and it is time for all of us to do more than we have ever done. It’s…