There have been more losers due to China flu – than probably can ever be documented – from the over 1 million lives that have so far been lost – to the countless businesses that have either been temporarily closed from one lockdown to the next – or in many cases permanently lost – with ownership and employees facing uncertain futures.
We can only mourn their loss and vow never to forget.
But there have been winners – either from being in the right place at the right time or cynically manipulating the situation to their sole advantage.
It is not this articles place to judge – but to name in our view, the 3 biggest winners from this China flu pandemic – starting in reverse order, in 3rd – AMAZON com, inc.
With the lockdown in the “Free World” – and with Big Government insistence that retail establishments – from Ma and Pop small shops in every village and in every town to the larger establishments in every shopping centre and city – being forced to close – regardless of the true science – e-commerce that was establishing itself as a significant player in this segment – due to its ability to allow shoppers to shop from home became the “only player” in town.
And Amazon the Seattle based company – that had risen to dominance, first as an online book re-seller – whose bulk buying, low overhead business model – had decimated the traditional book stores – and had subsequently moved into an online retail hub for almost everything was perfectly set to ride the boom in online trading and delivery.
And it did…
Amazon revenue for the 12 months ending on September 30th 2020 was $347 Billion (a 31% growth) with its share price virtually doubling in 6-months from just under $1,700 per share on March 16th – to trading at $3,186 on 6th December
Concerns over Amazon corporation tax payments highlighted by organisations like Fair Tax Mark and Tax Justice Network – who claim that in the last decade the two Amazon UK subsidiaries have only paid £83 million in tax even though they had corresponding UK sales of £75 Billion by cleverly routing sales via Luxembourg – is again not for us to comment on.
The fact that the EC push for tax transparency, for Amazon to legally declare how much profit and how much tax they paid in each of the 28 EC states – was blocked by Ireland and Luxembourg amongst others – illustrates clearly that the EC itself has no desire for openness – even amongst itself.
As true populists – who believe in small non-interfering government – we see ourselves no moral reason for corporation tax – as what has government ever done to give itself the ethical backing to ask, a plumber or a publican or an architect who had the courage to form his own company, to invest his own money, to employ local people….and maybe make a profit (but not guaranteed) – to then see the claws of Government asking for their “cut”. In our view, this is no different to paying your local Mafia clan.
But what we populists do believe is wrong – is that Amazon has had an “unfair business advantage” during this pandemic. That their doubling of share price and 35% sales growth was NOT based on fair competition – it was based on virtually ZERO competition that had been mandated by Big Globalist Governments – who for all their pollical utterances of solidarity with the business owner – with the working people – did nothing to stop or even prevent this situation. Where you may find excuses during the first pandemic – that they did not have time to create a strategy – cuts no ice during the second lockdown. As this time, they did have ample time but chose to do nothing and instead ploughed on with decimating additional non e-commerce businesses and employees,