Hollowing out the middle class one book at a time…

From: etsy

"Publishers Weekly, the publishing industry trade magazine, quotes [U.S. President Barack] Obama deputy press secretary Amy Brundage on the appearance [at the Amazon warehouse]: 'The Amazon facility in Chattanooga is a perfect example of the company that is investing in American workers and creating good, high-wage jobs,' she said Friday. 'What the president wants to do is to highlight Amazon and the Chattanooga facility as an example of a company that is spurring job growth and keeping our country competitive.'

     American Booksellers Association's [Chief Executive Oren] Teicher protests that, writing, 'At a time when Main Street retailers, including indie bookstores, show promise of recovering from the recession, we are disheartened to see Amazon touted as a "jobs creator" and its warehouse facility used as a backdrop for an important jobs speech, when, frankly, the exact opposite is true.'
     Citing the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, Teicher writes, 'Every $10 million in spending that shifts from Main Street retailers to Amazon results in a net loss of 33 retail jobs. That would mean for 2012 alone — using Amazon’s own numbers about its increase in sales — Amazon cost the U.S. economy more than 42,000 jobs just last year!'"
— Carolyn Kellogg, Los Angeles Times
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