# Trump going after Amazon yet again **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 25, 2020, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557 "2020-04-25T15:26:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/81 "2020-04-28T20:35:43Z")
Alright, **RaftPeople** , you’ve put together a well-sourced and solid argument that business units can subsidize each other. My one question is… do customers subsidize one another? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/82 "2020-04-28T21:04:35Z")
I thought we were talking about users of one fixed price product subsidizing other users of that same fixed price product. Which can’t be _cross_-subsidization. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/83 "2020-04-28T21:56:40Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > Alright, **RaftPeople** , you’ve put together a well-sourced and solid argument that business units can subsidize each other. > > My one question is… do customers subsidize one another? Here are the various angles: 1 - The dollars provided by one group of customer’s can be used by the business to subsidize a different group of customers 2 - The business is the entity that sets up the subsidization structure and mechanism (the customers do not) 3 - The customer’s activity is required to realize or instantiate the subsidization when the source is revenue From the perspective of #2, the answer is absolutely no - the business created the mechanism, not the customer From the perspective of #3, the answer is absolutely yes - the act of purchasing is what instantiates the subsidization The answer to your question depends on the assumptions being made, both #2 and #3 are correct. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/84 "2020-04-28T22:05:04Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > I thought we were talking about users of one fixed price product subsidizing other users of that same fixed price product. Which can’t be _cross_-subsidization. The pricing is what creates the subsidization. If FedEx charged the same price for zone 1 deliveries as they do for zones 2 through 8, then you have this same situation. Just because USPS already did that, doesn’t mean the situation doesn’t exist. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2020, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/85 "2020-04-28T22:10:09Z")
Is this a purely intellectual discussion or is someone seriously suggesting that postage prices (particularly for letters) vary according to location? ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/86 "2020-04-29T00:08:15Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Is this a purely intellectual discussion or is someone seriously suggesting that postage prices (particularly for letters) vary according to location? They do for UPS and FedEx. They don’t for USPS. This led to a poster making the point that for USPS, lower cost transactions are subsidizing higher cost transactions. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/87 "2020-04-29T08:03:50Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > This led to a poster making the point that for USPS, lower cost transactions are subsidizing higher cost transactions. Which led to my noting upthread that _“The Postal Service is legally obligated to serve all Americans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality.”_ USPS is a public service for “all Americans”. Commercial deliverers serve their shareholders. ---
**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/88 "2020-04-29T15:22:23Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > Which led to my noting upthread that _“The Postal Service is legally obligated to serve all Americans, regardless of geography, at uniform price and quality.”_ USPS is a public service for “all Americans”. Commercial deliverers serve their shareholders. No disagreement with any of that. The discussion wasn’t so much about why they practice subsidization, it was more about whether their pricing could be considered subsidization between low cost transactions and high cost transactions. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/89 "2020-04-29T17:46:29Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > No disagreement with any of that. The discussion wasn’t so much about why they practice subsidization, it was more about whether their pricing could be considered subsidization between low cost transactions and high cost transactions. Why does it cost less to mail from China to the USA than to mail from the USA to China? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/90 "2020-04-29T18:23:46Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why does it cost less to mail from China to the USA than to mail from the USA to China? for one thing that’s a treaty they both signed. And there is way more mail coming to the US then going to China. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/91 "2020-04-29T19:25:48Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > for one thing that’s a treaty they both signed. And there is way more mail coming to the US then going to China. Yes, people buy something from China with a very small shipping charge. If they need to return it, the charge is much higher. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/92 "2020-04-29T19:51:18Z")
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**Author:** ![RaftPeople](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@RaftPeople](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RaftPeople)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557/93 "2020-04-29T22:50:12Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why does it cost less to mail from China to the USA than to mail from the USA to China? I don’t know why that is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-going-after-amazon-yet-again/852557.md?page=4)