DeluxAuto
AntiSocial Extrovert
- Joined
- Dec 16, 2010
- Posts
- 20,221
AT&T Plans to Fire 7,000 People Despite Tax Breaks, Net Neutrality Repeal
We don’t know how much AT&T spent on capital expenditures for the entire year, but in Q3 2018 the company stated its estimated capex for FY2018 would be ~$22B. That’s on par with what it spent in 2017, with no increase associated with either the GOP tax bill or the $20B windfall.
In the memo (leaked to Motherboard and confirmed by AT&T), AT&T tries to dodge its own previous statements, claiming that its CEO had previously said that $1B in investment creates 7,000 jobs “across the broader economy.” But that’s not what Stephenson said.
In 2017, Stephenson claimed that the Trump tax cuts would result in AT&T boosting its investment levels. He knew exactly what AT&T would do: It would invest. That investment would create jobs, not “across the broader economy,” but for AT&T workers. Hard hat jobs, with great benefits and good pay. The kind of jobs Americans want. The kind of jobs a CEO would dangle in front of Americans to make them think supporting a giant tax cut and regulatory reduction for corporations was a good idea. The kind of jobs you talk about when you use a pronoun like “we,” which doesn’t mean “Other companies besides AT&T.”
https://www.extremetech.com/interne...ople-despite-tax-breaks-net-neutrality-repeal
Personal Note (not mine)
Sometimes, in a story like this one, someone will pop in and accuse me of political bias. While I won’t pretend to lack political opinions, the point here isn’t political. It’s ethical.
Put simply, I’m tired of being lied to. The tax cuts and net neutrality repeal were advertised, justified, and declared necessary because of the necessary and critical impact they would have on overall investment and infrastructure. None of it happened. No one is punished for it. The chairman of the FCC has produced no data at any point that actually justified his claim that net neutrality was a threat to broadband investment or had resulted in a reduction of it. (At least, none that stood up to factual analysis).
We live in a country where powerful heads of major multi-national companies with resources and wealth that rival that of some countries are allowed to blithely lie about their own intentions and the impact of laws that blatantly favor their own self-interests. Our politicians, instead of serving as guardians of the public good, fall over themselves to enable this nihilistic behavior. And everyone — including, all too often, members of the press — treats this as business as usual.
We don’t know how much AT&T spent on capital expenditures for the entire year, but in Q3 2018 the company stated its estimated capex for FY2018 would be ~$22B. That’s on par with what it spent in 2017, with no increase associated with either the GOP tax bill or the $20B windfall.
In the memo (leaked to Motherboard and confirmed by AT&T), AT&T tries to dodge its own previous statements, claiming that its CEO had previously said that $1B in investment creates 7,000 jobs “across the broader economy.” But that’s not what Stephenson said.
In 2017, Stephenson claimed that the Trump tax cuts would result in AT&T boosting its investment levels. He knew exactly what AT&T would do: It would invest. That investment would create jobs, not “across the broader economy,” but for AT&T workers. Hard hat jobs, with great benefits and good pay. The kind of jobs Americans want. The kind of jobs a CEO would dangle in front of Americans to make them think supporting a giant tax cut and regulatory reduction for corporations was a good idea. The kind of jobs you talk about when you use a pronoun like “we,” which doesn’t mean “Other companies besides AT&T.”
https://www.extremetech.com/interne...ople-despite-tax-breaks-net-neutrality-repeal
Personal Note (not mine)
Sometimes, in a story like this one, someone will pop in and accuse me of political bias. While I won’t pretend to lack political opinions, the point here isn’t political. It’s ethical.
Put simply, I’m tired of being lied to. The tax cuts and net neutrality repeal were advertised, justified, and declared necessary because of the necessary and critical impact they would have on overall investment and infrastructure. None of it happened. No one is punished for it. The chairman of the FCC has produced no data at any point that actually justified his claim that net neutrality was a threat to broadband investment or had resulted in a reduction of it. (At least, none that stood up to factual analysis).
We live in a country where powerful heads of major multi-national companies with resources and wealth that rival that of some countries are allowed to blithely lie about their own intentions and the impact of laws that blatantly favor their own self-interests. Our politicians, instead of serving as guardians of the public good, fall over themselves to enable this nihilistic behavior. And everyone — including, all too often, members of the press — treats this as business as usual.
LOL
