• assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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    11 months ago

    The headline does a poor job of establishing context. The article has it, but the headline should’ve been along the lines of “Despite the recent feel good biopic about him, his wealth isn’t helping everyday Atlanta residents”.

    Without that context it feels very unusual, and even with that context, I can’t say that I agree this is newsworthy. He was born poor, and he made his money by directing and starring in movies. Becoming a billionaire from that is infinitely more moral than making a giant corporation off the backs of minimum wage employees.

    I’m sure he’s done things worth criticizing and could afford to pay workers at his studio more. But in the grand scheme of things, are they really worth this much time and effort when there’s vastly more egregious shitheads out there? Why waste your time with someone who actually is trying to give back when you have Musk as the perfect poster child of why billionaires should be taxed at 100%?

    • Zippy@lemmy.world
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      11 months ago

      Becoming a billionaire creating little value for the average person is better than a CEO that can provide employment for thousands of people. Seriously?

      Actually I think the arts are as important as any other job but get serious if you think that means they are a better person than a CEO.

      • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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        11 months ago

        What if those thousands of jobs don’t pay a living wage? While Perry might not provide as much convenience as Amazon, he certainly hasn’t fucked over as many workers either. I’d wager most rich musicians are far more moral than business tycoons. Taylor Swift famously paid $100k to truckers for tours and covered all the healthcare expenses too I believe for all the tour workers.

        • Zippy@lemmy.world
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          11 months ago

          When it comes to what they provide, Perry doesn’t put a single morsel of food on the majority of the people he interacts with. I bet the CEO of exon, who makes under 10 million a year, pays some wages far more than the 100k Taylor Swift pays along with all kinds of medical coverage. And Taylor Swift is likely making some 100 million a year for likely less work.

          Not only is Taylor Swift making 10 times the wages, she pays less overall wages and supports likely only a few hundred people.

          The CEO of exon makes one tenth her wage, employees 1000s of people, likely many over that 100k a year and benefits, and he likely works more hours.

          • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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            11 months ago

            Let me tell you some things about Exxon. They easily employ over 1000, probably closer to 10,000. It’s like a nation state of its own in some ways. The engineers certainly all make over 100k and nice medical benefits and a 401k match – but they’re exploited labor all the same. They’ll suspend the 401k match and fire a third of the work force, and ask you to take on double the work to compensate while being paid less. They’ll say they’re based on science and facts, and then demand people come into the office vs WFH for no reason other than butts in chairs, and no actual benefits. They’ll send internal emails to remind you that “blue lives matter” when there are ongoing racial injustice protests, and bring over a senator running for reelection to give them free advertising during a town hall. They’ll say they care about sustainability and global warming, and then fight tooth and nail against any actual, significant changes to that end.

            The engineers on the other hand, they’re truly amazing people. They care about sustainability changes. They care about their coworkers. They’re exceptionally brilliant. And they’re just treated like cogs in the machine. Expendable, and they’re always looking for lower cost cogs. The workplace will drive you to the point that you realize you have mental health issues and need to go to therapy. And if those mental health issues get in the way of your with, you’re “put on a performance plan” for having low performance , even during a pandemic.

            As you’ve probably guessed, I previously worked for good ol daddy Darren. A lot of my colleagues who were also young working professionals have since left the company too. And some of my friends who are still there don’t have much love for the company either.

            I don’t know where I was going with this, you got me on a bit of a tangent I suppose. Just know that they don’t pay enough for the bullshit they put you through, and they don’t value their employees nearly as much as they should.