This morning, Democratic presidential candidate and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) tweeted out his support for efforts to unionize the video game industry. He did so in a fashion truly appropriate for the man—one that made it clear that he doesn’t always grasp basic economics:
The video game industry made $43 billion in revenue last year. The workers responsible for that profit deserve to collectively bargain as part of a union. I'm glad to see unions like @IATSE and the broader @GameWorkers movement organizing such workers. https://t.co/Ia5gMG2v0w
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) June 18, 2019
Top Dems assert there’s risk ICE agents could ‘kill’ travelers under Trump airport plan
DNC’s suggestive post about Mamdani’s pothole blitz leaves social media speechless: ‘Wtf is this???’
Underperforming California school district paying enormous sum to teach kids with a ‘rap curriculum’
London police investigating Iran ties to Jewish ambulance arson after terrorist group claims responsibility
Ex-girlfriend, 3 others nabbed in killing tied to alleged murder-for-hire plot in ‘unusual’ case: police
Christian Preacher Scores Big Win for Religious Liberty After Liberal Supreme Court Justice Authors Surprising Opinion
Smithsonian unveils ‘Our Shared Future’ programming for America’s 250 celebrations
BREAKING: At Least 13 Airports Will Receive ICE Agents to Help with TSA Shortage
SCOTUS conservatives signal readiness to curb late-arriving mail ballots
Starmer focuses on economic threats after Iranian missiles fail to reach British base on Diego Garcia
House GOP targeting vulnerable Dems over DHS shutdown, TSA chaos
Atlanta airport asks travelers to arrive four hours early as ICE comes to help
Despite Trump Policies, Stanford Still Has This Woke DEI Program
Breaking: Trump Orders Halt to All Strikes on Iranian Energy Infrastructure as End to Conflict Near
Supreme Court reverses lower court on qualified immunity for Vermont police sergeant who arrested protester
In the tweet, Sanders confuses “revenue” with “profit.” This is not an insignificant mistake, but it’s one that is common in reporting about large American corporations. All too often, reporters talk about how much money a company takes in without offering any analysis of that company’s expenses. Amazon, for example, despite massive revenues has only recently begun making an actual profit. In the Time story that Sanders links to, writer Alana Semuels similarly fails to differentiate between revenue and profit when covering the efforts to organize.
It’s true that the game industry did bring in $42 billion in revenue last year from customers in the United States (and nearly $140 billion worldwide). But revenue is the money a company brings in before deducting its expenses, like, for example, workers’ wages. So, in reality, video game industry workers did get a cut of those billions. It’s only after such workers are paid (and other expenses are deducted) that we can talk about profit.
Sanders, of course, has a long history of failing to grasp the basics of market economics. He frequently sees marketplace choices as a threat, even as they open avenues and opportunities for our poorest citizens or provide all of us with ever improving mass entertainment.
Story cited here.
