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
Despite Manifesto Full of Hate, Nashville PD’s Final Report on Covenant Shooting Comes to Its Own Conclusion
Dem senator looks to hijack key Trump budget process with tariff challenge
Army Considering Major Changes Following Hegseth Directive: Report
Trump’s China tariffs face legal challenge from conservative group calling them ‘unlawful’
South Carolina effort to mirror Trump DEI ban advances to state Senate
International Pedophile Streaming Service ‘Kidflix’ Shut Down with 1.8 Million Users
Trump Celebrates a Major Win as Jobs Report Blows Economists’ Expectations Out of the Water
Stephen Miller rips globalization as the ‘great theft of American prosperity’
Obama urges Americans to ‘possibly sacrifice’ in resisting Trump policies
PHOTOS: Biden’s ‘ambitious climate goals’ go down in literal flames by popular American beach
Trump Just Made a Profound Statement on the Economy – Every American Will Understand What’s Happening if They Listen
Florida woman given maximum sentence in death of 2nd grandchild; daughter says, ‘I still love you’
Hamas Murderer Picks Wrong Victim, Soon Faces Family ‘Execution Squad’ That Gets Brutal Street Justice – Report
Reporter’s Notebook: The Senate’s all-night session on the big, beautiful bill
NASA astronaut reveals they nearly failed to dock Boeing Starliner to International Space Station
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.
