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
Ilhan Omar Tries to Talk Tough in Response to DHS Raid, But One Glaring Detail Betrays Her Cowardice
Keep Paying Up to 27% – Or Take Two Minutes to Check If You Qualify for 0%
Hackers target refrigerators at French supermarkets, overheating them and causing fires
Ilhan Omar says she will ‘not be silenced’ following raid on Washington home
Biden-appointed judge with history of fiery Trump clashes erupts at DOJ: ‘You’ve lost all credibility!’
AIPAC takes another shot at el Sayed and hands Rogers a political gamble in Michigan Senate race
Republican lawmakers break with Trump on diesel deal with Russia
Federal agents conduct predawn search of Ilhan Omar’s home in Washington
Watch: Talarico Said He Went to Urgent Care, Now Says He Went to His Doctor 200 Miles Away – What Do We Know?
Big GOP Midterm News: Polling in 9 Key Senate Races Shows GOP Candidates Leading
Democrats see new chances to flip red states — but a $400M GOP spending advantage could derail their plans
SC Dem Senate candidate claims she will stand up to her party as Graham ties her to ‘socialist Democrats’
Pennsylvania gunman who killed 8 was grandfather who seemed normal, victim relatives say
Immigration enforcement officials search Ilhan Omar’s home in pre-dawn raid
Trump’s backyard is quietly transforming into ‘Silicon Valley South’ as wealthy Americans flock in
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.
