When Amazon Caves, Consumers Lose... Lets talk about some big ideas
Today’s capitulation by Jeff Bezos and Amazon to government pressure was disheartening. Censoring the display of tariff costs on consumer goods isn’t just a blow to economic transparency—it’s an attack on free speech. Consumers have a right to know what they’re paying for. Suppressing this information breaks one of Amazon’s most fundamental promises: do what’s best for the customer. Today, they failed that promise.
More troubling, though, is the larger pattern: we are facing massive, systemic challenges, yet there’s a stunning lack of bold, constructive ideas. Instead, we get performative arguments disguised as concern for the common good—while centralized power and wealth continue to grow unchecked. This is the opposite of what America needs.
Below are a few bold proposals—meant not as final solutions, but as starting points for serious discussion and future-focused thinking.
Big Ideas Worth Considering
1. Exporter Credits / Importer Debits System
A reimagined approach to tariffs. Let supply and demand self-regulate trade duties while preserving the ideals of free and fair trade.
2. $10,000 Per Newborn
Invest in the next generation. Every baby born receives $10,000—$2,000 of which goes directly into a retirement account to begin building lifelong financial security.
3. Tax Holiday for Young Professionals
Eliminate federal income tax for Americans under 30 to help them save, pay off debt, and gain financial footing early in life.
4. Phase-In of Universal Healthcare
Lower the Medicare eligibility age by three years annually. In a decade, every American would have healthcare coverage.
5. Startup Tax Shelters in High-Need Sectors
Provide tax incentives for startups working to solve critical societal problems—education, infrastructure, clean energy, healthcare, etc.
6. Corporate AMT for High-Margin Companies
Enforce an alternative minimum tax on corporations (C-Corps, Incs, LLCs) with EBITDA-to-revenue ratios above 25%, ensuring they contribute fairly or reinvest in people and innovation.
7. Tax Credits for Community-Building
Reward people and places that strengthen local communities—parks, libraries, churches, coffee shops, running clubs, civic events, and more.
8. Universal Design Learning as National Policy
Redesign the education system using Universal Design Learning (UDL) principles to support every type of learner and create equity in the classroom.
9. Make Teaching the Highest-Paid Profession
Change the prestige and pay of teaching to attract the brightest minds and elevate education as a national priority.
10. Education Tax on Professional Sports
Redirect a small percentage of major league sports profits to fund public education at every level.
11. Free Degrees in Critical Fields
Offer free education for degrees in fields of societal need—medicine, law, education, and systems innovation. These areas are too important to gate behind debt.
12. National Innovation Awards
Create a prestigious, well-funded program to reward innovations that demonstrably improve society—with both financial incentives and generational wealth opportunities.
These aren’t all the answers—but they’re the kind of ideas we need to start talking about. If we engage in discussions bigger than the weapons of mass distraction we are currently seeing then this too shall pass.
Thanks for the read.
- Ben
