Opinion: Amazon’s unseemly bake-off

The company’s search for a second headquarters shows that American big business is too big and too powerful. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, November 15, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( [David Leonhardt] David Leonhardt Op-Ed Columnist Big business has become [too big and]( powerful](. It has the power to hold down wages and overly influence government policy, among other problems. For now, our corporate giants face few real threats to their size and power. But I am hopeful that the politics of big business is starting to change. On both the political left and right, you can see growing concern about this issue. The [latest episode of “The Argument”]( podcast takes on the problem of corporate gigantism, tied to Amazon’s search for a second headquarters. You’ll hear that Ross Douthat, Michelle Goldberg and I all found that search to be unseemly. As Ross says, the whole process has helped radicalize him on this issue. For more on Amazon, read [Shira Ovide]( in Bloomberg Opinion, [Derek Thompson]( in The Atlantic or [Jim Swift]( in The Weekly Standard. A lack of diversity. Regular readers know that socioeconomic diversity on college campuses is [an obsession]( [of mine](. A lot of colleges, public and private, like to think of their campuses as highly diverse. And they are diverse racially, religiously and geographically. But many of them [remain dominated]( by affluent students. One twist on this problem is the embarrassingly small number of military veterans at many top colleges. “Veterans,” says Catharine Bond Hill, the former president of [Vassar]( who now runs Ithaka S+R, a research group, “are underrepresented at the set of schools with the highest graduation rates and the most resources.” Some top colleges enroll fewer than five veterans a year. My colleague Frank Bruni listed some of the miserable numbers [in a 2016 column](. But now there are at least some small signs of progress. I attended [a conference]( at Arlington National Cemetery yesterday where several colleges promised to increase veteran enrollment. Cornell, which now has about 40 veterans among its undergraduates, plans to raise that number to 100 by 2020, for example. Indiana University, the University of Michigan and Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania also said they would increase their numbers. And the College Board announced it would make it easier for colleges to identify veterans with solid standardized-test scores. Right now, many colleges aren’t even trying to recruit veterans. Among the colleges that recruit on military bases, “You don’t see Cornell. You don’t see the University of Maryland,” Piragash Swargaloganathan, a Navy veteran and recent Cornell graduate, told me at the conference. “It’s mostly online schools and for-profit schools.” (And many online and for-profit colleges have [terrible records]( The good news is that the veterans who do enroll in strong four-year colleges tend to do very well. They have higher grades and graduation rates than average. Recruiting more veterans to these colleges, as Hill says, will help the veterans, the colleges and ultimately the country. Outrage culture. “It seems like every not-so-carefully-worded public misstep must be punished to the fullest extent, replete with soapbox lectures and demands for apologies,” [Dan Crenshaw]( a Republican congressman-elect, writes in The Washington Post. “Anyone who doesn’t show the expected level of outrage will be labeled a coward or an apologist for bad behavior.” ‘Operation Infektion.’ If you haven’t watched the new Times documentary on disinformation, I encourage you to check it out. [All three episodes are available here.]( The final one has the broadest theme. As Adam Ellick, the executive producer, says, “We show how today’s Western governments are ill-equipped to combat this kind of warfare, and how governments, social media platforms and societies themselves need urgent reform and regulation before it’s really too late.” The full Opinion report follows. The Argument [Is Amazon Bad for America?]( And is President Trump actually good for the Republican Party? [A Real Chance at Criminal Justice Reform]( Anders Nilsen By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Sessions is out. Trump is on board. It’s time to put these necessary changes into action. From Our Columnists [Armistice Day and Our ‘Forever Wars’]( By BRET STEPHENS Why do they drag on interminably? Because one side lacks the means to win and the other lacks the will. [The Tax Cut and the Balance of Payments (Wonkish)]( By PAUL KRUGMAN Lots of financial maneuvering, signifying nothing [White House Wall Weirdness]( By GAIL COLLINS Don and Melania and the gang, doing their thing. [Grab ’Em by the Passion]( By CHARLES M. BLOW Remember that you can be thoroughly anti-Trump without being completely Trump-obsessed. [If You Like a Guy, Tell Him. Only Then Will Women Be Free.]( [The actors Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell in 2015, a year and a half after she proposed to him.]( The actors Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell in 2015, a year and a half after she proposed to him. Jason Merritt/Getty Images By KATE NEUMAN Let every day be Sadie Hawkins Day. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [As Long as Trump Is President, Blue Texas Could Actually Happen]( By THOMAS B. EDSALL What was once a Democratic pipe dream is now a real possibility. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Woozy With Moderation]( By JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN Can Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado run for president as a centrist? [New York’s Amazon Deal Is a Bad Bargain]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The city has what the company wants, talent. Why pay them $1.5 billion to come? ADVERTISEMENT LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up here. [A Brexit Deal Has Arrived. Now the Chaos Begins.]( By HELEN LEWIS The next few weeks will be an exercise in brinkmanship. [Operation Infektion: A three-part video series on Russian disinformation]( By ADAM B. ELLICK AND ADAM WESTBROOK Russian Disinformation: From Cold War to Kanye More In Opinion [Don’t Be Scared of Killer Robots]( By ED FINN We should be thinking more about how much A.I. has changed our lives already, and the future of human-algorithm collaboration. [America Is Rejecting More Legal Immigrants Than Ever Before]( By DAVID J. BIER Trump says he wants more immigrants to come in legally. The economy needs them. So why are we making it so hard? [Hip-Hop’s Love Affair With Marvel Comics]( By SELWYN SEYFU HINDS They both speak the language of the outcast made good. [The Assault Against Science Continues at the E.P.A.]( By CHRISTOPHER S. ZARBA The agency jettisons expert panels providing guidance on important health and environmental issues. [End Forced Arbitration for Sexual Harassment. Then Do More.]( By TERRI GERSTEIN If tech companies really want to be cutting-edge, they should get rid of the policy in all employment-related disputes. We’ve got more newsletters! You might like Frank Bruni’s newsletter.  Go beyond the headlines and behind the curtain with Frank Bruni’s candid reflections on politics, culture, higher education and more every week. [Sign up for Frank Bruni’s email.](  ADVERTISEMENT letters [Should We Expand the House of Representatives?]( Readers discuss two editorials arguing that a larger House with multiple members per district would better reflect the political makeup of the country. HOW ARE WE DOING? We’d love your feedback on this newsletter. Please email thoughts and suggestions to [leonhardt@nytimes.com](mailto:leonhardt@nytimes.com?subject=Opinion%20Today%20Newsletter%20Feedback). FOLLOW OPINION [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nytopinion]( [Pinterest] [Pinterest]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »](  | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Opinion Today newsletter. 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