>It's statements like this that drive me deep into despair. That bland, banal platitude of "value". That non-statement of inaction phrased as "we need a better vision".

Value has a very specific economic meaning. It means a product or service with a price. Providing employees with more value is a way of stating they plan is to give them more XYZ, but not necessarily pay them more.

There are lots of non-pay increase propositions that employers can do that add a ton of value for employees. On site, at-cost daycare. On site medical/dental visits (e.g. staff Direct Primary Care). At cost cafeteria services. Amazon's scale & logistics prowess enable them to provide these things at much lower cost than an individual can purchase them for. At some point, these things add up and Amazon becomes a company town. But for many Americans, a company town run by Amazon would be welcome if it ads value to their lives. My guess is this is exactly what Amazon will do.