> That money is effectively removed from the economy.
Not really. If that money is stored in a bank, most of it will be loaned out. If it is used to buy bonds (including but not limited to government bonds) then it goes to the issuer. And so on.
Not really. If that money is stored in a bank, most of it will be loaned out. If it is used to buy bonds (including but not limited to government bonds) then it goes to the issuer. And so on.
Even if Amazon actually removed it from the economy by putting it under Bezos' mattress, that would boost the value of all remaining fiat, increasing purchasing power for everyone else. So consumers would gain a temporary burst of value, which they can utilize today; when the state then devalues fiat over time, Amazon's money will lose value, while the consumer will have locked in that higher purchasing power.
There is no scenario under which Amazon actually hurts anybody by 'removing' money from the economy. Money and wealth are not fixed sums anyway.
See for example
http://www.inc.com/jeremy-quittner/wells-fargo-earnings-and-...
http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/07/12/eu-banks-dijsselblo...
http://www.forbes.com/sites/cherylsnappconner/2014/07/11/str...