Progressive backlash against Amazon HQ2 grows. Here is why
For a 14 month frenzy, cities across North America bend back to court Amazon's second headquarters, or HQ2, by offering subsidies and tax evasion. Recent reports indicate that Amazon can share its new office mistakes between Long Island City in Queens and Crystal City, Arlington, Virginia.
The company has promised to spend at least $ 5 billion and create 50,000 jobs as part of the project. Even divided into two places, representing a huge infusion in a local economy.
"We will do everything we can to fight Amazon coming to New York and [to stop] some benefits our mayor and governor can summon them," said Jonathan Westin, Managing Director of the New York Communities for Change, a lawyer which supports low-income communities in the region. [1[ads1]9659003]
Now with the possible arrival of the new Amazon headquarters in Long Island City and Arlington The activist camp is spreading – and some local officials are on the side of the activists.
"My understanding is that the public grants that being discussed is massive in scale "New York state senator Michael Gianaris, representing the Long Island City area, told CNN Business. "Why we need to give scarce public dollars to one of the wealthiest companies on earth is beyond me."
The Terms of the Amazon Suggestions from New The York City and Washington area has not been revealed, so it's uncertain what's right on the table. But precedent and government statements indicate that Amazon can get generous agreements in exchange for investment and jobs.
Cuoma's enthusiasm can not fall. Local officials have taken to speak out against a potential deal.
"The lack of openness in this process is outrageous," said Commander Jimmy Van Bramer in a statement Thursday.
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has called the HQ2 a "huge opportunity", but admitted this week that "it's real development pressure to navigate." He said that the city would not award Amazon any special incentives beyond what is available to all businesses and developers.
For state senator Gianaris, incentives are not the only problem. He also wants to know what Amazon intends to do to ease the stress of the area's schools and strained subway. "This is a neighborhood that is already over developed," he said.
"We think Amazon is just the next iteration of what Walmart was," said the Westin of the New York Communities for Change.
Such views have also bubbled up in the Washington area. A group called "Obviously Not DC", supported by the Fair Budget Coalition activist group and the D.C. chapter of the democratic socialists, has a simple tagline: "Fund our societies, affordable housing, schools and transit. Not Amazon."
Massive incentive packages are a popular tool for luring major development projects, says Megan Randall, Research Analyst at the Tax Policy Center. The problem is that such packages often lack the correct responsibility measures to ensure that the promised economic benefits materialize, "she said. It is also not clear that companies prioritize incentive packages when deciding where to locate, she added.
"Tax drive, research shows, actually plays a rather secondary role when it comes to businesses that decide to go," Randall said.
Nevertheless, economic incentives are a common part of development deals. For cities it is difficult not to throw into benefits like tax breaks and subsidies if competing regions offer them.
"It's hard to tell if the questions that the public and the police ask for will be a feature in the discussion," said Randall. "or whose tax incentives will keep their popularity."
