In no way do I blame Amazon for this very public playing of one State vs another to get the best deal. Big companies have been doing this forever. And it worked for Amazon.
Cities and States made very significant offers trying to lure Amazon to their locales. Some of these offers are now being criticized. Others are poking fun at them - I mean how can you not laugh at NY Governor Andrew Cuomo when he publicly admits, "It's not a level playing field to begin with. All things being equal, if we do nothing, they're going to Texas." Hey Gov how about lowering business taxes to make your state more attractive to business as a general rule? And aren't you the same guy passing out tax cuts to Amazon who wants to sue Trump because of his tax cuts?
And Columbus Ohio offered to create a task force to prevent an "unacceptable murder rate" if only Amazon would deign to select their fine city. Hey Columbus - how about creating that task force anyway. And just what murder rate do you find "acceptable"?
Some local politicians are criticizing the NY deal because the land Amazon will now use was supposed to go towards affordable housing.
Cynically I think Crystal City was chosen because its proximity to Washington, DC gives Jeff Bezos a base from which to protest any government action he views as not being in the best interest of Amazon. Bezos may organize mobs the way Cinna did in ancient Rome to get what he wants. And who's to blame him the way the Democrats have been turning a blind eye to "their" mobs?
This story is not over and it will be interesting to see how the rest plays out.
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