Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2017/11/27/chicago-offers-to-give-amazon.html
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KC and St Louis are like trying to do some sort of weird DP of Amazon to get them to build in Missouri. I understand the importance of promoting growth, but a lot of these proposals I feel like are like an auction where people keep raising the price on an item into the thousands when it is worth a few hundred bucks.
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Race to the bottom.
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The scheme, known as a personal income-tax diversion, would mean Amazon workers pay full income taxes, but instead of the state getting the money to use for schools, roads and other public services
To be fair, what will single techbros and go-getting management types who will all but live at the full-service corporate campus/company town need with such mundane things? Better for them to pay for the privilege of not being consigned to the precariat or unnecessariat.
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It would be nice if companies looked at cities offering this kind of thing and thought to themselves “well we don’t want to live in that train wreck of useless corruption”.
But instead they tend to get all dollar signs for pupils.
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The richest man in the world will not be happy until he is the richest man in the world.
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Imagine if instead of expecting cities and states to mortgage their future to increase Amazon’s margin by a fraction of a percent, Amazon had made an announcement that it was more interested in long-term success and was going to look for a host city with good government/education and smart infrastructure.
I mean, Chicago wouldn’t have stood a chance under that proposal, but it would sure as hell be nice if Amazon and Apple would treat the United States more like a long-term home in which they have an interest in its success and less as a teat to be milked at all costs.
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Calgary offered no tax incentives but the bid included a blanket of the style that was traded to the natives by the Hudson Bay Company. I’m not sure what is the message or symbolism.
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When big business and big government get together, small businesses and taxpayers need to get a good tight grip on their wallets.
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Shortly leading to the first time a Fortune 100 company ever lobbied for an increase in the wage tax.
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I agree this sounds especially gross, but isn’t this in effect (op. cit.) what always happens when a city gives a corporation an absurd tax break for moving in?
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That would be known as “Scrooge McDuck Syndrome.”
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However NJ’s offer of 10k per employee is offered to any other company willing to relocate to redevelopment centers like Camden and bring new jobs to the state. A very different offer than Chicago and Ill giving Amazon license to tax their own employees.
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And some good lube.
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I just logged in to say fuck amazon.
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Presumably this is in addition to the usual absurd tax breaks for the corporation. This is essentially the city promising not to tax the employees but allowing Amazon to steal the equivalent amount of their income, instead. An extra level of gross.
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I expect amazon to behave dreadfully. But I have this quaint expectation that my government will serve my best interests or at least the best interests of a substantial number of my fellow citizenry. So fuck Chicago. (Note: I don’t live in Chicago)
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Is there any major city in America that simply told Amazon to go fuck themselves? I want to live there.
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