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Cities Dream Of Landing Amazon's New HQ And They're Going To Great Lengths To Show It
Officials in Tucson, Ariz., uprooted a 21-foot-tall saguaro cactus and tried to have it delivered to Amazon's Seattle headquarters. Birmingham constructed giant Amazon boxes and placed them around the Alabama city. In Missouri, Kansas City's mayor bought a thousand items online from Amazon and posted reviews of each one.
All of these cities are clearly trying hard to get Amazon's attention. Why? Because they know that otherwise, they don't stand a chance against some big-name cities that are all trying to win the contest to land Amazon's second headquarters.
The retail giant announced a month ago that it has plans for a second home outside of Seattle, where it is currently headquartered. The project has been named HQ2, and the deadline for final bids is Thursday. Amazon has promised to invest $5 billion and said the facility will create as many as 50,000 jobs.
It has led to a mad scramble from cities across the nation and even in Canada. And various publications have analyzed cities' chances of landing this deal. Atlanta, Denver and Pittsburgh have made it to a few of those lists.
Many cities don't really figure as finalists on any of those lists. But that hasn't stopped them. In fact, just like Tucson or Birmingham, cities are pulling out all the stops to get noticed.
The Amazonk Prometheans may be coming to your city...
Previously: Amazon Spheres Add to Seattle's Quirky Architecture
Amazon Acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 Billion
Amazon to Invest $5 Billion in Second HQ Outside of Seattle
Amazon Looks to New Food Technology for Home Delivery
(Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday October 17 2017, @02:53PM (8 children)
I generally dislike NIMBY people, but, please don't put it anywhere near me. Not Dallas, not Little Rock, not Shreveport or Baton Rouge. Fort Smith is to close, Texarkana much to close.
I'll offer a tip though. There really isn't much point in locating a new headquarters (or warehouse) within the sprawling East Coast Megalopolis. Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky all make sense. Maybe the western end of the Carolinas. Put that sucker out somewhere that you don't have to compete with some of the worst bumper to bumper traffic in the world. As I recall, that was one of the lesser reasons given when industry moved away from the rust belt, to the sun belt. Less traffic.
Just please don't put it near me.
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Tuesday October 17 2017, @03:41PM (5 children)
I would be fine if they put it near me, as it would be near the airport and I don't live anywhere near the airport, and that area could use some development.
However I would be against it if the county is bid into the ground to give them tax breaks that have to be paid by the residents on the promise that "lots of jobs" will be created. Then have those lots of job be mostly minimum wage jobs, the high end jobs be imported people, causing even more competition for jobs and driving wages down. And if the number of jobs doesn't cover the costs for getting them in the door.
Actually... fuck it, I don't want thing anywhere near me. Any city/county getting this deal is going to get screwed.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @06:13PM (3 children)
So you're probably thinking that Wisconsin won't recoup all of that $3B incentive package they're putting in place for Foxconn?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @07:34PM (2 children)
FTFY.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @08:05PM (1 child)
Fail. Scott Walker supports it, as does Paul Ryan. They are true blue Republicans and are, by definition, against any kind of welfare. These are tax incentives and breaks that will pay for themselves based upon long-term, sustained growth of at least 3%.
(Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @08:44PM
Epic fail. The majority of that is cash handouts. NOT tax breaks, NOT incentives. CASH. The EXACT SAME THING the Republicans spend half their time screaming about when given to the poor instead of massive multinational corporations. Walker, Ryan, and the rest of the Republicans are VERY MUCH IN FAVOR of welfare, just not welfare for the poor. Hypocrites, all of them.
Sources:
"Wisconsin Senate approves $3 billion cash payment for Foxconn factory" http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-foxconn-20170912-story.html [latimes.com]
(Emphasis mine)
But wait, there's more:
"Foxconn would receive up to $2.85 billion in cash payments from state taxpayers over 15 years..." http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2017/08/16/how-would-wisconsin-foxconn-deal-work-here-some-answers/572186001/ [jsonline.com]
(Emphasis mine)
If you want more sources Google it yourself.
(On a semi-related note, can we have an underline tag please? Pretty please? With a cherry on top? begging_puppy.jpg)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @06:24PM
who cares? think of how fast you'll get your chinese shit? the whole town's on welfare and meth anyways!
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 17 2017, @05:22PM
Paddle faster; I hear banjos.
(Score: 4, Funny) by aristarchus on Tuesday October 17 2017, @08:17PM
I don't get it, Runaway. Why would you want "to close" Fort Smith? Or Texarkana? Should not these fine boroughs remain open? Or perhaps, in the slipperiness of the spittle on your keyboard, you meant to say "too close", as in "not far enough away"?? Spelling, it's not just for eggheads anymore!