Tweet
Amazon.com, the $136-billion-a-year internet colossus, has initiated a self-serving public bidding war over where it will locate its new corporate headquarters. The city and state that offer the largest bribe to this private enterprise will be “The Winner.”
Rich Amazon doesn’t need and certainly doesn’t deserve any public handout, but officials in 238 cities have prostrated themselves in front of this Amazonian welfare queen in embarrassing bids to win her nod. Amazon’s executives even sent out a list of basic benefits they expect every applicant to deliver, including a “business-friendly environment and tax structure,” free land, a subsidy to reduce its operational costs, tax breaks, relocation grants for executives and workforce, reduced utility bills, and first-rate schools and an educated labor pool.
As one analyst of Amazon’s scheme noted, “these incentives aren’t free. There’s no fairy godmother paying for them.”
The result of such corporate giveaways might be that they cost the public more than they get back. By demanding such corporate spoils, Amazon is demanding bribes, not only taking our money, but also stealing our trust in the fairness of the system and widening inequality in our society.
The winner will be Amazon with an unfair advantage over competition. With this unfair advantage this retail giant will drive other retailers out of business along with the jobs of these closing companies. We have seen this before – many times – it is the plain old American way called Wal-Martism – - the rich get richer while the rest of us applaud their subsidized profits while in our newly forced destitution. It is anything but free enterprise. It is corporate welfare. A godly congress and president ought to pass legislation making any governmental incentives for profitable companies illegal.
Rich Amazon doesn’t need and certainly doesn’t deserve any public handout, but officials in 238 cities have prostrated themselves in front of this Amazonian welfare queen in embarrassing bids to win her nod. Amazon’s executives even sent out a list of basic benefits they expect every applicant to deliver, including a “business-friendly environment and tax structure,” free land, a subsidy to reduce its operational costs, tax breaks, relocation grants for executives and workforce, reduced utility bills, and first-rate schools and an educated labor pool.
As one analyst of Amazon’s scheme noted, “these incentives aren’t free. There’s no fairy godmother paying for them.”
The result of such corporate giveaways might be that they cost the public more than they get back. By demanding such corporate spoils, Amazon is demanding bribes, not only taking our money, but also stealing our trust in the fairness of the system and widening inequality in our society.
The winner will be Amazon with an unfair advantage over competition. With this unfair advantage this retail giant will drive other retailers out of business along with the jobs of these closing companies. We have seen this before – many times – it is the plain old American way called Wal-Martism – - the rich get richer while the rest of us applaud their subsidized profits while in our newly forced destitution. It is anything but free enterprise. It is corporate welfare. A godly congress and president ought to pass legislation making any governmental incentives for profitable companies illegal.
Comment