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Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

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Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#161

Post by grecy »

jpatokal wrote: post #24

The RFP is rather more interesting than the marketing page: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/G/01/Anything... The 2nd criterion is basically the total amount of sweet, sweet taxpayer dollars available to subsidize them: Please provide a summary of total incentives offered for the Project by the state/province and local community. In this summary, please provide a brief description of the incentive item,…

And anyone wonders why the USA does not have money for healthcare, higher education, high speed rail, etc. etc.

I am in West Africa and everyone continually asks about the corruption.

At least here it's up front and honest. The guy with the AK-47 just wants $5.

In the USA, it's the guys in suits getting billions.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#162

Post by clarke78 »

Canada... 'nough said. If we don't do what we can to bring Amazon North then I have absolutely zero faith in our ability to ever take tech seriously beyond the wall. I don't care where the HQ ends up so long as it's on this side of the boarder. #YYZ (Toronto) #YVR (Vancouver) or, the most likely spot, #YGK (Kingston/Waterloo) are all great options. Talent could once again stay here instead of the decade(plus)-long brain-drain to the South.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#163

Post by wiredone »

wyldfire wrote: post #85

> A stable and business-friendly environment and tax structure will be high-priority considerations for the Project. Incentives offered ... will be significant factors in the decision-making process. It's a race to the bottom. Don't fall for it. Pro sports teams, recently Foxconn, they're all running the same game. You will all end up overbidding in order to win the deal and your constituents will foot the bill.

This is far from true. Jobs bring sales taxes, property taxes etc etc. Football stadiums pale in comparison. People in Seattle complain that there are "too many high income people around spending too much on stuff, raising the prices". If youre a city wanting growth, adding one of the largest national employers seems like a good bet.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#164

Post by teddyh »

arcanus wrote: post #129
dforrestwilson wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exemplary of the type of sway which massively concentrated enterprises can have over governments, and will continue to have as more and more companies engage in M&A: http://piketty.pse.ens.fr/files/Brennan2016.pdf Replace HRC with Jeff Bezos and "algorithm" with "consumer": https://busy.org/life/@blakemiles84/clinton-book-excerptish-... At some point we're going to have to Bust the Trusts.

Teddy Roosevelt, where for out thou? The trend, barring an exceptional individual, is for power to consolidate further in the hands of the megacorps.

> where for out thou?

Note: that’s a misuse of the quote; “wherefore” is, in moderns words, translated into “why”, not “where”. The quote “O Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?” asks, in essence, “Why are you Romeo, and not someone else?”, i.e. someone without political baggage.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#165

Post by ihsw2 »

jonjenk wrote: post #73
kogepathic wrote: post #60

Why not put HQ2 in Vancouver? Okay, yes, house prices are unrealistic, but hear me out: 1. Not in the US (helpful for any non-American employees who can't get a visa or don't want to live in the current political climate in the US) 2. Relatively easy for Americans to work in Canada 3. Close proximity to Seattle 4. Canadian salaries are typically lower than America, so this could be a huge boon to Canadians working in…

Why not? Because the single greatest threat to Amazon's business continuity is a major quake in Seattle. Vancouver sits on some of the same tectonic plates. It's likely that this move is, in part, an attempt to address the business continuity risk.

Ottawa is an excellent candidate for this as it sits squarely on the Canadian Shield.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Shield

Not only that but the public transit is undergoing rapid modernization (ie: light rail) and the software industry is spiking.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#167

Post by ihsw2 »

clarke78 wrote: post #162

Canada... 'nough said. If we don't do what we can to bring Amazon North then I have absolutely zero faith in our ability to ever take tech seriously beyond the wall. I don't care where the HQ ends up so long as it's on this side of the boarder. #YYZ (Toronto) #YVR (Vancouver) or, the most likely spot, #YGK (Kingston/Waterloo) are all great options. Talent could once again stay here instead of the decade(plus)-long br…

#YOW (Ottawa) should be considered a strong contender.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#169

Post by SaintGhurka »

devmunchies wrote: post #108

Silicon Slopes? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Slopes - Population > 1,000,000 - Serviced by 2 great universities (UoU, BYU) - Utah is a top 5 state for # of Unicorn Companies From the wiki I shared: "The Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development allows a variety of grants and tax incentives to companies willing to either relocate or expand their enterprise" Note: I live in Seattle, not Utah.

I wonder if SLC would be disqualified because it would harm rather than help Amazon's diversity efforts.

Re: Amazon to Build Second HQ in North America

#170

Post by ianai »

bryanlarsen wrote: post #166
chrismealy wrote: post #147

CEOs always locate headquarters were they want to live.

IIRC, about 80% of the time that a company moves its headquarters, the headquarters move closer to where the CEO lives.

I hope something like that is the case. He was born in Albuquerque. That city does have some tech talent and support but would hugely benefit from an HQ. plus the sunsets are amazing and the COL low.
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