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Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

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Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#461

Post by 0xJRS »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #411
drumttocs8 wrote: post #249

Amazon would have the greatest impact in Atlanta. You could argue that Atlanta is the economic, cultural, and geographical center of the Southeastern United States. It has the busiest airport in the world and is a major rail hub. There are already dozens of major corporations headquaratered in Atlanta. There is no shortage of talent, with a top-5 engineering school in Georgia Tech. Yet there are things missing which…

But Raleigh, NC is in the Research Triangle?

The other way around, RTP is inside Raleigh, it sits between Raleigh and Durham

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#462

Post by alistairSH »

SaintGhurka wrote: post #435
ashelmire wrote: post #340

Part of me would love to have a big tech / infrastructure company like Amazon in Philly. But I take serious issue with the idea of the city paying millions or billions to bring them here, promising years of tax breaks (a free ride), and the tightening of an already very tight real estate and rental market. I don't think my fellow Philadelphians should have to pay to bring a company here that's just going to hire peop…

Why do you think they wouldn't hire current residents? Isn't this supposed to be a whole new HQ? I thought they had said it would be 50,000 NEW jobs. Philadelphia has a 6% unemployment rate. Don't you think HQ2 might drive that down some? Here in Dallas, there has been a stream of companies moving headquarters in from out of state. Even though they are bringing their people with them, they wind up scouring the landsc…

Philly doesn't have 50,000 skilled, but unemployed, residents waiting around for Amazon.

Sure, some locals will quit their jobs and work for Amazon. And some may come off the unemployment list. But, the majority will need to be brought into the area, which causes congestion, drives up real estate values and rent, etc.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#463

Post by 8note »

speby wrote: post #341
slg wrote: post #297

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I'm scared to see the numbers of "incentives" that local politicians try and hand out to Amazon. There's little evidence that the public money used/lost will ever be recouped. It is a classic example of the winner's curse[1]. If Amazon is auctioning off the HQ for tax breaks, the government that wins is likely going to overestimate the value that winning the bid will provide. Those odds greatly increase when you thr…

Yep, this is a common case with everyone's favorite repeat offender: Which city gets to host the Olympics? And that has been shown, time and again, to be a huge money loser and not at all something that invigorates the economy or somehow makes a city "more legit" in the global sphere. It is, at best, symbolic and at worst, charitable [on the part of the host city].

Calgary made money on the olympics; our HQ2 bid isn't shortlisted though

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#464

Post by OrwellianChild »

dragonwriter wrote: post #449
SaintGhurka wrote: post #435

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think they wouldn't hire current residents? Isn't this supposed to be a whole new HQ? I thought they had said it would be 50,000 NEW jobs. Philadelphia has a 6% unemployment rate. Don't you think HQ2 might drive that down some? Here in Dallas, there has been a stream of companies moving headquarters in from out of state. Even though they are bringing their people with them, they wind up scouring the landsc…

> Philadelphia has a 6% unemployment rate. Don't you think HQ2 might drive that down some? It might drive it up , if the tax incentives and other provisions required to secure it mean it's not paying for it's fair share of shared infrastructure, so that either overall infrastructure crumbles or is paid for by others (through higher overall taxes), either of which can drive other businesses away.

I'm sorry, but this is economically faulty reasoning... Intensification of development creates external growth. More people making more money on new jobs and spending it into the economy boosts everyone else.

You are conflating concerns about infrastructure (which is a government expenditure) with job growth. HQ2 in Philly (or anywhere else) would add to government coffers, both directly (from wage tax, etc.) and indirectly (from property taxes, wage tax from non-Amazon business growth, etc.). The only way infrastructure would "crumble" is if the government doesn't properly direct some of its windfall towards maintaining it.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#465

Post by selectodude »

mindcrime wrote: post #446
selectodude wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What an odd list of restaurants.

What an odd list of restaurants. Oh? How so? On a related (sad) note, at least two restaurants in Chicago that I used to love are closed now: Bombay Spice, and Dragon Ranch Moonshine & BBQ. That and the Resa's location near River North. :-(

Other than Au Cheval, they’re just all pretty average places, I guess. Chicago has the best food scene in the country, I just haven’t ever equated Petterinos, which is considered a mediocre place that has a good pre-theater show menu, with that scene.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#466

Post by reaperducer »

chollida1 wrote: post #3

Nice to see Toronto on the list, though game theory suggest that we're only here because having a Canadian Candidate has the potential to have all 3 levels of government involved rather than just state and city. I'm not really sure how to go about handicapping the finalists. Given the current political climate, Toronto is interesting because it's the only city that gives Amazon some escape form the US government. You…

> land in the downtown core to build on, this might eliminate New York?

I saw one analysis that said New York could easily handle Amazon's space requirements with existing Class A vacancies. The problem is that it's not contiguous. But then, neither are Amazon's offices in Seattle.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#467

Post by 0xJRS »

onychomys wrote: post #24

I'm surprised to see Miami make the list, since they're going to have so much work to do over the next 50 years to deal with rising sea levels. I'm not at all sure that the city will still exist in its modern form in 2050, and surely Amazon is planning that far out too.

I'm surprised to see it as well, and assume it will be one of the first to get crossed off. I worked near Ft Lauderdale/Miami for awhile and its just too small of an area and very expensive already.

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#468

Post by ancientworldnow »

saosebastiao wrote: post #179
brewdad wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With the added bonus of it being completely underwater within 50 years!

Meh, the Dutch solved that problem hundreds of years ago.

The Dutch didn't have to worry about living over porous limestone that floods directly out of the ground (sea walls or not).

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#469

Post by OrwellianChild »

mozumder wrote: post #369
ashelmire wrote: post #340

Part of me would love to have a big tech / infrastructure company like Amazon in Philly. But I take serious issue with the idea of the city paying millions or billions to bring them here, promising years of tax breaks (a free ride), and the tightening of an already very tight real estate and rental market. I don't think my fellow Philadelphians should have to pay to bring a company here that's just going to hire peop…

It's not enough for government to sit back and assume tax dollars are going to cover economic growth. Government needs to be active in participating in growth, and that includes understanding what businesses need from their business plans and assisting them in becoming successful - from startups to large businesses. Jobs are the goal for this competition. They're the prize. Be thankful that governments are participat…

I would really like to know why this is getting downvoted... The reasoning here is sound - jobs create economic growth. These governments are forgoing a portion of the tax income that currently does not exist but would be gained by Amazon's arrival in exchange for getting Amazon to come in the first place. This is not an Olympic Games or a sports stadium that benefits very few individuals economically. This is a project that will dramatically shape the city chosen for the better (economically).

Re: Amazon announces candidate cities for HQ2

#470

Post by dsr_ »

southphillyman wrote: post #374
ashelmire wrote: post #340

Part of me would love to have a big tech / infrastructure company like Amazon in Philly. But I take serious issue with the idea of the city paying millions or billions to bring them here, promising years of tax breaks (a free ride), and the tightening of an already very tight real estate and rental market. I don't think my fellow Philadelphians should have to pay to bring a company here that's just going to hire peop…

Some context that might further illustrate OP concerns: -Philadelphia already has major funding issues despite several unpopular taxes like the wage tax and soda tax -Recently went through a huge gentrification cycle spurred in part by a 10 year tax abatement given to new construction or rehabs -The city has already given huge tax incentives to another major corporation, Comcast. What you have is a city that recently…

Whereas if they offered Philly a package including a Bezos Free Library system, Kindle FireHouses, and SchoolsByAmazon across the metro area, they could own the city for decades.
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