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Thank you for articulating this, @PKop... All of this negative sentiment around Amazon's impacts in Seattle and now HQ2 are missing the strikingly obvious benef
by OrwellianChild 9y ago
Thank you for articulating this, @PKop... All of this negative sentiment around Amazon's impacts in Seattle and now HQ2 are missing the strikingly obvious benefits of having a top-notch employer in town.
Good jobs are the lifeblood of any community, and Amazon has provided them in spades in Seattle in a way that is far from extractive. They buy land and build on it and have transformed South Lake Union from a dead, dangerous warehouse district into a thriving neighborhood in ten years time. [1]
Almost all of the "problems" that Seattle faces due to Amazon's presence are problems that hundreds of towns would gladly take in exchange for the tens of thousands of high-end jobs that would bolster their community. [2]
[1] https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/amazons-south-lake-union-turf-do-you-recognize-this-place/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/amazons-south...
[2] See map after article for current HQ2 bids. https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/georgia-town-offers-to-create-a-new-city-named-amazon-in-hq2-bid/ https://www.seattletimes.com/business/amazon/georgia-town-of...
- yahna 9y agoSeattle does face real problems with housing prices and poor transit infrastructure.
- OrwellianChild 9y agoAgreed, but I think we would much rather have these problems and the Amazon jobs rather than no Amazon jobs.
- PKop 9y agoThere are so many communities across the US that have much bigger problems. Like lack of jobs, population loss, budget shortfalls, unsustainable public pension benefits, opiate epidemics. For many, giving up some taxes from a company that isn’t currently there is a no brainer.