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This is the same logic I've heard when 'selling' malls to the local community. The ruthless answer is, 'There will always be someone cheaper and better than yo

This is the same logic I've heard when 'selling' malls to the local community. The ruthless answer is, 'There will always be someone cheaper and better than you. Just give it time.' Do not forget that capitalism attempts to seek the bottom at all times. Right now, Aliexpress is cheaper than Amazon by a long shot. Ebay is cheaper on certain goods. Other area-specific upstarts are challenging Amazon in their own ways. And Amazon has significant problems with counterfeits everywhere in their supply chain due to gross mismanagement. I would much rather go to a local business, and pay a bit more, than to deal with some of the online businesses. But the deal city and state governments make is to value the $BigCo, and not the small business.

jessaustin 9y ago
Amazon isn't going away anytime soon, but when they do, they won't leave Brainerd a worthless 23-acre mall in their wake.
- crankylinuxuser 9y ago
  And I would argue that, yes, they would. More and more Amazon Distribution centers are being opened up. I know of 2 offhand from my location within an hour each direction. I don't know exactly how big the facilities are, but I do know they're massive. I also know that they 'process' workers horrendously. Timed bathroom breaks, quick firing over trivial matters. In essence, they make walmart look like a saint with regards to employer practices. Worse yet, the communities fight crazily over getting that Amazon warehouse. 10 year tax abatements are only the beginning of the 'bargains' made on the taxpayers' backs. Donated land is another gimmie, as is subsidy of city-related services. All this is on the hopes that workers will pay tax. And it amounts to a bad deal for everyone, well, except for Amazon.
  - closeparen 9y ago
    Sure, but warehouses are placed such that they can revert to open fields rather than leaving craters in city centers.
    - crankylinuxuser 9y ago
      True, the warehouses can be re-greened. But what the Walmarts and warehouses and these kinds of businesses do, is destroy the local businesses. And when the walmarts shutter or move away, or when the factories close, what are we left with? We're left with few local businesses, higher unemployment, and a dying community.
      - closeparen 9y ago
        If retail is the economic backbone of a community, it’s screwed anyway.
  - jessaustin 9y ago
    Oh sure it's stupid to give Amazon incentives for warehouse locations. (If only there were a higher-level entity that could govern the short-sighted actions of municipalities so that they could coexist in a more prosperous state...) The point is that the warehouses they're getting aren't white elephants like old malls are. A warehouse doesn't need a huge utilities build-out, and it doesn't require a valuable location. Warehouses will always be needed, and as long as Amazon owns them they'll have up-to-date tech.

jessaustin 9y ago

Amazon isn't going away anytime soon, but when they do, they won't leave Brainerd a worthless 23-acre mall in their wake.

crankylinuxuser 9y ago
And I would argue that, yes, they would. More and more Amazon Distribution centers are being opened up. I know of 2 offhand from my location within an hour each direction. I don't know exactly how big the facilities are, but I do know they're massive. I also know that they 'process' workers horrendously. Timed bathroom breaks, quick firing over trivial matters. In essence, they make walmart look like a saint with regards to employer practices. Worse yet, the communities fight crazily over getting that Amazon warehouse. 10 year tax abatements are only the beginning of the 'bargains' made on the taxpayers' backs. Donated land is another gimmie, as is subsidy of city-related services. All this is on the hopes that workers will pay tax. And it amounts to a bad deal for everyone, well, except for Amazon.
- closeparen 9y ago
  Sure, but warehouses are placed such that they can revert to open fields rather than leaving craters in city centers.
  - crankylinuxuser 9y ago
    True, the warehouses can be re-greened. But what the Walmarts and warehouses and these kinds of businesses do, is destroy the local businesses. And when the walmarts shutter or move away, or when the factories close, what are we left with? We're left with few local businesses, higher unemployment, and a dying community.
    - closeparen 9y ago
      If retail is the economic backbone of a community, it’s screwed anyway.
- jessaustin 9y ago
  Oh sure it's stupid to give Amazon incentives for warehouse locations. (If only there were a higher-level entity that could govern the short-sighted actions of municipalities so that they could coexist in a more prosperous state...) The point is that the warehouses they're getting aren't white elephants like old malls are. A warehouse doesn't need a huge utilities build-out, and it doesn't require a valuable location. Warehouses will always be needed, and as long as Amazon owns them they'll have up-to-date tech.