Your explanation might be correct, but that's not what many cities offered Amazon. Most offered comprehensive packages that offered to subsidize wages and const

Your explanation might be correct, but that's not what many cities offered Amazon. Most offered comprehensive packages that offered to subsidize wages and construction, improve infrastructure, etc. on top of the basic tax credit you refer to. The city would likely be out any of the money it put up for infrastructure upgrades if Amazon had bailed on them. Montgomery County, Maryland offered an $8.5B incentive, which included $2B in infrastructure & transportation improvements around the HQ site. If Amazon had pulled out, $2B went towards optimizing an area that's no longer a job center. Philadelphia's incentive included $1.1B for essentially the same function. Atlanta offered $2.2B in infrastructure investment.[0] [0]: https://slate.com/technology/2018/11/amazon-hq2-incredible-incentives-losing-cities-offered.html https://slate.com/technology/2018/11/amazon-hq2-incredible-i...