just emailed the mayor, about Amazon

[redbird]

Amazon has just announced they won't be moving to Queens, onto land that had been (and I hope will be) designated for much-needed housing, because of local opposition. I just sent an email to the mayor of Somerville, saying that we don't want them here either. (Somerville had expressed interest, before Amazon picked New York and Virginia.)

I figure it can't hurt for them to hear from us now, before they start making public statements on the subject. ("They" also includes your local government, if you live somewhere else that tried to make this mistake.)

Here's the letter I sent Dear Mayor Curtatone,

Amazon has just announced that they won't be building a headquarters in New York CIty, because New York wouldn't give them a ridiculously generous subsidy and because New Yorkers disliked Amazon's anti-union policies.

The deal Amazon wanted would have taken up land that is supposed to be used for literally thousands of housing units, and cost about a million dollars in subsidies per job created. Somerville cannot afford to give them, or any company, that sort of deal--rather than a million dollars/job in subsidies, we could spend that money to hire more schoolteachers and road repair crews.

If Amazon says they are reopening the contest -- a race for the bottom -- for who will give this huge corpoeation the most money, Somerville should not re-enter the competition. If they want to move here, let them do so on the same terms as local businesses that pay their taxes.

Comments

[otter]

Even though I'm half a country away, Thank you for writing that letter.

*

[minoanmiss]

Well and truly said. /Besides, this might be me being too hopeful, but I don't think MA would let Amazon abuse its workers quite as wantonly as it is used to.