Amazon – Good for Colorado?

“What we’re seeing is an increasing tendency for big companies to play this game saying, ‘okay, what will you give us?’.” — Dean Baker.

When Amazon.com issued a request for proposals to build a second headquarters, economic development teams from cities throughout the nation entered a contest many experts contend they may not want to win.

The co-founder of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker, offered his expertise regarding Amazon’s padded evolution through economic incentives which public officials at the local level assemble regularly to foster what they see as potentially beneficial to their communities with KGNU reporter Robin Ryan.

“What we’re seeing is an increasing tendency for big companies to play this game saying, ‘okay, what will you give us?’.”

The company Jeff Bezos directs has obtained more than $730 million in such benefits from municipalities nationwide since the millennium’s dawn.

There are more than ninety organizations listed as members of the Economic Development Council of Colorado and they converged at the Marriott in Vail earlier this week for a conference sponsored by Xcel Energy.

Marriott International now owns the conference center under construction in Aurora, a controversial project that’s expected to impact the city’s revenue streams for three decades, according to the massive $300 million in subsidies awarded to see the development through. It may have cost Xcel Energy $15,000 to underwrite this week’s ‘Drive Lead Succeed’ conference, which seems affordable, as compared to the $15 million in subsidies from the state of Colorado.