Amazon’s HQ 2 Search Continues Amid Opposition from Community Groups

“Amazon is certainly a mixed story at best because at the same time they are thriving, they are the single biggest driving force in the layoffs of brick and mortar retail.” — ~Greg Leroy, Executive Director of Good Jobs First.

The scramble cities vying to host Amazon’s second headquarters that began last fall reached another milestone earlier this month, with just under 10% of the original field of prospective locales remaining in play submitting their final proposals by the March 1st deadline.

Speculation as to what subset of dynamics will hold sway with the internet retail giant has been the meat of media matters for months with everything from overpriced housing markets to a concentration of academically inclined millennials being hailed as deal makers and or breakers.

The arc of Amazon’s success and popularity has drawbacks for communities in several states that have collectively given over a billion dollars in economic incentives to the company with publicly generated revenue over the last 10 years, contends Greg LeRoy, executive director of subsidy tracking website Good Jobs First.

LeRoy told KGNU’s Robin Ryan the company’s role in the loss of retail jobs is too central for economic developers to overlook as a cause in what would become known as the ‘retail apocalypse’, which is reported to have begun in 2015, and according to several reports about store closures, a dynamic many view as still in play.

“Amazon is certainly a mixed story at best because at the same time they are thriving, they are the single biggest driving force in the layoffs of brick and mortar retail.”

Amazon’s 2017 annual financial report reveals the company didn’t pay any taxes at the federal level despite earning some 5.6 billion dollars, which has aided in solidifying CEO Jeff Bezos’ position as the wealthiest person in the world.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download