Amazon pulls out of plans to build headquarters in New York City

[MilwaukeeMike]

Just like to point out that AOC was elected in the district they were planning on building the headquarters in. So yeah, her voters voicing their disapproval is pretty dang important given they are the most impacted.

Ever heard the phrase 'Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner.'?
Two other questions....
1) How much worse off would those against the Amazon HQ really have been if Amazon had built a HQ there?
2) How much worse off are those who won't be getting a job at the new HQ?

Sometimes a little inconvenience for the majority is worth a HUGE benefit for a minority.

 

[Evernessince]

Yes, I did know the Foxconn plant plans were on the rocks. 30 days after our new Democratic governor took over things started looking shaky (coincidence?) . So on 1/30/19 (the date from your story) things were looking bleak. Then Trump called up Terry Gou (head of Foxconn) and now the plans are back on. Here's a story from a few days after the one you linked.

I agree the numbers are hazy. Anytime someone says a nice round number like $27,000,000,000 over 10 years, it's probably +/- 150%. You also have no way to figure out how much tax the employees of Amazon would be paying if they all had different jobs. (which they now will).


Why do you think Amazon paid no tax? Just go check what they paid, they're a public company, you can look it up easily. in 2018 they had Income Before Tax of $11,270,000,000, and they paid $1,197,000,000 in tax. that's an effective rate of $10.5%. I get it - it doesn't match what that story is you linked. But I have trouble believing a story that doesn't explain why Amazon can say they are paying tax and really they're not. If they're not, then what the heck is that $1.1 Billion on their financial statement all about?

Those are from state taxes. The article I linked specifically involved federal taxes. That's why I made sure to mention federal specifically. 10.5% is below what even the poor pay and that's not including state taxes as well. Amazon is not poor yet they pay less as a percentage then the poorest. If Amazon is paying $1.1 billion across the entire US in 1 year, how is it going to generate $27 billion in new york over the course of the contract?

It will also be interesting to see how many of those jobs are employing Americans, as that article specifically mentions their plans to bring in Chinese nationals for the engineering jobs.

Ever heard the phrase 'Democracy is two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner.'?
Two other questions....
1) How much worse off would those against the Amazon HQ really have been if Amazon had built a HQ there?
2) How much worse off are those who won't be getting a job at the new HQ?

Sometimes a little inconvenience for the majority is worth a HUGE benefit for a minority.

Don't forget that you also have to consider that $3 billion in tax money isn't suddenly gone. If they want to create jobs there are plenty of public works projects that are needed in new york (and everywhere in the US given the crumbling infrastructure). Spending government money is like making an investment, you want to pick the one that gives you the most return with the lowest risk possible. I can't say whether or not Amazon was a good risk / opportunity as I don't have access to the number, all I can say is that NY is not without other options. Here's a list of startups in NY: https://www.builtinnyc.com/2018/01/16/50-nyc-startups-watch-2018

 

[wiyosaya]

So on 1/30/19 (the date from your story) things were looking bleak. Then Trump called up Terry Gou (head of Foxconn) and now the plans are back on. Here's a story from a few days after the one you linked.

Apparently, things are still up in the air with Foxconn - https://badgerherald.com/news/2019/...t-despite-considerations-to-pull-out-of-deal/

 

[MilwaukeeMike]

Those are from state taxes. The article I linked specifically involved federal taxes.

Good call - I didn't think of that. But it's not completely true then for Fortune magazine to say 'Amazon pays no tax.'

Don't forget that you also have to consider that $3 billion in tax money isn't suddenly gone. If they want to create jobs there are plenty of public works projects that are needed in new york (and everywhere in the US given the crumbling infrastructure). Spending government money is like making an investment, you want to pick the one that gives you the most return with the lowest risk possible.

Yes! This is exactly the point! The $3 Billion isn't gone - it just isn't received. And the govt is supposed to find the best way to spend it's money on jobs. But that's exactly what these deals are! The govt is spending money (by offering tax credits) on jobs. Instead of creating jobs themselves, they are essentially 'paying' Amazon to do it.

Why is it that when the govt spends money to create jobs we think they're doing their job, but when they pay a company to create jobs people freak out? I can guarantee you people would rather work at Amazon HQ than for the city of NY.

Apparently, things are still up in the air with Foxconn - https://badgerherald.com/news/2019/...t-despite-considerations-to-pull-out-of-deal/

No they're not - right now they aren't up in the air at all. A concerned democratic senator doesn't mean anything. The legislature in WI is still held by republicans who are in favor of Foxconn. (that isn't in the story though, since it sort of disproves the entire thing.)

You should know, the Badger Herald is more blue than Fox is red. Note how everyone quoted had a -D after their name? A senator is 'concerned' about what might happen if they pull out of the deal? Even though the headline of the story is 'Foxconn confirms they are building a plant?! that's speculation over unlikely events. It's not news.

As for the people who lost their homes - they lost their homes, but they received like 3x the market value for them. Foxconn made those farmers who lost their land millionaires overnight.