As is often said, I don't have a "dog in the fight" so please don't think that I somehow do. In fact on some level I can understand & appreciate your disgust of cities "shamelessly offering tax dollars to one of the top value corporations owned by the richest man on earth". How does that make sense?
Good question. Is it possible that it does?
I know that we as people, you & I included, are often quick to ridicule what we do not understand. I've learned however that I can have a paradigm shift when I view things through the lens of another's eyes. So with that thought in mind, can I ask you a some "other view" questions?
Do you really think that those cities would be offering such tax benefits if they saw it as a losing proposition? Or is it possible that all those cities see a net value for them in terms of a return on their investment? And if so, isn't that net benefit actually in the common good for their communities?
------------------------------
Kim Otten AIA
The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society
Sioux Falls SD
------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 10-10-2017 09:17
From: Nikolaus Philipsen
Subject: Pimping for Amazon
The mad dash of cities across the nation to please a rich corporate suitor is as educational as it is obscene. The latter because public agencies from the state level all the way down to city departments are shamelessly offering tax dollars to one of the
top value corporations owned by the
richest man on earth and the company unashamedly asking for them.
|
| Almost any major US city imagines itself as ideal for HQ2 |
Educational because the spectacle shows how completely the powers have reversed. It used to be that economic development agencies wrote the specs for sites they wanted to offer for private development. Now it is the private corporation that writes the specs. It used to be that cities looked to private developers to pay part of the cost of new development through impact fees and adequate public facility ordinances. Now a powerful corporation not only expects top notch infrastructure transit but tax credits and benefits on top. It is educational to witness how ready our representatives are to give away the shop and how eager their minions are to comply.
As in the preparations for Roman gladiator shows, all decency and rules are shed in the thirst for blood. Cities and metro areas take their gloves off and are willing to use just about any weapon suitable to kill the competition even though they all know that what they are doing is self defeating.
Now finesse is set aside, and we have pure unadulterated murder. The combatants have no protective covering; their entire bodies are exposed to the blows. No blow falls in vain. This is what lots of people prefer to the regular contests, and even to those which are put on by popular request. And it is obvious why. There is no helmet, no shield to repel the blade. Why have armour? Why bother with skill? (The Roman philosopher and Senator Seneca after witnessing a gladiator fight)
It took only hours after Amazon announced their desire to find a location for their second flagship dubbed HQ2 that the first mayors, governors and development agency heads
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
Pimping for Amazon| Archplanbaltimore | remove preview |
| | Pimping for Amazon | | The mad dash of cities across the nation to please a rich corporate suitor is as educational as it is obscene. The latter because public age... | | View this on Archplanbaltimore > |
|
|
------------------------------
Nikolaus Philipsen FAIA
Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects
Baltimore MD
------------------------------