November 15, 2018. In continuation with the lukewarm reception of Amazon’s plan to relocate their HQ to New York City, multiple government watchdogs and economic development experts weigh in on whether the decision will give the expected results. New York City beat out dozens of other cities, some that offered incentive packages even more lucrative than the one on the table here. Many city residents and elected officials aren’t convinced that the multi-billion dollar offer is worth it, and that some say the state shouldn’t subsidize one of the richest companies, while others argue that no company should receive perks.
In an interview panel on Capital Tonight, Ron Deutsch, Executive Director of the Fiscal Policy Institute, states that, “I think it’s emblematic with what’s wrong with our economic development system, right? This was all done in secret, it’s all done behind closed doors. We don’t know what we don’t know often times. The Governor is cutting these deals with Amazon. He’s bypassing the New York City council to a certain degree to get this done, yet time after time after time, we look at these deals that have been done. And there isn’t the multiplier effect that they always claim. The number of jobs never meet the expectation either.
Here is the link to the interview panel on Capital Tonight on Spectrum Local News.