@twoinanddone-How long would they not be taxed for? From when they move to the new city to when they start work. So…like a week or two? Think about how much they’ll pay once they start work. Surely that’ll make up for the week or two spent “untaxed”…
I watched the Bourdain episode and thought it was great. It focused on the areas around Pittsburgh that are still depressed. I think Pittsburgh is awesome, but there are still depressed areas in/around the city.
I have spent the past 5 years learning from contemporary art students whose work focuses on social issues. I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and now what I do know has opened my eyes to social injustice. It’s out there, and it isn’t always readily apparent - you have to look beneath the surface.
When change comes in a way that will disenfranchise those who can least afford the upheaval, it is important to intentionally plan for the well-being of those persons. I watched a program about the jobs program the owner of the Atlanta Falcons has put in place, and I thought it was awesome - if you make a lot of money off a city, you should give back to that city in ways that are meaningful for its citizens. I would love for the tables to be turned, so that companies like Amazon would have to tell cities what they will do for the people who currently live there before they would be allowed to set up shop. I know it doesn’t work like that, but I have gotten socially aware in my old age.
" I would love for the tables to be turned, so that companies like Amazon would have to tell cities what they will do for the people who currently live there before they would be allowed to set up shop. I know it doesn’t work like that, but I have gotten socially aware in my old age."
I’ve been thinking about this, too. Is Amazon the type that invests in community projects? Are Amazon employees the type that give back locally, not just monetarily (which would be nice) but also of their time and skills?
Of course Amazon and similar companies, and their employees, engage in community service activities and other ways to give back to their community. https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/svh2mtbqnw438cb
Click the link for the list of hundreds of community service projects and donations
“How long would they not be taxed for?”
There is a lag time, and it could be up to a year for a city or state to work those new taxes to be received into the budgets. Denver has what they call a ‘head tax’ and it’s about $2 per employee per month. It is to cover cost of workers who come into the city to work, using the roads and toilets and basic wear and tear. Employers collect it and may only pay it once a year (or never, some employers are very bad about paying it). Some employees don’t pay their state income tax until Oct of the year after they work. State budget is made during the legislative session and usually goes into effect July 1, so that’s almost a two year lag. Property taxes are paid in Feb and May. Schools census day is Oct 1, so if a student is added to the class any day after Oct 1, the school ‘carries’ that student for a year without state funding.
@doschicos, IMHO Amazon has not been a particularly good corporate citizen in Seattle. They sometimes get shamed into doing stuff, but compared to other large corps supporting their communities, not that great.
@intparent Thanks for the insight from someone living in Amazon country. I know all corps do some donating and many employee bases do volunteer work but corps have different cultures and some embrace it and actively encourage it much more than others.
Amazon as a corporate citizen has not been very community-friendly, especially if you compare it to other established tech giants like Microsoft.
I also find that Amazon quote reminiscent of the college applicant who tries to make something big and meaningful out of smaller, random efforts.
Haha. Yup, especially the “coaching little league” teams part. 
I grew up in Pittsburgh and still return regularly. I did think the Bourdain piece was interesting. I enjoyed seeing the Bloomfield and Braddock scenes. The car show scene in New Alexandria seemed pretty random and out of place, since it is over 30 miles from Pittsburgh. In general, the show might have benefited from a little more balance.
Compared to Microsoft and Boeing, Amazon is terrible at supporting the community. Boeing gives a tremendous amount of direct support to area organizations. Microsoft gives directly and matches their employees’ donations dollar-for-dollar, and donates $25 for every hour volunteered. Bezos has made it a point he is not interested.
^ Amazon, unlike Boeing/Microsoft, has always been cursed with razor thin profits though, which perhaps means that they just don’t have a lot of extra cash to throw around the community.
Who’s the richest man in the world?
Amazon’s profit margin has been better the last few years but really, IMO, its profit margin and cash flow are strategic.
First of all, there is a difference between a company donating, and an individual person donating… does that even need to be stated??
Second, Bezos has the highest net worth, but that includes his ownership of Amazon and all of its assets… it’s not the same as liquid cash in the bank.
That doesn’t really answer the question of why they do not contribute much to the community. Also, their last quarterly profit was 0.57%, and their profitability is still pretty unstable…
http://money.cnn.com/2017/07/27/technology/business/amazon-earnings/index.html
Because they throw gobs of money at “flyer” projects. Their choice – but they’ve chosen not to make much investment in a city that they’ve damaged in a lot of ways.
Which all begs the question, why do cities want them? If they have to give big tax breaks and provide bike paths and other incentives, how will the cities be making much money off Amazon?
I thought the cities that did little were on the right path (like Minneapolis).
For areas with a state and especially a city income tax, that could bring in some revenue. I’m not a huge proponent of trickle down economics but a chunk of those healthy salaries will be spent locally resulting in opportunities for local businesses and labor.
There is a balance and communities do need to find the right balances. Many proposals didn’t contain a whole lot of tax cuts/financial incentives.