Amazon pulling out of New York is a victory for New Yorkers. Now Congress should examine its monopolistic actions.
The decision by Amazon to stop pursuing $3 billion in financial incentives from New York to locate its "HQ2" in the state was one of most startling corporate about-faces in recent memory, and biggest shows of grassroots power over a massive corporation, a plethora of industry lobbyists and government officials.
Why did it come to this? In short, people are mad as hell and they aren't going to take it any more.
As a society, we are at an inflection point when it comes to both corporate welfare and monopoly power. Decades of the race to the bottom and corporate subsidies failing to deliver well-paying jobs — just look at the failed FoxxConn deal in Wisconsin or the constant shuffle of low-wage temp jobs in Ellwood, Ill. — have made the typical promises of a corporate welfare deal feel less real. The sheer scope of the Amazon incentive package felt abusive and obscene, especially when the state is facing a $2.3 billion budget shortfall.
Mom and pop shops paying taxes while Amazon got billions just to come to town didn't seem right, and, post-FoxxConn, people are less likely to fall for the promised jobs numbers. Corporate welfare is finally getting the black eye it always deserved.