Could Atlanta be in the running for second Amazon headquarters? (Washington: eyeglasses, appliances)

[Atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Boston = liberal city in liberal state. State government will support increases taxes as will city, but won't infringe on free speech.

DC - very liberal, no state government to appeal to. Also, no senators or house members. People think Bezos wants political influence, so technically DC is the worst place. There will be NO Congress members for Bezos to lobby into favorable treatment.

Atlanta - liberal city (good for workers and attracting educated workers) but a very pro business city where leaders sometimes act almost like Republicans. State is republican so Amazon would get anti-worker benefits like right to work and lax requirements for oversight and what they have to provide (aka, no danger of forced paid parental leave laws at state level), but downside is the Republicans are so conservative at times it could lead to infringing on Amazon's rights, such as what happened with Delta and Bezos/Amazon may end up an enemy of the state government for something as simple as sponsoring a gay pride event.

Your last point about Atlanta is not warranted, because Coke and UPS supports the pride event.

[krogerDisco]

Originally Posted by Atlwarrior

I think people forget that Atlanta can also supply all the others professionals needed: accountants, lawyers, doctors, etc. We also have (Uber Pool and Lyftline) multi rideshare options. I’m not sure Raleigh and Pittsburgh can match that.

Don't see why not. Pittsburgh is known for its Eds and Meds economy, and Uber has a major research unit in Pittsburgh.

[Atlwarrior]

Originally Posted by krogerDisco

Don't see why not. Pittsburgh is known for its Eds and Meds economy, and Uber has a major research unit in Pittsburgh.

Just pool up Pittsburgh and Raleigh on the passenger App. It does not have many options( Uber and XL) like Atlanta: Uber X, Pool, Select, Black, XL

[citidata18]

Well this little nugget is interesting...

https://www.geekwire.com/2018/cities...ax-battle-map/

"The day of the vote, elected officials in cities across the country — including HQ2 contenders Austin, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Miami — signed an open letter urging the Seattle City Council to move forward with the tax, despite Amazon’s threats."

[MattCW]

Originally Posted by citidata18

Well this little nugget is interesting...

https://www.geekwire.com/2018/cities...ax-battle-map/

"The day of the vote, elected officials in cities across the country — including HQ2 contenders Austin, Dallas, Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Miami — signed an open letter urging the Seattle City Council to move forward with the tax, despite Amazon’s threats."

Now it's just getting petty and silly. This is what a non-thinking middle schooler sore over the jock putting the moves on his crush does. Do these cities want to be on Amazon's bad list?

[autolycus25]

Originally Posted by atltechdude

Guess I will have to take that back, after reading this article it looks like DC still has plenty of potential office space that can be added.

https://www.geekwire.com/2018/washin...-capital-find/

Yeah, there are tons of neighborhoods that are being converted from low rise or microsecond buildings to high rises. Lots and lots of additional land is available. It isn’t cheap land, but neither is land in Midtown Atlanta or even the Gulch. The only areas of DC that are really problematic are the areas immediately around the Capitol, Mall, and White House (if for no other reason than building height restrictions in those areas) and some of the residential areas to the west and northwest. North, NE, and South sides of town have a bunch of potential spots for a project like HQ2.

[Atlwarrior]

All of sudden I’m feeling good about Atlanta chances again.

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by Atlwarrior

All of sudden I’m feeling good about Atlanta chances again.

Why-ee?

[arjay57]

I remain optimistic that Amazon will put its second HQ here. The ATL offers more than just about any other city.

The question I have is this, however. What's the long term effect?

Take Sears, for instance. There's a good argument that they were the Amazon of their day. But they've been on life support for twenty years and announced just this week the closing of many more stores. Several of which are in the ATL, and which were heralded as exciting new developments only a few decades ago.

[citidata18]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I remain optimistic that Amazon will put its second HQ here. The ATL offers more than just about any other city.

The question I have is this, however. What's the long term effect?

Take Sears, for instance. There's a good argument that they were the Amazon of their day. But they've been on life support for twenty years and announced just this week the closing of many more stores. Several of which are in the ATL, and which were heralded as exciting new developments only a few decades ago.

The big difference between Sears and Amazon is that Sears was only a retailer. Amazon, through vertical integration, is now trying to become a big player in virtually every field (you name it: shipping/logistics, health care, film/television production, etc.)

Yes, every company eventually has its peak and decline, but that said, the goal IMO should be for a city to attract these type of high growth companies/industries and leverage them to elevate the city to the point that it's able to prosper without these companies.