Amazon HQ? (Philadelphia, Washington: property tax, vs, reassessment)

[Duderino]

Just remember that change is inevitable, folks. Philly politicians can still be regressive and small-minded, but it also has a treasure trove of progressive, visionary and community-minded citizens that will continue to push things in the right direction, especially as the city continues on its current trajectory.

It's sometimes a frustrating, grueling, and "two steps forward, one step back" type of process, but I think the collective memory is sometimes too short. Even politically, the the city has come a very long way in the past 20 years in terms of transparency, vision, and addressing quality-of-life issues holistically.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

I do actually agree with you. On paper Philadelphia is a near perfect fit, however our leadership is boring, uninspired, not the most educated, and they are more concerned about their well being and what they get rather then catering to Amazon, thinking outside of the box, and making the city more business and tax friendly. So I doubt the loss of Amazon will inspire leaders to change.

There' s plenty of leadership it's just not political unfortunately. How else do you think many of changes you do cheer about happened? Some of the tax issues are controlled by the PA legislature .

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Yet we have a council president who introduced a bill to double the amount of parking for new construction projects in the city. The city is not responsbile for the minimal amount of highways, the residents were the saving grace regarding the minimal impact of highways in our region, the Blue Route in Delaware County is probably one of the most famous examples of that.

I think problems in our leadership are much more complex then "fear of change"

And millenials, such as yourselves, can't get motivated enough to actually make change. Marching and public protesting are fine in and of itself. But, you have to run for office ( there are more registered independents in the city now that Reps), get your hands dirty, and push Boomers out of the way. Boomers will not move until you actually force the issues. Consider that Sanders, for instance, no matter what, will be dead soon. What will his type of supporters do then?

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by kyb01

There' s plenty of leadership it's just not political unfortunately. How else do you think many of changes you do cheer about happened? Some of the tax issues are controlled by the PA legislature .

That's a key point, especially in thinking about addressing infrastructure and taxes. Harrisburg is depressingly dysfunctional, and it's arguably been the worst problem facing all of Pennsylvania for a number of years.

Also, the federal government is almost equally to blame on infrastructure issues. For many years, it favored growing, highway-focused cities in the South and West, or "New Start" transit systems as opposed to legacy systems like SEPTA, and all-but-ignored the needs of post-industrial cities. This fostered even more of a backlog of infrastructure needs, and looking at Congress' current state of affairs, we shouldn't hold our breath for a breakthrough any time soon.

The antidote to all of this dysfunction is really for the Philly region to govern and tackle issues with its own funding much more regionally, but that's a heavy lift for the hundreds of fiefdoms in PA/NJ. It may be the only way for all large cities/metro areas to move forward.

[tom77falcons]

When Atlanta or Chicago are announced maybe then younger people here will get motivated to get involved. They tend to think everything is getting better and better here, and then when hit with the fact that a big progressive tech company chose a deep red conservative state like Georgia (Atlanta) they will be shocked hopefully.


http://www.philly.com/philly/busines...should-go.html

[AJNEOA]

Originally Posted by tom77falcons

When Atlanta or Chicago are announced maybe then younger people here will get motivated to get involved. They tend to think everything is getting better and better here, and then when hit with the fact that a big progressive tech company chose a deep red conservative state like Georgia (Atlanta) they will be shocked hopefully.


Interactive: If you were Amazon, which city would you pick for HQ2?

I agree with what you're saying except the implication that "red conservative state" is the reason. The reality is that even large cities in red states are mostly blue. And, Reps and Dems are both fiscally irresponsible. One claims to manage money better, but they both like to spend beyond their means (reps like war and big business). And I'm financially conservative.

[kidphilly]

Amtrak postpones search for 30th Street developer amid Amazon HQ pursuit


//www.city-data.com/forum/49695886-post184.html

//www.city-data.com/forum/49695886-post184.html

[BK_PHL_DEL]

My friend who works for Comcast heard from his contacts at Amazon that Detroit is the pick. Makes sense since Amazon would pretty much own Detroit and their airport has non-stop flights to Asia and Europe. He also agreed with the notion that Amazon is doing this HQ2 "search" to ramp up leverage for maximum tax breaks, benefits, etc. With time, we'll see if he is right.

[mslhu]

Originally Posted by BK_PHL_DEL

My friend who works for Comcast heard from his contacts at Amazon that Detroit is the pick. Makes sense since Amazon would pretty much own Detroit and their airport has non-stop flights to Asia and Europe. He also agreed with the notion that Amazon is doing this HQ2 "search" to ramp up leverage for maximum tax breaks, benefits, etc. With time, we'll see if he is right.

I can only imagine the uproar if Amazon gets hundreds of millions in incentives from the state of Michigan while Flint still has no drinking water.

Also, this: Detroit has America’s worst transit system. Could the Regional Transit Master Plan save it?

[briantroutman]

Originally Posted by BK_PHL_DEL

My friend who works for Comcast heard from his contacts at Amazon that Detroit is the pick.

Perhaps that’s true, although out of curiosity, I checked the Detroit board’s Amazon HQ thread, and somewhat ironically, here was the last comment (from about a week ago):

Originally Posted by MS313

With that being said, personally I suspect that Atlanta, Boston, Philly, Denver, or Texas will be the front runners. They have too much going for them.

If Detroit is the selection, Amazon’s doing a good job of keeping the news away from anyone who posts on the Detroit board.