{"version":"1.0","type":"rich","provider_name":"Acast","provider_url":"https://acast.com","height":250,"width":700,"html":"<iframe src=\"https://embed.acast.com/$/5e309ca47cd7f6767ff252f3/5e309d08fc41229846fb3cf8?\" frameBorder=\"0\" width=\"700\" height=\"250\"></iframe>","title":"Is Amazon HQ2 Worth it?","description":"<p><img width=\"724\" height=\"483\" class=\"b-lazy\" data-src=\"/sites/libertarianism.org/files/is_amazon_hq2_worth_it.jpg\" src=\"data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" /></p><p>If you live in NYC, Washington DC, or Nashville, TN, Amazon is coming to town. But unlike Santa Claus, Amazon’s new headquarters locations are arriving on a raft of subsidies instead of a sleigh. State and local governments offered billions of dollars in tax rebates and cash grants in order to woo the company.</p><p>If everything goes according to plan, Amazon HQ2 might generate a budget surplus for DC and NYC, but, as many cities that have courted companies through special tax breaks have found over the years, that is a big “if.” And there are serious questions to be asked about the wisdom of allowing individual companies to have so much power over setting regulatory policy.</p><p>Are the greater-Arlington residents excited about Amazon? Should they be worrying about this type of gentrification? What does zoning policy affect when a company like Amazon enters your city? Do libertarians think that the way that Amazon handled their HQ2 search is appropriate? Is the Amazon location debate a question of fairness?</p><h2>Further Reading:</h2><p><a href=\"https://www.amazon.com/Incentives-Pander-Politicians-Corporate-Political/dp/1108418902\">Incentives to Pander: How Politicians Use Corporate Welfare for Political Gain (Business and Public Policy)</a>, written by Nathan M. Jensen and Edmund J. Malesky</p><p><a href=\"https://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/attract-businesses-amazon-lean-government-not-pork\">Attract Businesses like Amazon with Lean Government, Not Pork</a>, written by Vanessa Brown Calder & Chris Edwards</p><p><a href=\"https://www.cato.org/blog/how-can-new-york-city-northern-virginia-prepare-amazon-hq2\">How Can New York City and Northern Virginia Prepare for Amazon HQ2?</a>, written by Vanessa Brown Calder</p><p><a href=\"https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/commentary/what-could-states-and-municipalities-have-done-amazon-hq2-money\">What Could States and Municipalities Have Done with That Amazon HQ2 Money?</a>, written by Michael Farren and Anne Philpot</p><h2>Related Content:</h2><p><a href=\"https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/the-pursuit\">The Pursuit</a>, A Podcast Hosted by Tess Terrible</p><p><a href=\"https://www.libertarianism.org/media/free-thoughts/how-powerful-captured-economy\">How the Powerful Captured the Economy</a>, Free Thoughts Podcast</p><p><a href=\"https://www.libertarianism.org/media/free-thoughts/how-government-housing-policy-distorts-american-dream\">How Government Housing Policy Distorts the American Dream</a>, Free Thoughts Podcast</p>","author_name":"Libertarianism.org"}