Open thread for night owls: Cities offer tax breaks to lure Amazon—but the return is unclear
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A new Amazon fulfillment center is coming to Fresno, California after city leaders promised the company up to $30 million in tax breaks. But as the Fresno Bee reports, it's not clear that those tax incentives will result in any benefit for the city providingOpen thread for night owls: Cities offer tax breaks to lure Amazon—but the return is unclear
A new Amazon fulfillment center is coming to Fresno, California after city leaders promised the company up to $30 million in tax breaks. But as the Fresno Bee reports, it's not clear that those tax incentives will result in any benefit for the city providing them. In the Economic Policy Institute's report entitled «Unfulfilled Promises,» EPI economist Ben Zipperer and economic analyst Janelle Jones concluded that on average, «Amazon's fulfillment centers are ineffective at providing net job growth.» [...] But the EPI researchers suggest that in a community's overall economy, the effects of an Amazon warehouse coming to town may not be all they're cracked up to be. The overall number of people employed in a county after Amazon arrives is relatively flat when compared to before the company opened a center. In the report, the EPI economists offer two possible explanations: «That the jobs created in the warehouse and storage sector are offset by job losses in other industries, or that the employment growth generated by Amazon is too small to meaningfully detect in the data.» TOP COMMENTS • HIGH IMPACT STORIES • THE WEEK’S HIGH IMPACT STORIES TWEET OF THE DAY xThis man is not a hero. https://t.co/4eT5FCgeq2— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) March 18, 2018 BLAST FROM THE PAST On this date at Daily Kos in 2011—GOP Wall Street reform repeal efforts moving forward: We knew this was coming, the Republicans' latest not-job creating legislation to roll back Wall Street reform. Because, hey, what's a little global financial meltdown between friends? Why should Wall Street have to be accountable? […] Of course, they're not proposing putting anything in its place. They don't do policy, they only do dismantling. But, as Greg Sargent says, they're approaching this one more cautiously, and certainly more quietly, than they did health reform repeal. That's because Wall Street is still hugely unpopular and untrusted. As Greg says, «[t]his one could provide another chance to draw a very clear contrast between the parties—on turf that may be a bit more favorable to Dems than health care repeal or spending.» For that to happen, Dems—including the White House—need to make a lot of noise about it. Monday through Friday you can catch the Kagro in the Morning Show 9 AM ET by dropping in here, or you can download the Stitcher app (found in the app stores or at Stitcher.com), and find a live stream there, by searching for "Netroots Radio.” LINK TO DAILY KOS STORE Read more