As I note a lot here, Amazon gets billions of dollars in subsidies from state/local governments. It's very bad.

Also not so good is local news coverage of those deals, which often fails to grapple with the effects Amazon has on communities or why it chooses new locations. THREAD

Stories like this one, that are all about how SUPER EXCITING it is that Amazon decided to bring a new warehouse to a community, for nearly $150 million in incentives, are what local news consumers see: https://buffalonews.com/news/local/amazon-takes-mega-project-to-rochester-suburb-instead-of-grand-island/article_c3659252-5690-11eb-aeb6-0fd6669acba6.html

So @econliberties and @GoodJobsFirst wrote an easy-to-skim fact-sheet for local reporters covering Amazon's expansion, with key questions that should be asked and resources for further reading: https://www.economicliberties.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Factsheet_Amazon-is-coming-to-town_Final.pdf

Key points: Amazon locates where it does for business reasons: Places where there is a concentration of customers, transportation access, and higher disposable incomes. Not tax breaks.

Local incentives for Amazon give it a leg up over local small businesses, that are already finding it hard to compete in a pandemic.

Local news tends to portray Amazon warehouse jobs as a fantastic thing for the community: But these can be very bad jobs! Amazon's warehouses drag down overall wages and lead to scores of injuries, while not raising economic growth in any meaningful way.

Local news also tends to gloss over if there is any mechanism for a community to recoup money if Amazon breaks its promises. But that's an important facet of any deal!

More here at the link: We hope this can be a resource for local reporters, activists, and interested citizens to help them really find out what Amazon is up to when it comes to their town. /end https://www.economicliberties.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Factsheet_Amazon-is-coming-to-town_Final.pdf