Being from New York and having followed this situation closely, I can say that this entire fiasco serves as a good example on how the politicians we elect _ought to_ protect their constituents from predatory corporate power.
However, this is not the case. Its mere political theatre as De Blasio and Cuomo pose for the cameras, as what matters is not the actual success they have achieved for the city in terms of job creation, but the _perceived_ success. That's how politics works. Otherwise some kind of protocol would exist to enforce, track and hold to account the job creation promises alleged by corporations or federal economic policies (NAFTA anyone?). How convenient that it does not exist. How convenient that we forget that as a private enterprise, Amazon has no obligations to the public.
The old tired adage "socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor" sounds about right. Supporters of Amazon can work out all the math they want to try to convince others (and mainly themselves) of any public benefit. When taxpayer dollars are diverted to corporate welfare, that's when we, the public, get those austerity policies that we love so much. All in exchange for the 25k high-paying jobs not applicable to the working and middle class folks who in addition, will no longer be able to afford living there and will be forced out.
There is no agency, governmental or private, in existence that subsequently measures or keeps tracks of these "job creation" promises. And in the very unlikely event that their broken promises do come to light, it will be explained away in the usual manner as to deflect (e.g. circumstances change, etc.).
Just remember one thing: At the end of the day Amazon is a private enterprise and it can and will do whatever they want and are accountable to no one.
Humdog's Pandora's Vox: https://gist.github.com/kolber/2131643
Every time I read it, it feels like the first time. I first read it one month before graduating with my undergrad CS degree and it profoundly changed me. She sure was ahead of her time.
As someone who suffered from a major depressive episode that nearly cost me my life, I certainly acknowledge it as a serious disease no different than cancer.
But thinking of it purely in those terms implies that the development of depression can be attributed and therefore remedied by addressing chemical irregularities in the brain. I used to believe that. It put me under stress and fear that somehow, randomly, because of some defected biological mechanism, I would fall victim once again to another episode.
It took me years to finally understand that that's an oversimplification of a highly complex illness. The chemical irregularities that characterize depression are influenced more so by emotional stresses and the interaction of an individual within the social environment, than say, genetics (it can increase the probability of development, but it needs to be "activated" by the environment). I think the best way to approach depression would be to identify and understand the condition not in isolation, but contextually as a coping mechanism to the stresses surrounding us.
However, this is not the case. Its mere political theatre as De Blasio and Cuomo pose for the cameras, as what matters is not the actual success they have achieved for the city in terms of job creation, but the _perceived_ success. That's how politics works. Otherwise some kind of protocol would exist to enforce, track and hold to account the job creation promises alleged by corporations or federal economic policies (NAFTA anyone?). How convenient that it does not exist. How convenient that we forget that as a private enterprise, Amazon has no obligations to the public.
The old tired adage "socialism for the rich, capitalism for the poor" sounds about right. Supporters of Amazon can work out all the math they want to try to convince others (and mainly themselves) of any public benefit. When taxpayer dollars are diverted to corporate welfare, that's when we, the public, get those austerity policies that we love so much. All in exchange for the 25k high-paying jobs not applicable to the working and middle class folks who in addition, will no longer be able to afford living there and will be forced out.