Thread by @smc90

finally read the scarlet letter (i.e., publicly branding the bad moves and bad communications in NY re Amazon HQ), and it's as good as everyone said it was
governor.ny.gov/news/open-lett…

"While Amazon is not a unionized workforce, Amazon had agreed to union construction and service worker jobs that would have provided 11,000 thousand union positions.
...if one union becomes the enemy of other unions, the entire union movement - already in decline - is undermined"

"Companies assume rational, logical behavior and cannot spend months and millions of dollars on approvals if ultimately the road is a dead end."

"...distorting the facts of the agreement and mischaracterizing the tax subsidies as 'a cash giveaway'"

"We underestimated the effect of the opposition's distortions and overestimated the intelligence and integrity of local elected officials."

"The city and state 'gave' Amazon nothing. Amazon was to... pay the city and state $27 billion in revenues. The city... would provide up to $3 billion in tax relief, IF Amazon created the 25,000-40,000 jobs and thus generated $27 billion in revenue."

"You don't need to be the State's Budget Director to know that a nine to one return on your investment is a winner"

"The seventy percent of New Yorkers who supported Amazon... must learn that the silent majority... can lose to the vocal minority and self-interested politicians"

"Legislators must realize there is a difference between playing politics and responsibly governing."

"We are also proud of the unprecedented investments we make in education, healthcare, infrastructure and housing, but in order to fund them, we need a sustained tax base."

"The Governor [Cuomo] reminds us of the fact that 'to be a progressive, there must be progress'. The creation of opportunity and jobs is the engine that pulls the train and, as he also often says, 'the best social program is still a job'"

"Nothing was gained and much was lost. This should never happen again."