Newark is an Amazon Finalist

"Companies who liked 'Newark' also liked ..."


This bidding process is a prime example (pun intended) of what's wrong with our priorities.  Cities and states are falling over each other to provide multi-billion dollar tax incentive packages while Amazon sits on billions in cash they won't have to spend.


And Jeff Bezos is the world's riches person primarily because he does give much of his money away. If you count what Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have and have transferred to foundations it far exceeds what Bezos has. But they have given a lot away.


I still hope Newark gets it. Amazon already has a presence there with Audible, so they know it's a fit.

Plus, I CAN'T WAIT until Amazon disrupts the pharmaceutical industry. They've been studying it for a few years, with an eye toward selling prescription drugs. Doing it in the major pharma state would be awesome. The most gigantic troll ever.


Amazon has been looking at distribution of drugs not development. Maybe they could use their distribution platform to hammer drug companies on pricing but that could run Amazon into some real trouble should they dictate pricing in an anti competitive manner.


In any case- good for Newark. What a thrill to see that many jobs and development. At the very least Newark should be proud that they made it this far. 


Ugh. News outlet I saw initially said Newark Philly NYC on list which is true... but so are 17 other cities. NJ coverage clickbait. Still great but a bigger field than I hoped.



Jackson_Fusion
said:

Amazon has been looking at distribution of drugs not development. Maybe they could use their distribution platform to hammer drug companies on pricing but that could run Amazon into some real trouble should they dictate pricing in an anti competitive manner.

Yes, of course distribution. That's where they can be effective in getting prices down. How could Rx pricing be any more anti-competitive than it is now??



shoshannah said:

...an eye toward selling prescription drugs. Doing it in the major pharma state would be awesome.

California?



RobB
said:

shoshannah said:

...an eye toward selling prescription drugs. Doing it in the major pharma state would be awesome.

California?

New Jersey!



Jackson_Fusion said:

Amazon has been looking at distribution of drugs not development. Maybe they could use their distribution platform to hammer drug companies on pricing but that could run Amazon into some real trouble should they dictate pricing in an anti competitive manner.




In any case- good for Newark. What a thrill to see that many jobs and development. At the very least Newark should be proud that they made it this far. 




Ugh. News outlet I saw initially said Newark Philly NYC on list which is true... but so are 17 other cities. NJ coverage clickbait. Still great but a bigger field than I hoped.



shoshannah said:



Jackson_Fusion
said:

Amazon has been looking at distribution of drugs not development. Maybe they could use their distribution platform to hammer drug companies on pricing but that could run Amazon into some real trouble should they dictate pricing in an anti competitive manner.

Yes, of course distribution. That's where they can be effective in getting prices down. How could Rx pricing be any more anti-competitive than it is now??

Well then, of course that wouldn’t do them in.


From a competitive standpoint, given the rumbling from most recently France regarding how Amazon impacts suppliers, nevermind distributors, in something as trivial as apparel and electronics, given the importance of drug development to society, not to mention their army of lobbiests, Amazon could end up with real regulatory problems if they disrupt too much.


When people speak of single payer I am not sure Amazon is the payer they had in mind.


In any case.... good for Newark.



Nice to see Newark on the list, but I'd be very surprised if they get it.

I'm not quite sure why but I like Indianapolis's chances.


even if Newark doesn't get the Amazon HQ, it's got to be great PR for the city that it made the first cut of 20 out of 238 bids.  Twenty-five years ago such an outcome would have been unthinkable.


Unfortunately, if people on the selection committee decide to make a NJ Transit trip between NYC and Newark, that likely will disqualify both cities. NJT is impressive in terms of number of riders and stations and in its reach, but I don't see how its performance issues (and the condition of NY Penn Station) can be ignored here.



shoshannah said:



RobB
said:

shoshannah said:

...an eye toward selling prescription drugs. Doing it in the major pharma state would be awesome.

California?

New Jersey!

Columbus OH (on the short list) has Cardinal health which is a big distributor so they they could get a two-for there if they acquired them 


Very good point. The governor himself has called NJT a "national disgrace".

apple44 said:

Unfortunately, if people on the selection committee decide to make a NJ Transit trip between NYC and Newark, that likely will disqualify both cities. NJT is impressive in terms of number of riders and stations and in its reach, but I don't see how its performance issues (and the condition of NY Penn Station) can be ignored here.



This gets me thinking. Maybe Bezos can build some tunnels and repair Penn Station. I kid you not. Let's call it Amazon-Penn Station. Let's see, there could be Amazon Dash buttons all over the walls and Amazon kiosks throughout the station. Every rider with a monthly pass gets Amazon Prime included. What else?


With Whole Foods already headquartered there I would put some of my money if not all of it on Austin. About as crunchy as you can expect in Texas to boot.


Amazon isn't exactly "sitting on" billions of cash.  If you look at their most recent balance sheet, they have $19 B in Cash; conversely they also have $25 B in outstanding Accounts Payable... Their Current Assets roughly equal their Current Liabilities in total.  Microsoft on the other hand has $ 161 B in Current Assets vs $ 52 B in Current Liabilities.  Amazon will be a juggernaut for decades and boon for any city and the surrounding communities.

Yay Newark.

yahooyahoo said:

This bidding process is a prime example (pun intended) of what's wrong with our priorities.  Cities and states are falling over each other to provide multi-billion dollar tax incentive packages while Amazon sits on billions in cash they won't have to spend.




lanky said:

Amazon isn't exactly "sitting on" billions of cash.  If you look at their most recent balance sheet, they have $19 B in Cash; conversely they also have $25 B in outstanding Accounts Payable... Their Current Assets roughly equal their Current Liabilities in total.  Microsoft on the other hand has $ 161 B in Current Assets vs $ 52 B in Current Liabilities.  Amazon will be a juggernaut for decades and boon for any city and the surrounding communities.

Yay Newark.
yahooyahoo said:

This bidding process is a prime example (pun intended) of what's wrong with our priorities.  Cities and states are falling over each other to provide multi-billion dollar tax incentive packages while Amazon sits on billions in cash they won't have to spend.

The state has nothing to lose here and much to gain.  Tax breaks are in the form of payroll taxes not paid by Amazon. The more jobs, the more they save.  But the workers still pay their share.  If this were to happen and go well, Newark would become a financial plus for the state.

  It really needs to emphasize Newark more than New York.  I want college educated Newark residents to get those jobs, not New Yorkers or suburban folks.


the tax breaks are a specified amount per person employed by Amazon in Newark.  If they don't end up creating the promised number of jobs in Newark, they don't get the full amount of the tax break.

I'm not usually in favor of these kind of tax incentives.  But for Newark, I think it makes sense.  And most of these will in fact be newly created jobs, and not jobs moved over the river from a neighboring state.


I'm a tech worker, and I live two blocks from the Christopher St PATH station, so this is good news for me. I could hang with my NJ peeps.



Tom_Reingold said:

I'm a tech worker, and I live two blocks from the Christopher St PATH station, so this is good news for me. I could hang with my NJ peeps.

Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want you getting the job.  I want Newark folks to get the jobs.  I know plenty of intelligent, driven, educated people in Newark who need those jobs more than someone who already has one.


I think that's a great intent, but a private company with huge ambitions really is going to hire what it deems to be the "best" talent, not based on where they were born or have lived. And being unemployed certainly isn't an advantage in most job searches.

It's possible that Amazon will choose a city like Newark because of the potential to revitalize it and reverse its decline. I'm just not optimistic that it's a primary motivation. It's not how they built their Seattle HQ, and I'm not sure why it would be a huge factor now.

I do recognize that its Audible business takes great pride in its Newark location, just am not sure how much of that attitude is shared by the Seattle folks.


Newark is not in decline. Newark is on the rise.  And it is very possible that the person serving you at your Starbucks took a bus there from Newark, and has a degree but can't get a foot in the door to a better job.  

   There are plenty of qualified people in the world who don't look like me, a middle aged white guy.


I don't disagree with you. I think it's just overly optimistic to think that Amazon will place a hiring focus on disadvantaged people beyond the diversity policies that many large companies already have. Also, most if not all of the other 19 cities also have intelligent and driven people who are looking for a break. 

Agree, "in decline" isn't accurate for Newark - maybe a better way of putting is it's not reaching its full potential.


I'm not saying that's why they will pick Newark.  I'm saying we should impress upon them our hope that locals will get real jobs there, not just cleaning up or serving food to privileged folks.



Shoshannah, I was thinking along the same lines: a public/private partnership upgrading transportation in a a major northeast hub might be enticing to a retail/finance guy in Bezos' position.  I don't have a problem with incentivizing an industry whose presence would so positively, directly and indirectly, impact a relatively struggling community.  Newark is an important city.  It deserves much more than it's gotten in the last 50 years (notwithstanding some important development in the last decade or so).



apple44 said:

I think that's a great intent, but a private company with huge ambitions really is going to hire what it deems to be the "best" talent, not based on where they were born or have lived. And being unemployed certainly isn't an advantage in most job searches.

It's possible that Amazon will choose a city like Newark because of the potential to revitalize it and reverse its decline. I'm just not optimistic that it's a primary motivation. It's not how they built their Seattle HQ, and I'm not sure why it would be a huge factor now.

I do recognize that its Audible business takes great pride in its Newark location, just am not sure how much of that attitude is shared by the Seattle folks.

If Amazon chooses Newark there's a good chance that it will be because of the huge amount of land that can be developed, and all of it within the center city.  I doubt many of the other finalists have the sheer amount of developable properties that close to mass transit.

If you look at the criteria Amazon set forth in their RFP, almost no other city checks as many boxes as Newark.  But I'm still skeptical that they are really giving much weight to anything besides access to cheap labor, cheap land, and low taxes.



annettedepalma said:

Shoshannah, I was thinking along the same lines: a public/private partnership upgrading transportation in a a major northeast hub might be enticing to a retail/finance guy in Bezos' position.  I don't have a problem with incentivizing an industry whose presence would so positively, directly and indirectly, impact a relatively struggling community.  Newark is an important city.  It deserves much more than it's gotten in the last 50 years (notwithstanding some important development in the last decade or so).

And Bezos likes a challenge. He bought the Washington Post and did a GREAT job with it, despite the initial skepticism. He turned a declining print newspaper into a digital powerhouse that is earning a profit. AND he stays out of the editorial side. If he can see Penn Station and the trains as media property, he can do well with it. Streaming WaPo news across in ticker inside the trains. Ads. Free Amazon music inside the trains.

Get Bezos on the horn for me!


A giant new corporate footprint in Newark can't be anything but a good thing for our area, which is a short train and car ride away. Not counting on it though. 


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