Yeah, she gets it. On Monday the Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon would be supplementing its original headquarters in Seattle with installations in New York’s Long Island City, a neighborhood in the borough of Queens, and Arlington, Va.’s County’s Crystal City.
The company, second in value only to Apple, surged 35% this year. The two new headquarters will add 25,000 new jobs to their areas combined.
To most people, and especially politicians, who devote part of their energies to attempting to makie such deals a reality, this is great news. But not to Democratic wunderkind Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who tweeted in reaction to the news:
Will this presidential election be the most important in American history?
Amazon is a billion-dollar company. The idea that it will receive hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks at a time when our subway is crumbling and our communities need MORE investment, not less, is extremely concerning to residents here.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 13, 2018
And she’s not the only one who sees the obvious downside. She subsequently tweeted:
We’ve been getting calls and outreach from Queens residents all day about this.
The community’s response? Outrage. https://t.co/Jl4OIfa4gC
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 13, 2018
So the people who voted for her are about as smart as she is. Sorta makes sense.
But just to show you she’s really thinking about this, she further writes:
When we talk about bringing jobs to the community, we need to dig deep:
– Has the company promised to hire in the existing community?
– What’s the quality of jobs + how many are promised? Are these jobs low-wage or high wage? Are there benefits? Can people collectively bargain?— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) November 13, 2018
What’s that expression about a gift horse? Apparently, Ocasio-Cortez isn’t aware that new jobs — even if they are not awarded to local residents — create other jobs in the area. New restaurants are likely to open to accommodate the heightened lunchtime traffic from the addition of 12,500 warm bodies to the local workforce. The new workers will also need places to live — something she in particular should identify with — which means new revenues from apartment rental and home sales.
Last July, DNC Chairman Tom Perez said that Ocasio-Cortez is “the future of the Democratic Party.” God, I sure hope he’s right.
(h/t The Daily Wire)
