Amazon’s 2nd Headquarters - Today is the Proposal Deadline

#HQ2 #AmazonHQ2

Over 100 cities across the US have been scrambling since last month to finish their proposals for them to host Amazon’s second headquarters. Amazon says the new location will equal its Seattle location, and it’s estimated to be a $5 billion project that could create up to 50,000 high-paying jobs.

Every major city in the US wants this. Why?

More jobs = more people working and earning  (decreased unemployment) = more people spending (stronger consumer economy) = happy people (happy constituents). And, happy consumers often consumer more, making this a self-fulfilling cycle at its best.

Hosting Amazon’s second headquarters can significantly stimulate the host city and state economies by causing a long term shift in potential. This is every politician's dream. So what are the city proposal writers doing to court Amazon?

They are creating proposals with every considerable tax incentive. Some of these incentive packages are so dramatic that they threaten to undermine the benefits of hosting Amazon's second location in the first place.

Hopefully we don’t have to wait too long to see which city is selected because determining the long term effects of hosting Amazon depends on many factors, including trends in urbanization, unemployment and education, as well as the political and legal frameworks that will support the chosen proposal.

Houston, Chicago, and Nashville are among the cities rumored to be at the top of Amazon's list. Although Houston already enjoys the reputation of a blossoming tech hub, this would bring tens of thousands of tech jobs to the Midwest, and, essentially bridge the east and west coasts.

This will be one of the most significant hiring spurts in the 21st century, and it is surely a sign of the tech giant's foothold in the economy. Wherever Amazon chooses to go, the US economy will benefit. This begs the question, who will be the next company to build an additional campus?