posted by gut
People bitch or don't bitch because 95% of them are clueless about economics.
$1B in tax incentives vs. $20B or whatever in income taxes generated....easy to do the math (except most people also suck at math). But most people, especially on the left side of the aisle, wrongly think about it as a corporate welfare, and the talking points they read don't mention the economic benefits. To them, just another handout to an evil, greedy company - the memes write themselves...
Most people don't care one way or the other because it doesn't affect them. Some, near the actual HQ, have legit complaints about increased traffic and higher rent (unless you own, in which case your home value just skyrocketed).
I could be wrong, but outside of wacko Ocasio, I thought this was the main reason for outrage. Other than the tax credits, this seems to be the main source of complaints here in DC. Traffic is already a nightmare and our metro system is complete trash. Maybe they should sell our metro system to Amazon.
I just think it is funny when people cry about capitalism it is normally because of the Government's involvement, yet somehow they always seem to blame it on evil capitalism. Whenever you see corrupt capitalism, I am willing to bet there is a 95% chance the government was invovled. Why does capitalism take the hit, and government gets a free pass? These are the same people who want more government involvement, because they believe if their party is in control everything would be much better.
