1 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: Get in touch with technology with tech Stuff from how 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: stuff Works dot com. Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:17,159 Speaker 1: I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works, and I heart radio and I love 5 00:00:19,920 --> 00:00:24,040 Speaker 1: all things tech. And one of the really big stories 6 00:00:24,239 --> 00:00:30,520 Speaker 1: in technology, really in tech business back in that being 7 00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:34,160 Speaker 1: this year. It just feels like it was a decade ago. 8 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:37,839 Speaker 1: It focused on Amazon and its search for a second 9 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: North America headquarters location, which has finally been decided and 10 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: announced and talked about, but the search inspired cities across 11 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:51,200 Speaker 1: the continent to bid for attention with incentives and some 12 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: with some pretty silly publicity stunts. At the same time, 13 00:00:55,760 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: numerous journalists dove into the mix, speculating on how m 14 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:04,280 Speaker 1: Amazon might reshape a city, or, as it turns out, 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:08,760 Speaker 1: cities that it would pick for the honor of being 16 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:14,320 Speaker 1: the second headquarters, and also examining how Amazon has affected Seattle, 17 00:01:14,560 --> 00:01:20,800 Speaker 1: the location of its main headquarters, and ultimately how Amazon's 18 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,600 Speaker 1: whole approach would affect cities not just the ones that 19 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,640 Speaker 1: it picked, but the ones that it named as contenders. 20 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:29,480 Speaker 1: So in this episode, I'm going to look at all 21 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: of these things and talk about how technology can affect 22 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: us indirectly, and why it's important we know about it. 23 00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:39,760 Speaker 1: So let's get the basics down first. Let's set the 24 00:01:39,880 --> 00:01:44,280 Speaker 1: ground here. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon dot Com back in 25 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: as an online bookstore. The company managed to make it 26 00:01:49,800 --> 00:01:54,480 Speaker 1: through some very very lean years, and that included the 27 00:01:54,520 --> 00:01:57,880 Speaker 1: dot Com crisis. The company was not turning a profit 28 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,680 Speaker 1: when it went into the dot com crisis. The way 29 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,160 Speaker 1: that Bezos and his company were able to get through 30 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,200 Speaker 1: this was that Bezos had some very smart people working 31 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:12,800 Speaker 1: for him, and they were able to establish some critical 32 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:17,160 Speaker 1: financing for the company at various points during its early history, 33 00:02:17,480 --> 00:02:22,520 Speaker 1: including just before the dot com bubble burst, before that 34 00:02:22,600 --> 00:02:26,760 Speaker 1: crisis had really hit. So Amazon got an influx of 35 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 1: cash when it would need it most, because, as it 36 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:33,919 Speaker 1: turned out, the the rug was pulled out from under 37 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:38,720 Speaker 1: the technology sector in general and the dot com sector 38 00:02:38,800 --> 00:02:43,320 Speaker 1: in particular. You could also argue Amazon had positioned itself 39 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:47,680 Speaker 1: well by incorporating elements that later analysts would refer to 40 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:52,200 Speaker 1: as web two point oh features and I hate that term. 41 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,360 Speaker 1: It is useful in the sense that you can group 42 00:02:54,400 --> 00:02:59,520 Speaker 1: together some basic components that were helpful for a lot 43 00:02:59,560 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 1: of site. Remember in the early early days of the 44 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: Worldwide Web, a lot of the web pages out there 45 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: were static. There was no interaction. It was just a 46 00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:10,519 Speaker 1: place you would go. You would read some stuff that 47 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:12,640 Speaker 1: would never be a reason to go back to that 48 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,000 Speaker 1: web page again because it would never change. But Amazon 49 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:20,200 Speaker 1: was one of the companies to incorporate stuff that was 50 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:22,680 Speaker 1: what people would call web two point oh would have 51 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: user generated elements like reviews, So an Amazon web page 52 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:31,799 Speaker 1: would change over time as people left reviews for items, 53 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: and you could interact with it. You could improve the 54 00:03:37,120 --> 00:03:41,600 Speaker 1: performance of Amazon by giving your input, or at least 55 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 1: improve the experience of people who were using Amazon to 56 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: shop for stuff. And of course, the company expanded well 57 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: beyond books to carry all sorts of different products. Today 58 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,320 Speaker 1: you can buy pretty much anything on Amazon. But Amazon's 59 00:03:55,360 --> 00:03:59,640 Speaker 1: first really profitable quarter would not arrive until the end 60 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: of two thousand one, which is interestingly right at the 61 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:07,880 Speaker 1: tail end of the dot com crash. So from when 62 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:11,040 Speaker 1: it was founded to two thousand one, the company was 63 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,680 Speaker 1: losing a lot more money than it was earning in sales, 64 00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: and the dot com crash had done a real number 65 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:20,919 Speaker 1: on Amazon's stock price, as it had for the stock 66 00:04:20,960 --> 00:04:25,520 Speaker 1: price of numerous dot com businesses. So my point that 67 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,320 Speaker 1: I'm trying to make is that I don't think Amazon's 68 00:04:28,400 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: survival was guaranteed by a long shot. You know, you 69 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,520 Speaker 1: can look at the success of the company today and 70 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: the company's founder, who spoiler alert, is the richest man 71 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: in the world. But I don't think that that success 72 00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,240 Speaker 1: was a guarantee back in two thousand one. If it 73 00:04:47,320 --> 00:04:50,640 Speaker 1: hadn't been for that financing just before the dot com 74 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:53,719 Speaker 1: troubles really took off, I think the company might have 75 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: joined all those other web based businesses that fizzled out 76 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,159 Speaker 1: in two thousand two thousand one. Now, to be clear, 77 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: the company wasn't profitable on an annual basis in the 78 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: wake of two thousand one. It just had that one 79 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 1: quarter that was profitable, and then in two thousand two 80 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: it had another rough year. It had losses every single 81 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:18,400 Speaker 1: quarter until the final quarter once again, which might tell 82 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: you that holiday sales make a huge difference for a company. Now, 83 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:27,039 Speaker 1: that profit wasn't offsetting the losses of the previous quarters. 84 00:05:27,080 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: So two thousand two as a whole was not profitable. 85 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: It wasn't really until the middle of two thousand three, 86 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,400 Speaker 1: and then into two thousand four that the company began 87 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 1: to regularly post profits and turn the corner. There were 88 00:05:40,440 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: also still a couple of very big dips, big losses. 89 00:05:45,440 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: One happened in two thousand twelve, and there were a 90 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:52,040 Speaker 1: couple in two thousand fourteen. But if you skip over 91 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,920 Speaker 1: that and then you look at the final quarter of 92 00:05:54,960 --> 00:06:01,360 Speaker 1: two thousand seventeen, it's astounding. The difference is night and day. 93 00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:05,920 Speaker 1: Amazon ranked in an income of one point eight six 94 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:10,839 Speaker 1: billion dollars in the fourth quarter of two thousand seventeen. 95 00:06:11,240 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: Not over the year, but in that one quarter. That 96 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:19,799 Speaker 1: is definitely a princely some Now. According to the online 97 00:06:19,880 --> 00:06:23,840 Speaker 1: journal Courts, Amazon made as much money in that one 98 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,839 Speaker 1: final quarter of two thousand seventeen as the company had 99 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: managed to make in the previous fourteen years combined. And 100 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:36,040 Speaker 1: this was helped not just by Amazon's business, which was 101 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 1: doing legitimately really well, but also because the United States 102 00:06:41,960 --> 00:06:47,039 Speaker 1: government had just passed an enormous tax cut that was 103 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: a huge benefit to Amazon. In fact, that tax cut 104 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: added nearly eight hundred million dollars to Amazon's earnings all 105 00:06:57,440 --> 00:07:02,599 Speaker 1: by itself. So yeah, politics matter, guys. This is why 106 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:07,919 Speaker 1: we see these big companies lobbying very hard in politics 107 00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:12,080 Speaker 1: in the United States because they can end up keeping 108 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,240 Speaker 1: so much money it nearly doubles their revenue for a quarter. 109 00:07:16,800 --> 00:07:19,120 Speaker 1: All Right, So you've got Amazon, which is a company 110 00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:23,720 Speaker 1: everyone knows it's it's it's omni present. Nearly one hundred 111 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:27,480 Speaker 1: million people in the United States holding Amazon Prime membership, 112 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:32,000 Speaker 1: so the company is regularly getting revenue from people, whether 113 00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:36,560 Speaker 1: they're shopping or not. However, the average Prime member is shopping. 114 00:07:36,640 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: Because the average Prime member spends about four hundred dollars 115 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: on Amazon every year. The company's name is synonymous with 116 00:07:45,320 --> 00:07:49,000 Speaker 1: online shopping. It's by far the most popular online store 117 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:51,880 Speaker 1: by a long shot. And as I said earlier, it's 118 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:55,840 Speaker 1: founder Jeff Bezos is, as of this recording, the richest 119 00:07:55,880 --> 00:07:59,040 Speaker 1: person in the world. He pulled ahead of Microsoft founder 120 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:02,000 Speaker 1: Bill Gates a couple of years ago. Bezos is worth 121 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:08,680 Speaker 1: around a hundred twelve billion dollars and that blows my mind. Now. 122 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,400 Speaker 1: By two thousand seventeen, Amazon was really writing high as 123 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:16,000 Speaker 1: a company. It employed more than three hundred eighty thousand 124 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: people worldwide, and about forty thousand of those employees work 125 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:27,040 Speaker 1: at Amazon's original headquarters, which are in Seattle. Washington. Amazon 126 00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,960 Speaker 1: has a dominant presence in Seattle. That's putting it lightly. 127 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: And I'll talk more about that in a little bit, 128 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: but just to give you an idea of what I 129 00:08:37,120 --> 00:08:41,319 Speaker 1: mean by a dominant presence, if you look at all 130 00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: of the office space in Seattle, Amazon occupies nearly twenty 131 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: percent of it. So that means if you were to 132 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: go office to office in Seattle, one out of every 133 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: five visits would be to an Amazon office. So that's 134 00:08:59,640 --> 00:09:02,640 Speaker 1: in ouible. And meanwhile, Amazon is a company is still growing, 135 00:09:03,120 --> 00:09:06,920 Speaker 1: and the company needed more space to grow into, and 136 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: it would also make sense to distribute itself somewhat, to 137 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: locate some offices, perhaps in a different part of the country. Uh. 138 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 1: And most people guessed it was going to be on 139 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: the East Coast, and as they turned out, they were right. 140 00:09:21,600 --> 00:09:25,719 Speaker 1: But we'll get to that. So on September seven, two 141 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 1: thousand seventeen, when Amazon announced it was searching for a 142 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:35,960 Speaker 1: second North American headquarters, cities across North America paid attention 143 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,720 Speaker 1: and accorded to Amazon, the intent was to pick a 144 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:44,680 Speaker 1: location and invest up to five billion dollars in building 145 00:09:44,720 --> 00:09:49,400 Speaker 1: out a new headquarters a new campus, establishing those offices 146 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:54,920 Speaker 1: and in addition to this new building, in this new campus, 147 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:57,120 Speaker 1: there would be lots of jobs to the tune of 148 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:02,080 Speaker 1: fifty thousand high tech position ends. According to Amazon, the 149 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: estimated average salary for those jobs would be more than 150 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: a hundred thousand dollars per year. The company also noted 151 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,760 Speaker 1: that this wouldn't happen instantaneously. It's not like they would 152 00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 1: build the building and then without fifty thousand job offers. Instead, 153 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:20,280 Speaker 1: they said this was a a long term process, that 154 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: the the ramp up to fifty thousand employees would probably 155 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:28,280 Speaker 1: take between ten and fifteen years. But there was this 156 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:33,040 Speaker 1: really tempting promise there, so it was totally understandable that 157 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:38,600 Speaker 1: numerous city governments and business councils and business organizations jumped 158 00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:42,280 Speaker 1: at this news. It would mean wealth would flow into 159 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,480 Speaker 1: the respective community, or at least it would flow into 160 00:10:45,559 --> 00:10:50,079 Speaker 1: specific industries within that community. It would boost employment, there 161 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:52,880 Speaker 1: would be a new call for for new housing, for 162 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,480 Speaker 1: renovated housing. Uh, that sort of development could encourage other 163 00:10:56,600 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: businesses to set up shop. We're talking stores, restaurants, entertainment options, 164 00:11:02,080 --> 00:11:04,480 Speaker 1: all that other type of stuff that has to go 165 00:11:04,559 --> 00:11:09,079 Speaker 1: around with growing communities. So, in other words, landing Amazon 166 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:13,040 Speaker 1: for your city looked like it would be a huge win, 167 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,240 Speaker 1: Like it would be knocking over an enormous domino that 168 00:11:16,360 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 1: was set off to to start a chain reaction of prosperity. 169 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:25,240 Speaker 1: That was the general reaction. Now, Amazon created a formal 170 00:11:25,400 --> 00:11:31,520 Speaker 1: request for Proposal, or an RFP in proposal speak. Interested 171 00:11:31,559 --> 00:11:35,520 Speaker 1: in qualified communities were to respond to this RFP by 172 00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 1: October nineteenth, two thousand seventeen, so cities had about a 173 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: month to put together a package to convince Amazon to 174 00:11:44,480 --> 00:11:49,760 Speaker 1: select their home, their city, their community for this second headquarters. 175 00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:53,520 Speaker 1: The RFP spelled out some of the requirements that Amazon 176 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:59,200 Speaker 1: had in mind for potential h Q two sites and 177 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:03,080 Speaker 1: the company stay that had a quote unquote preference for 178 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:07,959 Speaker 1: the following. It wanted a place that was a metropolitan area, 179 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:10,360 Speaker 1: so it had to be a place that was a city. 180 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 1: It could not just be in the middle of a state. 181 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: There had to be at least a million people living there. 182 00:12:16,720 --> 00:12:21,000 Speaker 1: They wanted a business friendly environment, which is a very 183 00:12:21,360 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: vague phrase. I think it's a nice way of saying, 184 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,600 Speaker 1: we want a place where they're going to be really 185 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:31,079 Speaker 1: good to us. We want incentives, we want tax breaks. 186 00:12:31,559 --> 00:12:34,080 Speaker 1: You scratch our back will scratch yours that kind of thing. 187 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:40,199 Speaker 1: They wanted only locations that were urban or suburban locations 188 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:43,960 Speaker 1: with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent. 189 00:12:44,720 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: So in other words, there needed to be a place 190 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:52,200 Speaker 1: where they could draw a pool of talent from, and 191 00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 1: there needed to be places for those people to live. 192 00:12:55,240 --> 00:12:59,360 Speaker 1: Preferably they would be moving into a city where they're 193 00:12:59,360 --> 00:13:03,120 Speaker 1: already as a nice, healthy pool of tech talent, but 194 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:05,440 Speaker 1: if not, it needed to be a city that people 195 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: were willing to relocate too. And it was also looking 196 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: for quote communities that think big and creatively when considering 197 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,160 Speaker 1: locations and real estate options end quote, which might be 198 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,600 Speaker 1: code for we want to see some really nice places 199 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,000 Speaker 1: where we might be able to set up shop, and 200 00:13:24,200 --> 00:13:26,880 Speaker 1: we don't want to to just point us at that 201 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 1: disused car lot that used to be really popular but 202 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:35,000 Speaker 1: has been unoccupied for ten years. That kind of thing. 203 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 1: In addition, Amazon said that HQ two could be but 204 00:13:39,679 --> 00:13:44,839 Speaker 1: was not required to be an urban or downtown campus, 205 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:48,840 Speaker 1: So it could be located deep in a city or 206 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:53,400 Speaker 1: maybe not. It could be similar to layout to Amazon's 207 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:57,360 Speaker 1: existing Seattle headquarters, but maybe not. It could be a 208 00:13:57,440 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: development prepped site the company said, quote, we want to 209 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:06,280 Speaker 1: encourage states, slash provinces and communities to think creatively for 210 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:10,320 Speaker 1: viable real estate options while not negatively affecting our preferred 211 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:13,679 Speaker 1: timeline end quote. So again, this puts the onus on 212 00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,760 Speaker 1: the responding community rather than Amazon the messages. We have 213 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:20,120 Speaker 1: the upper hand here, so don't waste our time by 214 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 1: showing us substandard real estate than no one really wants. 215 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:27,720 Speaker 1: More specifically, the RFP said that the preference was to 216 00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 1: have a site that was no more than thirty miles 217 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:34,760 Speaker 1: outside the center of population for the community. It needed 218 00:14:34,760 --> 00:14:37,480 Speaker 1: to be within forty five minutes of an international airport. 219 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:40,120 Speaker 1: It needed to be no more than two miles away 220 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,160 Speaker 1: from the closest major highway. There needed to be an 221 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:47,000 Speaker 1: access to mass transit at the site itself, so there 222 00:14:47,040 --> 00:14:50,400 Speaker 1: needed to be public transportation that could go straight up 223 00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:54,720 Speaker 1: to wherever the location was. The building requirements included an 224 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,880 Speaker 1: initial square foot requirement of five hundred thousand plus square 225 00:14:58,920 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: feet for Phase one and up to eight million square 226 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:07,240 Speaker 1: feet for twenty twenty seven and beyond. I have more 227 00:15:07,280 --> 00:15:10,080 Speaker 1: to say about this whole process in just a moment, 228 00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:12,960 Speaker 1: but first let's take a quick break to thank our sponsor. 229 00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:24,400 Speaker 1: The RFP listed more information for those interested in bringing 230 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,720 Speaker 1: Amazon to a specific city. But you can easily read 231 00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,800 Speaker 1: the RFP for yourself if you want to. It's available online. 232 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: It's only eight pages long, and it's not written in 233 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,760 Speaker 1: weird jargon or anything. It's very simple to understand. So 234 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: if you want to know the full details, just pop 235 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: online and search for the Amazon RFP. So in early September, 236 00:15:45,320 --> 00:15:48,960 Speaker 1: Amazon sends out this RFP and gives the deadline for 237 00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:53,720 Speaker 1: October nineteenth, seventeen for response, and by that time Amazon 238 00:15:53,800 --> 00:15:57,880 Speaker 1: had received two hundred thirty eight proposals from cities in 239 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:01,480 Speaker 1: the United States and Canada. Even at this early stage, 240 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:06,680 Speaker 1: before Amazon had reached that deadline, reporters were gleefully writing 241 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:10,080 Speaker 1: about some of the more let's call them creative methods 242 00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:13,400 Speaker 1: that communities were employing in order to get attention. Now, 243 00:16:13,480 --> 00:16:17,680 Speaker 1: keep in mind, any city that responded likely had some 244 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:23,479 Speaker 1: hefty incentives wrapped up in those responses and lofty promises 245 00:16:23,560 --> 00:16:28,680 Speaker 1: to boot. So all these cities were trying to outdo themselves. 246 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:30,800 Speaker 1: And now get more into that a little bit later. 247 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,360 Speaker 1: Now I know there was one city in Georgia that's 248 00:16:34,640 --> 00:16:39,440 Speaker 1: technically part of the metropolitan Atlanta area, but no person 249 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: who lives in the city of Atlanta would refer to 250 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:47,000 Speaker 1: it as being in Atlanta. I'm talking about stone Crest, Georgia. 251 00:16:47,240 --> 00:16:50,760 Speaker 1: It's technically twenty miles to the east of the city 252 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: of Atlanta. Now, if you were to travel down Highway 253 00:16:54,920 --> 00:16:59,200 Speaker 1: by twenty from Atlanta to stone Crest, you'd see development 254 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,000 Speaker 1: along the entire fire way. It's not like it's a 255 00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,479 Speaker 1: isolated community, but it is not inside the city limits 256 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:10,840 Speaker 1: by any stretch of the imagination. Stone Crest, however, was 257 00:17:10,920 --> 00:17:15,800 Speaker 1: in contention for this consideration, and that made my eyebrows 258 00:17:15,800 --> 00:17:19,200 Speaker 1: go up as a resident of Atlanta, because I already 259 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,760 Speaker 1: knew what the requirements were that Amazon was asking for, 260 00:17:22,960 --> 00:17:26,000 Speaker 1: and I really didn't feel that Stone Crest necessarily met them. 261 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:29,720 Speaker 1: And this is just too specifically illustrate what was going 262 00:17:29,800 --> 00:17:32,920 Speaker 1: on across North America. Not just to call out Stone 263 00:17:32,920 --> 00:17:36,280 Speaker 1: Crest in particular, but one of the things Amazon was 264 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:40,520 Speaker 1: looking for was mass transit. That's a subject about which 265 00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:44,640 Speaker 1: I feel very strongly. Here in Atlanta, there are busses 266 00:17:44,960 --> 00:17:49,000 Speaker 1: that go from Atlanta to stone Crest on our metropolitan 267 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:52,960 Speaker 1: transit system. It's called MARTA. It takes about an hour 268 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:58,960 Speaker 1: to go from the closest Marta station to Stone Crest 269 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:03,159 Speaker 1: by bus, and that's a Martestation that's on the outskirts 270 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,119 Speaker 1: of Atlanta itself. If you're talking about moving from the 271 00:18:06,160 --> 00:18:09,840 Speaker 1: center of the city, or Heaven help you from the airport, 272 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:13,160 Speaker 1: it will take you much, much, much longer than that. Now, 273 00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,080 Speaker 1: my point is, I think a lot of cities that 274 00:18:16,119 --> 00:18:21,720 Speaker 1: didn't really meet these criteria. We're throwing themselves hard into 275 00:18:21,760 --> 00:18:25,560 Speaker 1: this arena and making a lot of promises like, oh no, 276 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:29,000 Speaker 1: we'll make sure that this is bolstered and it will 277 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:32,040 Speaker 1: meet your expectations. And they were offering up all sorts 278 00:18:32,040 --> 00:18:35,640 Speaker 1: of things like huge tax cuts and other odd incentives 279 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:39,679 Speaker 1: in order to get Amazon's attention. So sticking with stone 280 00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:43,800 Speaker 1: Crest for just a moment. One of those wacky incentives, 281 00:18:44,280 --> 00:18:47,000 Speaker 1: one of the ones that was treated with more levity, 282 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,640 Speaker 1: was that the mayor of Stone Crest, Jason Larry, said 283 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:54,479 Speaker 1: he would lead a movement to d annex part of 284 00:18:54,560 --> 00:18:57,800 Speaker 1: Stone Crest in order to rename that that section of 285 00:18:57,840 --> 00:19:01,240 Speaker 1: the city Amazon Georgia up. And on top of that, 286 00:19:01,640 --> 00:19:06,159 Speaker 1: he proposed having a special shipping distribution highway and calling 287 00:19:06,160 --> 00:19:10,399 Speaker 1: it one thousand Jeff Bezos Parkway. So I suppose an 288 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 1: appeal to vanity was his strategy. But Stonecrest, Georgia was 289 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:20,200 Speaker 1: just one applicant. There were lots of others that included 290 00:19:20,280 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 1: some publicity stunts with their applications. So another one that 291 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:28,040 Speaker 1: got a lot of people giggling was from Tucson, Arizona, 292 00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:33,200 Speaker 1: which shipped a twenty one foot saguaro cactus to Amazon. 293 00:19:33,920 --> 00:19:37,560 Speaker 1: Bezos didn't accept it. He donated it to the Arizona 294 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:41,800 Speaker 1: Sonora Desert Museum and said his company could not accept gifts. 295 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:46,600 Speaker 1: In Birmingham, Alabama, the city built three installations that looked 296 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:51,639 Speaker 1: like enormous delivery boxes with the Amazon logo on the box. 297 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:54,400 Speaker 1: These were in various locations around the city. They were 298 00:19:54,400 --> 00:19:57,720 Speaker 1: each about a story tall, so like ten twelve feet 299 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:01,440 Speaker 1: tall they were. They were huge. The years from Danbury, 300 00:20:01,480 --> 00:20:06,520 Speaker 1: Connecticut and Washington, d c. Each separately made videos as 301 00:20:06,520 --> 00:20:09,800 Speaker 1: part of their pitch to Amazon, and incorporated sort of 302 00:20:09,800 --> 00:20:14,640 Speaker 1: a joke in which they asked Amazon's voice activated assistant Alexa, 303 00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,880 Speaker 1: where the best place would be to locate Amazon's second headquarters, 304 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:23,639 Speaker 1: And of course, in those videos, Alexa's response was Danbury 305 00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:29,240 Speaker 1: for the Connecticut video and Washington, d C. For DC's video. Also, 306 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,919 Speaker 1: the DC mayor pointed out that Bezos already had a 307 00:20:31,960 --> 00:20:34,960 Speaker 1: home in the DC area and that he owned the 308 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,760 Speaker 1: Washington Post, suggesting that it made sense to bring the 309 00:20:38,760 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: whole HQ two there after all Bezos already had a 310 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:47,320 Speaker 1: presence or In Chicago, Mayor Ram Emmanuel organized a council 311 00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: of business leaders representing some of the largest companies in 312 00:20:50,800 --> 00:20:55,159 Speaker 1: the United States. In New Jersey, the proposal promised seven 313 00:20:55,280 --> 00:20:57,840 Speaker 1: billion dollars worth of tax breaks over the course of 314 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,680 Speaker 1: a twenty year period. That this was to pennant upon 315 00:21:00,760 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: a proposed law passing in the state legislature first. Other 316 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:09,600 Speaker 1: cities like Philadelphia, San Francisco, which was also partnering with 317 00:21:09,680 --> 00:21:14,840 Speaker 1: Fremont and Oakland, Toronto, and Vancouver all applied as well. 318 00:21:15,160 --> 00:21:19,000 Speaker 1: Not all the cities included outlandish overtures, but they were 319 00:21:19,040 --> 00:21:23,640 Speaker 1: all trying to get noticed. On January two, thousand eighteen, 320 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: Amazon announced it had narrowed its selection to twenty cities. 321 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 1: So those twenty cities were in alphabetical order, Atlanta, Georgia, Austin, Texas, Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Illinois, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Texas, Denver, Colorado, Indianapolis, Indiana, 322 00:21:44,359 --> 00:21:51,880 Speaker 1: Los Angeles, California, Miami, Florida, Montgomery County, Maryland, Nashville, Tennessee, Newark, 323 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:56,679 Speaker 1: New Jersey, New York City, New York, Northern Virginia. So 324 00:21:56,800 --> 00:22:03,879 Speaker 1: not a specific city, but like the Arlington area, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Raleigh, 325 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:09,199 Speaker 1: North Carolina, Toronto, Canada, and Washington, d C. Over the 326 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 1: next several months, Amazon officials visited with these various cities, 327 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:18,119 Speaker 1: explored the proposed campus sites. They evaluated the various features 328 00:22:18,160 --> 00:22:22,720 Speaker 1: like you know, mass transit, highways, airports. They probably talked 329 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,879 Speaker 1: a lot about proposed tax incentives that would make the 330 00:22:26,080 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 1: deal a little sweeter. I mean, the message was essentially, 331 00:22:29,359 --> 00:22:31,760 Speaker 1: if we pick your city, we're going to contribute an 332 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:35,200 Speaker 1: enormous amount to your local economy. So make this easy 333 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:40,280 Speaker 1: for us and help us decide by sweetening the pot. Now, 334 00:22:40,320 --> 00:22:44,000 Speaker 1: Amazon had said it would pick the new site sometime 335 00:22:44,080 --> 00:22:47,600 Speaker 1: in ten but did not give a more specific timeline 336 00:22:47,600 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 1: than that. So through much of the cities on that 337 00:22:51,359 --> 00:22:54,640 Speaker 1: short list were kept waiting and wondering where things stood. 338 00:22:55,359 --> 00:23:00,119 Speaker 1: That's how things went throughout most of I remember in 339 00:23:00,160 --> 00:23:02,720 Speaker 1: the summer, there was talk about it getting narrowed down 340 00:23:02,760 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 1: to just a few of those finalists. I think Atlanta 341 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,720 Speaker 1: and Austin seemed to be holding on for a long time, 342 00:23:10,680 --> 00:23:15,239 Speaker 1: and then in September. On September, Jeff Bezos spoke at 343 00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:18,399 Speaker 1: the Economic Club at Washington, d C. He said the 344 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,359 Speaker 1: company would announce a decision by the end of the year. 345 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,440 Speaker 1: A month later, in early November, Amazon announced that rather 346 00:23:26,480 --> 00:23:30,720 Speaker 1: than pick a single location, they were going to pick two. 347 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:36,000 Speaker 1: H Q two would get split up between two locations. Now, initially, 348 00:23:36,359 --> 00:23:40,600 Speaker 1: Amazon did not reveal where those two places would be, 349 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:46,879 Speaker 1: but on November that all changed. Amazon announced that New 350 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:50,199 Speaker 1: York City, specifically Long Island City, which is in a 351 00:23:50,240 --> 00:23:54,199 Speaker 1: neighborhood in Queens and not confusingly in the area that 352 00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: most New Yorkers referred to as Long Island. It is 353 00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:02,879 Speaker 1: on Long Island, but paradoxly not in Long Island, and 354 00:24:03,520 --> 00:24:07,480 Speaker 1: Arlington County, Virginia, near Crystal City, would be the home 355 00:24:07,680 --> 00:24:13,080 Speaker 1: of these two new headquarters offices. And here's a funny 356 00:24:13,160 --> 00:24:17,199 Speaker 1: coincidence that happens to be two of the locations for 357 00:24:17,280 --> 00:24:22,360 Speaker 1: Amazon's largest East Coast US offices that already exist. Also 358 00:24:23,280 --> 00:24:27,639 Speaker 1: equally coincidental. I'm sure Jeff Bezos happens to own two 359 00:24:27,880 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: really large, really lavish homes, one in uh in Virginia 360 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:40,080 Speaker 1: near Crystal City, one near Long Island City in Queens, 361 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:44,560 Speaker 1: New York. Probably just a coincidence. Now, some people living 362 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:47,480 Speaker 1: in the cities that were passed over felt a sense 363 00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,439 Speaker 1: of relief at this news. They were worried about the 364 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:54,880 Speaker 1: impact Amazon might have on their communities. Others felt disappointment, 365 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:58,919 Speaker 1: particularly if they were penning a lot of hope that 366 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:03,239 Speaker 1: Amazon's agreement would mean the community would build out a 367 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:06,880 Speaker 1: lot of improvements to infrastructure, and that the overall community 368 00:25:06,920 --> 00:25:11,160 Speaker 1: would be able to enjoy those improvements. In other words, 369 00:25:11,240 --> 00:25:14,880 Speaker 1: things like, yeah, we built out our mass transit system, 370 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,640 Speaker 1: which is part of the deal we made with Amazon. 371 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 1: But on the flip side, everyone can benefit from that. 372 00:25:21,760 --> 00:25:24,800 Speaker 1: That would have been awesome. So some people were disappointed 373 00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:28,240 Speaker 1: if their city wasn't picked. There have been several articles, 374 00:25:28,280 --> 00:25:31,720 Speaker 1: mostly ones that are written from a local perspective, that 375 00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:35,359 Speaker 1: revealed some of the details about the various proposals that 376 00:25:35,480 --> 00:25:40,280 Speaker 1: failed to bring Amazon to respective cities. Pittsburgh had reportedly 377 00:25:40,359 --> 00:25:45,159 Speaker 1: included up to ten billion dollars in financial incentives In 378 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:48,479 Speaker 1: their pitch. Maryland was right behind with eight and a 379 00:25:48,520 --> 00:25:52,680 Speaker 1: half billion dollars, and Newark, New Jersey was, as I said, 380 00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 1: at seven billion. Dallas, Texas proposed building a new higher 381 00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:02,800 Speaker 1: learning facility called Amazon University. Atlanta, apart from having this 382 00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:07,159 Speaker 1: part of Stone Crest renamed Amazon Georgia, had even suggested 383 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:12,120 Speaker 1: perhaps Amazon would get an exclusive rail car on Marta trains, 384 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:15,919 Speaker 1: which would have infuriated me had it come to pass. 385 00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: I would have hated waiting for a train and realizing 386 00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,639 Speaker 1: that the only car that wasn't completely full of people 387 00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: was exclusively for Amazon employees. Then uh, Atlanta also had suggested, 388 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:32,480 Speaker 1: by the way, that there could possibly be an exclusive 389 00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:36,640 Speaker 1: executive lounge at the Atlanta Airport reserved just for Amazon 390 00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:41,359 Speaker 1: executives and their guests. Again, this starts to get very elitist, 391 00:26:41,600 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: and it tends to get my my rather liberal dander up. Now, 392 00:26:47,280 --> 00:26:50,200 Speaker 1: how much did New York and Virginia offer? After all, 393 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:55,000 Speaker 1: they won the bids, right the Amazon ultimately chose New 394 00:26:55,080 --> 00:26:58,200 Speaker 1: York in Virginia and there are these other cities that 395 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:02,760 Speaker 1: were offering incentives of billions of dollars. What did the 396 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 1: two winning sites offer well? For New York. New York 397 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:11,400 Speaker 1: offered two point eight billion dollars in incentives, a princely 398 00:27:11,560 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: some in itself, obviously, but still much less than some 399 00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 1: of the other cities. Virginia's promises were way more modest, 400 00:27:19,640 --> 00:27:23,359 Speaker 1: at five hundred seventy three million dollars. Now, this has 401 00:27:23,440 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 1: led some people to speculate that perhaps Amazon always knew 402 00:27:29,920 --> 00:27:33,240 Speaker 1: where it wanted to go, that it had those destinations 403 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:37,719 Speaker 1: in mind the entire time, it never intended to really 404 00:27:38,040 --> 00:27:42,240 Speaker 1: seriously consider any other location, and that the only reason 405 00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:46,119 Speaker 1: the company released an RFP in the first place was 406 00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:50,480 Speaker 1: because it would hit these locations against each other and 407 00:27:50,520 --> 00:27:53,959 Speaker 1: they would be in competition with all these other cities 408 00:27:54,000 --> 00:27:59,360 Speaker 1: that appeared to be legit candidates, and by that Amazon 409 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,359 Speaker 1: could put pressure on New York and Virginia, where they 410 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:05,760 Speaker 1: were already planning on going, and convinced them to cut 411 00:28:05,840 --> 00:28:10,200 Speaker 1: better and better deals. Yikes. Well, I've got a lot 412 00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:13,960 Speaker 1: more to say about this decision and what it means, 413 00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:16,680 Speaker 1: but before we get into that, let's take another quick 414 00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:28,680 Speaker 1: break to thank our sponsor. The news of Amazon's decision 415 00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:32,280 Speaker 1: brought with it some other reports that raised a few eyebrows. 416 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,840 Speaker 1: There was one that is still kind of playing out 417 00:28:35,920 --> 00:28:39,360 Speaker 1: as I record this. Condos sales in Long Island, New 418 00:28:39,440 --> 00:28:43,760 Speaker 1: York increased dramatically after the news broke that Amazon was 419 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:46,720 Speaker 1: going to locate one of its headquarters facilities in New 420 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:51,480 Speaker 1: York City, and some Amazon employees had apparently been shopping 421 00:28:51,520 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 1: around before the announcement had even become public. In other words, 422 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:58,479 Speaker 1: people who were in the know that this was going 423 00:28:58,520 --> 00:29:02,960 Speaker 1: to be the new location started trying to purchase some 424 00:29:03,040 --> 00:29:08,320 Speaker 1: real estate before the announcement because perhaps they knew the 425 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,280 Speaker 1: increase in demand was going to drive up costs, so 426 00:29:11,320 --> 00:29:14,040 Speaker 1: if they could get in before the announcement and buy 427 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:18,480 Speaker 1: some condos, then they would be sitting pretty before all 428 00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:23,000 Speaker 1: the prices jumped up. However, many percent this behavior, in 429 00:29:23,040 --> 00:29:26,560 Speaker 1: turn began to fan the flames of fear among some 430 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:29,400 Speaker 1: New Yorkers that Amazon's arrival is going to bring with 431 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:33,640 Speaker 1: it rent hikes and landlords are going to start increasing 432 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 1: those rent prices. People who had been living in those 433 00:29:36,640 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: places for years would no longer be able to afford 434 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,720 Speaker 1: to do so. There are similar fears in the Virginia 435 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:47,920 Speaker 1: area that's very close to Washington, d C. In fact, 436 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:50,680 Speaker 1: you can easily get there on the Metro in d C. 437 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:56,040 Speaker 1: Many government staff who work at the Capital or the 438 00:29:56,080 --> 00:30:01,280 Speaker 1: Pentagon they call northern Virginia home, and that's a concern 439 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:03,920 Speaker 1: that they too, are going to get priced out of 440 00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:05,960 Speaker 1: the neighborhoods they currently live in, and that they'll have 441 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:08,960 Speaker 1: to move further and further out, which will increase commute 442 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:11,920 Speaker 1: times and have a negative impact on quality of life. 443 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,800 Speaker 1: That is not an unreasonable fear, because you just have 444 00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:19,160 Speaker 1: to look at how things are going in Seattle. Now. 445 00:30:19,800 --> 00:30:24,720 Speaker 1: The situation in Seattle is different because Amazon grew up 446 00:30:25,080 --> 00:30:29,400 Speaker 1: in Seattle. It was not a multibillion dollar global corporation 447 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,400 Speaker 1: that then waltzed into Seattle and established itself. It grew 448 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:38,800 Speaker 1: slowly gradually, at least until seventeen when growth exploded. So 449 00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:42,840 Speaker 1: the conditions in Seattle are not necessarily what will happen 450 00:30:42,880 --> 00:30:45,520 Speaker 1: in New York and Virginia. In fact, I suspect we're 451 00:30:45,520 --> 00:30:49,080 Speaker 1: actually gonna see dramatic differences, since now we're talking about 452 00:30:49,080 --> 00:30:52,560 Speaker 1: a behemoth moving into an established neighborhood as opposed to 453 00:30:52,600 --> 00:30:56,440 Speaker 1: growing up with it. Now. Amazon's growth triggered a series 454 00:30:56,600 --> 00:31:00,880 Speaker 1: of changes in Seattle. For example, as Amazon bigger, I 455 00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:04,720 Speaker 1: need to hire more talent including talent with high tech skills. 456 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 1: That encouraged people with those skills to move to the 457 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 1: Seattle area. People said, well, there's work to be had there. 458 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:15,520 Speaker 1: I can get a really good job with Amazon. Let's relocate. 459 00:31:16,120 --> 00:31:19,240 Speaker 1: Tech firms began to build offices or even relocate to 460 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: Seattle because that's where all the talent was going. If 461 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:24,960 Speaker 1: the talents all starting to gather in a place, then 462 00:31:25,040 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 1: companies are saying, well, in order for us to take 463 00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:30,080 Speaker 1: advantage of this, rather than have to lure them to 464 00:31:30,160 --> 00:31:33,120 Speaker 1: move across country, let's set up a shop. Let's set 465 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,760 Speaker 1: up a presence in Seattle. So they were moving into 466 00:31:37,840 --> 00:31:39,960 Speaker 1: Seattle as well. In order to take advantage of this 467 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:44,080 Speaker 1: growing talent pool, which feeds upon itself, more talent starts 468 00:31:44,080 --> 00:31:48,400 Speaker 1: to move to Seattle. Amazon was creating opportunities. Those opportunities 469 00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:52,719 Speaker 1: were attracting workers. Those workers were attracting other companies, and 470 00:31:52,760 --> 00:31:56,760 Speaker 1: that created more opportunities for workers. This process actually has 471 00:31:56,800 --> 00:32:02,960 Speaker 1: a name in the industry, it's agglomeration. Since twenty companies 472 00:32:02,960 --> 00:32:06,120 Speaker 1: in the Fortune five hundred have opened up offices or 473 00:32:06,240 --> 00:32:09,400 Speaker 1: R and D facilities in Seattle to take advantage of 474 00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:14,240 Speaker 1: that talent pool that's there. That includes companies like Google, Facebook, 475 00:32:14,280 --> 00:32:18,120 Speaker 1: and Apple. This is a pretty big positive benefit for 476 00:32:18,200 --> 00:32:21,800 Speaker 1: people in that city on some level. On top of 477 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:25,840 Speaker 1: the forty thousand employees who work at Amazon's HQ one, 478 00:32:26,160 --> 00:32:29,320 Speaker 1: Seattle has seen the creation of more than fifty thousand 479 00:32:29,400 --> 00:32:32,920 Speaker 1: high tech jobs at these other companies. That's a pretty 480 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:38,120 Speaker 1: darn good development. With those jobs comes seventeen billion dollars 481 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:43,200 Speaker 1: in compensation that includes salaries, incentives, and benefits. It also 482 00:32:43,240 --> 00:32:45,880 Speaker 1: includes an increase in tax revenue. There are a lot 483 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:49,320 Speaker 1: of things that you can say are positives because of this, 484 00:32:50,040 --> 00:32:53,600 Speaker 1: and it's important to remember that Amazon's not wholly or 485 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:58,440 Speaker 1: solely responsible for this. Microsoft, which is in Redmond, Washington, 486 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 1: it's not that far from Seattle, is also a really 487 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,760 Speaker 1: big reason why there's so much tech talent in Washington State. 488 00:33:06,200 --> 00:33:10,160 Speaker 1: So Microsoft's presence is another anchor point for all of 489 00:33:10,200 --> 00:33:13,640 Speaker 1: that talent, and in fact, Microsoft had been a source 490 00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:17,360 Speaker 1: of agglomeration a decade before, more than a decade before 491 00:33:17,400 --> 00:33:23,240 Speaker 1: Amazon was. Seattle has also seen housing prices increased dramatically 492 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:27,800 Speaker 1: as Amazon has grown. Gentrification and rent hikes have pushed 493 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:30,640 Speaker 1: a lot of people out of the city into suburbs, 494 00:33:30,680 --> 00:33:33,600 Speaker 1: moving them further and further away from their jobs and 495 00:33:33,640 --> 00:33:36,800 Speaker 1: the areas they're familiar with. It increases the commute times, 496 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 1: it increases the amount of traffic that's in Seattle, and 497 00:33:41,240 --> 00:33:44,240 Speaker 1: it decreases the quality of life for people who don't 498 00:33:44,280 --> 00:33:46,920 Speaker 1: happen to hold a sweet gig at Amazon that allows 499 00:33:46,960 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 1: them to afford to still live in the city. This, 500 00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 1: in turn has contributed to that massive traffic problem. So 501 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:57,840 Speaker 1: since Amazon's exponential growth, Seattle has gone from being a 502 00:33:57,880 --> 00:34:01,400 Speaker 1: city that has typical traffic shoes but not you know, 503 00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:05,240 Speaker 1: extraordinary ones, to landing in the top ten cities with 504 00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:09,239 Speaker 1: the worst traffic in the United States. According to one 505 00:34:09,280 --> 00:34:12,000 Speaker 1: source I read, it ranked as high as number three 506 00:34:12,520 --> 00:34:14,959 Speaker 1: at one point, although most of the ones I see 507 00:34:15,040 --> 00:34:17,879 Speaker 1: have it in the lower group of the top ten. 508 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:21,600 Speaker 1: On the other hand, Seattle has also seen a huge 509 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:25,920 Speaker 1: boom in new businesses, particularly restaurants. People have to eat somewhere, 510 00:34:26,320 --> 00:34:28,919 Speaker 1: So it's not like everything is awful. I don't want 511 00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:34,120 Speaker 1: to suggest that it is very complicated. It is dependent 512 00:34:34,239 --> 00:34:37,879 Speaker 1: upon what you do in Seattle. Seattle has also seen 513 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:41,719 Speaker 1: incredible booms in construction. The last time I was in 514 00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:44,400 Speaker 1: the city, you could not turn around without seeing a 515 00:34:44,440 --> 00:34:47,719 Speaker 1: sky crane anywhere. In fact, according to wonder report I read, 516 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,680 Speaker 1: there were more sky cranes in Seattle than there were 517 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,600 Speaker 1: in San Francisco and New York combined. So there are 518 00:34:54,640 --> 00:34:57,760 Speaker 1: good and bad things that go along with enormous companies 519 00:34:57,800 --> 00:35:01,719 Speaker 1: making an impact on communities. And your question then, is 520 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:05,480 Speaker 1: what elements here matter the most for me? Is it 521 00:35:05,719 --> 00:35:09,879 Speaker 1: ultimately good or bad for my own personal experience? And 522 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:13,160 Speaker 1: that ends up being a kind of a personal unique thing. 523 00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:16,840 Speaker 1: I can't answer that for everyone. As for the cities 524 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:19,720 Speaker 1: that were left behind, the ones that were not chosen 525 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:24,839 Speaker 1: by Amazon, perhaps were never seriously in contention, there still 526 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:28,600 Speaker 1: may be a lasting effect of this whole competition, and 527 00:35:28,760 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: some of those effects may not be totally beneficial. On 528 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,520 Speaker 1: the one hand, some of those cities have raised profiles, 529 00:35:35,640 --> 00:35:38,880 Speaker 1: and some of them poured money into making improvements in infrastructure. 530 00:35:39,200 --> 00:35:41,759 Speaker 1: That's a good thing, even if it didn't pay off 531 00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:44,840 Speaker 1: with Amazon picking that city in the short term, because 532 00:35:45,680 --> 00:35:47,920 Speaker 1: if you live in a city where the streets are 533 00:35:47,960 --> 00:35:52,320 Speaker 1: filled with potholes, you're probably happy if those potholes get filled, 534 00:35:52,719 --> 00:35:55,240 Speaker 1: and you might be less interested in the reasoning behind 535 00:35:55,360 --> 00:35:58,719 Speaker 1: why it was finally done, unless, of course, you're just 536 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:01,640 Speaker 1: worried that the inverse structure is going to crumble again, 537 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:05,200 Speaker 1: and now that Amazon is not expressing interest, no one's 538 00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:08,400 Speaker 1: ever gonna bother to fix the darned things. But in 539 00:36:08,440 --> 00:36:12,520 Speaker 1: the short term, at least, infrastructure improvements are probably something 540 00:36:12,560 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 1: that a lot of people are enjoying. According to Forbes, 541 00:36:15,880 --> 00:36:18,279 Speaker 1: one of the other effects is that many of the 542 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:23,080 Speaker 1: HQ two rejects might see an increase in real estate prices. 543 00:36:24,360 --> 00:36:27,360 Speaker 1: The leader of the pack is my hometown of Atlanta. 544 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:32,600 Speaker 1: Atlanta is expected to have a jump of more than 545 00:36:32,920 --> 00:36:37,240 Speaker 1: thirteen percent in real estate prices in twenty nineteen, which 546 00:36:37,320 --> 00:36:39,880 Speaker 1: could be great news if you happen to own a home, 547 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:42,960 Speaker 1: then you're looking to sell it for a tidy profit 548 00:36:43,000 --> 00:36:45,239 Speaker 1: and maybe move somewhere further out of the city where 549 00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:49,040 Speaker 1: you're still not having to pay the the higher prices. 550 00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:52,520 Speaker 1: But for a lot of people it could mean increased hardship. 551 00:36:52,600 --> 00:36:55,239 Speaker 1: They could get priced out of the areas in which 552 00:36:55,239 --> 00:36:58,000 Speaker 1: they live. That would push them further out from where 553 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:02,080 Speaker 1: they work and where they're familiar. It's it's gentrification on 554 00:37:02,120 --> 00:37:05,239 Speaker 1: a citywide scale, something that has been a problem in 555 00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:09,400 Speaker 1: other places like San Francisco. San Francisco is notorious at 556 00:37:09,440 --> 00:37:14,279 Speaker 1: this point for having incredibly expensive housing, to the point 557 00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:18,320 Speaker 1: where average shmows, normal folks, people who are not high 558 00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:22,960 Speaker 1: paid tech workers or executives, can't afford to live there anymore. 559 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,000 Speaker 1: The tech industry has been a really big part of 560 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:28,839 Speaker 1: this in many cities, and it's not unique to tech. 561 00:37:28,920 --> 00:37:32,040 Speaker 1: It's not like there's something about tech that makes it 562 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:37,880 Speaker 1: inherently do this to communities. It's that we value tech. 563 00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:41,080 Speaker 1: We place a high value on the products that the 564 00:37:41,120 --> 00:37:45,440 Speaker 1: tech industry creates and the services, and that means the 565 00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:48,400 Speaker 1: people who make the stuff are highly valued and they 566 00:37:48,440 --> 00:37:51,160 Speaker 1: get paid a lot. So it becomes this kind of 567 00:37:51,640 --> 00:37:57,800 Speaker 1: self feeding cycle, that agglomeration sort of process. But there's 568 00:37:57,800 --> 00:38:01,399 Speaker 1: so many companies that need those skill are people who 569 00:38:01,640 --> 00:38:05,120 Speaker 1: work in those industries will frequently hop between companies. So, 570 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,840 Speaker 1: in other words, just because you might work for Amazon 571 00:38:07,880 --> 00:38:10,520 Speaker 1: doesn't mean you plan to work there forever. You might say, well, 572 00:38:10,520 --> 00:38:13,200 Speaker 1: I'll work here until some other companies, some other tech 573 00:38:13,239 --> 00:38:16,320 Speaker 1: company in the area gives me a better offer, and 574 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:19,160 Speaker 1: I'm gonna go work for them, and then I'll work 575 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:20,799 Speaker 1: for them for a while until I get a better offer. 576 00:38:21,560 --> 00:38:24,160 Speaker 1: That is happening quite a bit in the tech industry 577 00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:27,040 Speaker 1: doesn't happen in all industries, but in tech it does. 578 00:38:28,120 --> 00:38:32,120 Speaker 1: So we tend to see concentrations of companies in these 579 00:38:32,160 --> 00:38:35,920 Speaker 1: specific regions, and we're going to continue to see that happening. 580 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:40,000 Speaker 1: It's also another reason why Amazon picked New York and Virginia. 581 00:38:40,120 --> 00:38:44,600 Speaker 1: Those are two regions that already have pretty healthy tech 582 00:38:44,719 --> 00:38:47,279 Speaker 1: communities built up around them, and that's just going to 583 00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:51,200 Speaker 1: increase with Amazon's presence there. It's gonna pull tech away 584 00:38:51,239 --> 00:38:55,560 Speaker 1: from some communities towards d C in New York. Other 585 00:38:55,600 --> 00:38:57,960 Speaker 1: cities that were on the HQ two shortlist but weren't 586 00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:01,799 Speaker 1: selected are also expected to see increases in real estate 587 00:39:01,880 --> 00:39:04,840 Speaker 1: prices in twenty nineteen. It has led to what Forbes 588 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:09,360 Speaker 1: calls the Amazon Effect. Now, in the end, what do 589 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:12,040 Speaker 1: I think about this? Largely, I think that Amazon was 590 00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:16,200 Speaker 1: mostly playing everybody. I really do think that Amazon had 591 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,920 Speaker 1: their goal, their their ideal destinations picked out well ahead 592 00:39:20,920 --> 00:39:24,080 Speaker 1: of time. It would not shock me at all to 593 00:39:24,239 --> 00:39:27,080 Speaker 1: learn that they weren't seriously considering any of the other 594 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:32,640 Speaker 1: locations as a possible site for h Q two. Um 595 00:39:32,680 --> 00:39:35,440 Speaker 1: I think they had always planned on splitting it into two. 596 00:39:35,760 --> 00:39:37,960 Speaker 1: I think they had always planned on New York in Virginia. 597 00:39:38,440 --> 00:39:40,840 Speaker 1: I think the fact that Jeff Bezos has homes in 598 00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:43,880 Speaker 1: both of those places is not a coincidence. I'm not 599 00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:46,239 Speaker 1: suggesting that Bezos wanted them there just so that they 600 00:39:46,239 --> 00:39:49,040 Speaker 1: were convenient to his homes, but rather he chose homes 601 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:52,719 Speaker 1: in those locations for specific reasons. I think Virginia makes 602 00:39:52,719 --> 00:39:55,880 Speaker 1: a lot of sense because it's also very close to 603 00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,560 Speaker 1: the political capital of the United States. It's a place 604 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:03,560 Speaker 1: where am Amazon can end up having even more direct 605 00:40:03,600 --> 00:40:09,600 Speaker 1: influence on politicians in order to create policies that are 606 00:40:09,640 --> 00:40:14,640 Speaker 1: beneficial for the success of the company. Ultimately, Amazon is 607 00:40:14,640 --> 00:40:19,120 Speaker 1: a publicly traded company, which means ultimately its purpose isn't 608 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,880 Speaker 1: to sell stuff to people. That's not its reason for existing. 609 00:40:23,160 --> 00:40:26,880 Speaker 1: Its purpose as a publicly traded company is to increase 610 00:40:27,000 --> 00:40:32,040 Speaker 1: its stock prices and reward shareholders for their investments, which 611 00:40:32,080 --> 00:40:34,640 Speaker 1: means try and figure out how to make as much 612 00:40:34,680 --> 00:40:36,920 Speaker 1: money as you can and hold on to as much 613 00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:39,799 Speaker 1: of that as you can, and that way you can 614 00:40:39,800 --> 00:40:44,320 Speaker 1: pay out your investors and they're happy. So it's a 615 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:46,160 Speaker 1: very cynical way of looking at things, but it's also 616 00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:51,160 Speaker 1: realistic anyway. I realized that this doesn't deal directly in 617 00:40:51,360 --> 00:40:54,839 Speaker 1: technology the way the show typically does, but I think 618 00:40:54,880 --> 00:40:58,399 Speaker 1: it's a very important case study to look at an 619 00:40:58,440 --> 00:41:05,680 Speaker 1: important event and to see exactly how things were manipulated, uh, 620 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:10,960 Speaker 1: the reactions to it, the impact of those actions, and 621 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:14,680 Speaker 1: the political implications. All of that's important because it plays 622 00:41:14,800 --> 00:41:19,959 Speaker 1: into how tech and society merge together, and that's really 623 00:41:19,960 --> 00:41:23,080 Speaker 1: the heart of what I try to do on this show. Now, 624 00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:28,640 Speaker 1: ultimately Amazon's choices may be incredibly beneficial for Virginia and 625 00:41:28,680 --> 00:41:31,160 Speaker 1: New York. It may be that once you weigh everything, 626 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:34,600 Speaker 1: measure for measure, as Shakespeare would say, or the Bible 627 00:41:34,760 --> 00:41:38,560 Speaker 1: that's where that's phrases originally from, if you measure it 628 00:41:38,600 --> 00:41:41,440 Speaker 1: all out, you may say, well, ultimately, the good that 629 00:41:41,520 --> 00:41:45,520 Speaker 1: has been done far outweighs any negative impact. That is 630 00:41:45,520 --> 00:41:49,799 Speaker 1: certainly a possibility. I'm not trying to suggest that that 631 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:56,080 Speaker 1: everybody has been hurt by this decision, but again, as 632 00:41:56,080 --> 00:41:59,520 Speaker 1: with all things, I recommend using critical thinking to examine it, 633 00:41:59,719 --> 00:42:04,040 Speaker 1: so you don't just read a headline and think, oh okay, 634 00:42:04,239 --> 00:42:07,640 Speaker 1: think about things, think about what the implications are, what 635 00:42:07,760 --> 00:42:11,640 Speaker 1: the impact happens to be. Uh. It will allow you 636 00:42:11,719 --> 00:42:14,440 Speaker 1: to make better decisions. In your day to day life, 637 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:17,520 Speaker 1: probably not decisions as monumental as whether or not to 638 00:42:17,760 --> 00:42:22,560 Speaker 1: locate a multibillion dollar companies headquarters, and you know, Virginia 639 00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:26,960 Speaker 1: versus Atlanta, versus Raleigh, North Carolina versus Austin, Texas. But 640 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:30,480 Speaker 1: it's certainly an important skill to develop. That's it for 641 00:42:30,520 --> 00:42:33,560 Speaker 1: this episode. If you have any suggestions for future topics 642 00:42:33,600 --> 00:42:37,480 Speaker 1: of tech Stuff, whether it's a company technology, maybe that's 643 00:42:37,480 --> 00:42:39,640 Speaker 1: an event in tech that you would like to know 644 00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:42,279 Speaker 1: more about. Maybe there's someone I should talk to as 645 00:42:42,560 --> 00:42:45,359 Speaker 1: have on as either a guest or to interview on 646 00:42:45,400 --> 00:42:47,640 Speaker 1: the show. Let me know. Send me an email. The 647 00:42:47,680 --> 00:42:51,040 Speaker 1: addresses tech stuff at how stuff works dot com, or 648 00:42:51,280 --> 00:42:54,719 Speaker 1: hop on over to our website that's tech Stuff podcast 649 00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:57,400 Speaker 1: dot com. You'll find other ways to contact the show. 650 00:42:57,719 --> 00:43:00,759 Speaker 1: You also see a link there to our arrchandise store 651 00:43:00,800 --> 00:43:03,920 Speaker 1: over at t public dot com slash tech stuff. Every 652 00:43:03,920 --> 00:43:06,160 Speaker 1: purchase you make goes to help the show, and we 653 00:43:06,360 --> 00:43:10,440 Speaker 1: greatly appreciate it, and I'll talk to you again really 654 00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:18,320 Speaker 1: soon for more on this and thousands of other topics. 655 00:43:18,560 --> 00:43:29,799 Speaker 1: Is that how stuff works dot com