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故事的核心是一位新上任的女議員,。兩位不顧本地居民利益的職業(yè)政客。還有兩人利用了人們對(duì)全球首富的公司享受政府福利的憤怒,。 亞馬遜早就預(yù)料到,，如果要在紐約市東河沿岸的皇后區(qū)工業(yè)區(qū)興建總部，會(huì)遭到一些公眾反對(duì),。但亞馬遜的創(chuàng)始人及董事會(huì)主席杰夫·貝佐斯沒有想到,，政治上的失誤和小精明結(jié)合起來，居然將公司趕了出去,。 致命的錯(cuò)誤中包括：兩位民主黨人,，三任紐約州州長(zhǎng)安德魯·庫(kù)莫和兩屆紐約市市長(zhǎng)白思豪都低估了國(guó)會(huì)女議員亞歷山大·奧卡西奧-科爾特斯的能量。沒想到她上任還不到兩個(gè)月,，反對(duì)大企業(yè)的號(hào)召居然如此迅速深入人心,。 “一切皆有可能：今天是一群敬業(yè)的、每天生活在紐約的人們和鄰居擊敗了亞馬遜的大公司貪婪,，抵抗了亞馬遜對(duì)工人的剝削以及全球首富的力量,。” 奧卡西奧-科爾特斯在推特（Twitter）上寫道,，她自稱為民主黨社會(huì)黨人,。 然而，奧卡西奧-科爾特斯跟她進(jìn)步民主黨同僚的勝利讓其他人懷疑,，此舉導(dǎo)致紐約市經(jīng)濟(jì)的長(zhǎng)期增長(zhǎng)受到了巨大損害,。 “政治加上盲目迎合成功阻擋了對(duì)紐約市來說一代人才能趕上一次的投資，也扼殺了數(shù)萬個(gè)穩(wěn)定的中產(chǎn)就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)?！贝蠹~約市建筑和工程行業(yè)委員會(huì)的主席加里·拉博拉在一份聲明中稱,。“而且此舉向世界各地希望到紐約建總部的企業(yè)發(fā)出了誤導(dǎo)的信息?，F(xiàn)在誰還敢來,？” 誰來買單？ 政治上的代價(jià)誰來承擔(dān),？就在白思豪聲稱亞馬遜對(duì)紐約創(chuàng)建科技中心的愿景是“關(guān)鍵”之后沒幾天,，轉(zhuǎn)臉便猛烈抨擊亞馬遜在項(xiàng)目推進(jìn)過程中行為失當(dāng)。 “是我們給亞馬遜機(jī)會(huì)當(dāng)個(gè)好鄰居,，還邀請(qǐng)他們?cè)谌澜缱顐ゴ蟮某鞘凶錾?。”白思豪在一份聲明中稱,。 庫(kù)莫在紐約州首府阿爾巴尼指責(zé)了同僚,。“一小群政治家將狹隘的政治利益置于社區(qū)之上,?！彼谝环萋暶髦姓f?！凹~約州參議院造成了巨大的破壞,。他們應(yīng)該為失去的經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展機(jī)會(huì)承擔(dān)責(zé)任?！?/p> 白思豪和科莫曾經(jīng)罕見地統(tǒng)一戰(zhàn)線拉攏亞馬遜,。與此同時(shí)，白思豪一直在全國(guó)各地旅行,，努力將自己定位成譴責(zé)美國(guó)收入不平等現(xiàn)象的進(jìn)步民主黨全國(guó)代言人,。 共和黨人迅速采取行動(dòng)，指出兩人合作多么尷尬,?！凹~約州的就業(yè)和人員流失將持續(xù)，除非能有州長(zhǎng)和議會(huì)認(rèn)真對(duì)待并扭轉(zhuǎn)州經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退,，真正提升競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力,。” 紐約共和黨主席埃德·考克斯在一份聲明中稱,?！皯?yīng)該敲響振聾發(fā)聵的警鐘?！?/p> 穆迪投資者服務(wù)公司的副總裁尼克·薩繆爾斯在一份聲明中稱,，亞馬遜入駐失敗對(duì)紐約來說是個(gè)“挫折”,，“表明盡管有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)優(yōu)勢(shì)，政治和反商業(yè)情緒還是可能拖累經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展,?！彼硎救绻麤]有亞馬遜提供新工作，高科技領(lǐng)域就業(yè)增長(zhǎng)會(huì)更加緩慢,。 反對(duì)交易的關(guān)鍵人物為市議員吉米·范·布拉默和州參議員邁克·賈納瑞斯,。他們跟一些反對(duì)聲音最大的社區(qū)團(tuán)體關(guān)系比較緊密，社區(qū)團(tuán)體認(rèn)為紐約生活成本原本就非常高昂,，收入不平等現(xiàn)象也越發(fā)嚴(yán)重,，如果亞馬遜進(jìn)入將產(chǎn)生很多高收入崗位，進(jìn)一步提升本地生活成本,。 如果說庫(kù)莫和白思豪的努力還有點(diǎn)搶救機(jī)會(huì),，或許只能靠歡迎就業(yè)的勞工組織幫助。但兩位政客沒能與工程和建筑服務(wù)工會(huì)組織起有效的反抵制活動(dòng),，支持30億美元的獎(jiǎng)勵(lì)亞馬遜計(jì)劃,，創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)，促進(jìn)城市經(jīng)濟(jì)進(jìn)一步多樣化,，并產(chǎn)生超過270億美元的收入,。 紐約市議會(huì)發(fā)言人科里·約翰遜表示,，“如果其他公司愿意來紐約,，非常歡迎?！彼敲裰鼽h,，也是公眾代言人，對(duì)亞馬遜的態(tài)度是強(qiáng)烈批評(píng),。 “我希望由此開始認(rèn)真討論禿鷲資本主義,，討論納稅人的錢都是怎么花掉的?！?約翰遜在一份聲明中稱,。“不管什么時(shí)候,，我都會(huì)支持公共交通,，不支持幫富人建直升機(jī)停機(jī)坪?！?/p> “紐約是我們的,，不是億萬富翁的” 紐約的兩個(gè)進(jìn)步組織“筑路”與“新經(jīng)濟(jì)項(xiàng)目”，還有十幾家其他組織聯(lián)合發(fā)表聲明稱,，慶祝亞馬遜放棄進(jìn)駐紐約,。 “這場(chǎng)勝利明確展示了皇后區(qū)和紐約工人和社區(qū)的力量，人們聚在一起為紐約市戰(zhàn)斗，城市是我們的,，不是貝佐斯之類億萬富翁的,。”聲明稱,。他們也將支持其他城市“抵抗亞馬遜和貝佐斯的霸凌手段”,。 到2045年，稅收減免和補(bǔ)助將帶來高達(dá)275億美元的稅收收入,，還要加上25000到40000個(gè)工作崗位,，平均年收入150000美元。此外,，亞馬遜第二總部還承諾將紐約市打造為可以與硅谷和波士頓128號(hào)公路競(jìng)爭(zhēng)的科技中心,。 不過，州長(zhǎng)和市長(zhǎng)并未跟當(dāng)?shù)毓賳T聯(lián)手,，之前沒有,，跟亞馬遜簽署住房和就業(yè)保障等可幫社區(qū)獲得福利的協(xié)議之后也沒有合作。 “應(yīng)該針對(duì)社區(qū)宣傳,，爭(zhēng)取反對(duì)方看在工作崗位的份上支持,。”民主黨政治顧問喬治·阿爾茨說,，上世紀(jì)80年代他曾擔(dān)任前紐約市長(zhǎng)愛德華·科赫的新聞發(fā)言人,。“也應(yīng)該爭(zhēng)取建筑工會(huì)支持,。要做方方面面的宣傳推廣,。但我沒看到?！?/p> “如果貝佐斯一開始就積極參與,，提出花1億美元改造地鐵站和其他設(shè)施，肯定一次成功,?！卑柎难a(bǔ)充道?！吧鐓^(qū)肯定挺他,。” 盡管如此,，反對(duì)者還是認(rèn)為亞馬遜進(jìn)入帶來的影響沒有那么大,，庫(kù)莫和白思豪給公眾畫的餅不會(huì)實(shí)現(xiàn)。紐約市已經(jīng)有460萬人就業(yè),，而且2018年創(chuàng)造了71000個(gè)新崗位,。 “亞馬遜的任務(wù)是賺錢,，我的工作是確保社區(qū)居民不受傷害?！辟Z納瑞斯在新聞發(fā)布會(huì)上說,。“這是歷史上一個(gè)非常危險(xiǎn)的時(shí)刻,，大公司居然認(rèn)為可以指揮政府了,。”（財(cái)富中文網(wǎng)） 譯者：Pessy 審校：夏林 |
A firebrand of a freshman congresswoman. Two career politicians who bulldozed local interests. And two others who harnessed fury over corporate welfare going to the world’s richest man. Amazon expected some public outcry over its choice to expand in a redeveloped Queens industrial area along New York City’s East River. But Jeff Bezos, its founder and chairman, didn’t count on a combination of political missteps and savvy that would drive it out of town. Among the fatal errors: Three-term Governor Andrew Cuomo and two-term New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, both Democrats, underestimated how an anti-corporate message from Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, in office less than two months, would take root so deeply and so quickly. “Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world,” Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described Democratic Socialist, said on Twitter. The victory for Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow progressive Democrats, though, left others wondering how much damage had been done to New York City’s long-term prospects for economic growth. “Politics and pandering have won out over a once-in-a-generation investment in New York City’s economy, bringing with it tens of thousands of solid middle-class jobs,” Gary LaBarbera, president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Greater New York, said in a statement. “This sends the wrong message to businesses all over the world looking to call New York home. Who will want to come now?” Who Will Pay? And who will pay politically? Just days after saying the Amazon jobs were “mission critical” for the city’s tech-hub aspirations, de Blasio lashed out at the company for how it handled its role in selling the project. “We gave Amazon the opportunity to be a good neighbor and do business in the greatest city in the world,” de Blasio said in a statement. Cuomo blamed his colleagues in Albany. “A small group of politicians put their own narrow political interests above their community,” he said in a statement. “The New York State Senate has done tremendous damage. They should be held accountable for this lost economic opportunity.” De Blasio and Cuomo had put on a rare united front to lure Amazon. At the same time, de Blasio has been traveling the country trying to establish himself as a national spokesman for progressive Democrats who are decrying the country’s income inequality. Republicans quickly moved to underscore the embarrassment for the pair. “Until we have a governor and legislature who are serious about reversing the state’s economic decline and making us competitive again, we are going to continue to lose jobs and people to other states,” Ed Cox, chairman of the New York GOP, said in a statement. “This should be a huge wake-up call.” In a statement, Nick Samuels, a vice president at Moody’s Investors Service, called the move a “setback” for New York that “illustrates politics and anti-business sentiment can derail economic development despite competitive strengths.” He said that high-tech employment will grow more slowly without the company’s new jobs. Key to the backlash that cratered the deal were City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and State Senator Mike Gianaris. They connected with community groups angered by the prospect of being priced out of the area by an influx of high-paying jobs into a city that’s already becoming increasingly unaffordable and riven by income inequality. If Cuomo and De Blasio’s labor could be salvaged, it would be with the help of labor groups who’d welcome the jobs. But the politicians failed to mount an effective counter-campaign with construction and building services unions to back $3 billion in incentives for a project that would create jobs, further diversify the city economy and generate more than $27 billion in revenue. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, a Democrat who also is the acting public advocate and a fierce Amazon critic, said other companies were welcome “if you’re willing to engage with New Yorkers.” “I hope this is the start of a conversation about vulture capitalism and where our tax dollars are best spent,” Johnson said in an statement. “I know I’d choose mass transit over helipads any day.” ‘Us, Not Billionaires’ Make The Road and New Economy Project, two New York progressive groups, were among more than a dozen to put out a joint statement saying they celebrated Amazon’s abandoning the site. “This victory is a clear demonstration of the power of workers and communities across Queens and New York who came together and are fighting for a city that works for us and not for billionaires like Bezos,” the groups said. They would support other cities “facing Amazon and Bezos’s bullying tactics.” The tax breaks and grants were to return as much as $27.5 billion in tax revenues by 2045, plus 25,000 to 40,000 jobs paying an average of $150,000 a year. HQ2 held the promise of making the city a tech leader rivaling the Silicon Valley and Boston’s Route 128 corridor. The governor and the mayor failed to connect, though, with local officials early on, and after the deal was signed to get input on what community benefits like housing and job guarantees they wanted from Amazon. “There needed to be community outreach to get counter-rallies for the jobs that were there,” said George Arzt, a Democratic political consultant who was press secretary for former New York Mayor Edward Koch in the 1980s. “You needed to get the construction unions involved in support. This takes a whole campaign across the board. I never saw it.” “If Bezos came in right at the beginning and offered $100 million for refitting of the subway station and other amenities for the subway, that would have been a homerun,” Arzt added. “He would have had the community on his side.” For all the drama, though, opponents said Amazon’s arrival would have much less of an impact than Cuomo and de Blasio would’ve had the public believe. The city’s economy already employs 4.6 million people, and it produced 71,000 new jobs in 2018. “Amazon’s job is to make money—my job is to make sure the people in the community are not hurt,” Gianaris said at a news conference. “This is a very dangerous moment in our history where big corporations think they can tell governments what they should be doing.” |
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