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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政客。還有兩人利用了人們對全球首富的公司享受政府福利的憤怒。 亞馬遜早就預料到，如果要在紐約市東河沿岸的皇后區工業區興建總部，會遭到一些公眾反對。但亞馬遜的創始人及董事會主席杰夫·貝佐斯沒有想到，政治上的失誤和小精明結合起來，居然將公司趕了出去。 致命的錯誤中包括：兩位民主黨人，三任紐約州州長安德魯·庫莫和兩屆紐約市市長白思豪都低估了國會女議員亞歷山大·奧卡西奧-科爾特斯的能量。沒想到她上任還不到兩個月，反對大企業的號召居然如此迅速深入人心。 “一切皆有可能：今天是一群敬業的、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黨人。 然而，奧卡西奧-科爾特斯跟她進步民主黨同僚的勝利讓其他人懷疑，此舉導致紐約市經濟的長期增長受到了巨大損害。 “政治加上盲目迎合成功阻擋了對紐約市來說一代人才能趕上一次的投資，也扼殺了數萬個穩定的中產就業機會?！贝蠹~約市建筑和工程行業委員會的主席加里·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發出了誤導的信息。現在誰還敢來？” 誰來買單？ 政治上的代價誰來承擔？就在白思豪聲稱亞馬遜對紐約創建科技中心的愿景是“關鍵”之后沒幾天，轉臉便猛烈抨擊亞馬遜在項目推進過程中行為失當。 “是我們給亞馬遜機會當個好鄰居，還邀請他們在全世界最偉大的城市做生意?！卑姿己涝谝环萋暶髦蟹Q。 庫莫在紐約州首府阿爾巴尼指責了同僚?！耙恍∪赫渭覍ⅹM隘的政治利益置于社區之上?！彼谝环萋暶髦姓f。“紐約州參議院造成了巨大的破壞。他們應該為失去的經濟發展機會承擔責任?！?/p> 白思豪和科莫曾經罕見地統一戰線拉攏亞馬遜。與此同時，白思豪一直在全國各地旅行，努力將自己定位成譴責美國收入不平等現象的進步民主黨全國代言人。 共和黨人迅速采取行動，指出兩人合作多么尷尬。“紐約州的就業和人員流失將持續，除非能有州長和議會認真對待并扭轉州經濟衰退，真正提升競爭力。” 紐約共和黨主席埃德·考克斯在一份聲明中稱?！皯撉庙懻衩@發聵的警鐘。” 穆迪投資者服務公司的副總裁尼克·薩繆爾斯在一份聲明中稱，亞馬遜入駐失敗對紐約來說是個“挫折”，“表明盡管有競爭優勢，政治和反商業情緒還是可能拖累經濟發展。”他表示如果沒有亞馬遜提供新工作，高科技領域就業增長會更加緩慢。 反對交易的關鍵人物為市議員吉米·范·布拉默和州參議員邁克·賈納瑞斯。他們跟一些反對聲音最大的社區團體關系比較緊密，社區團體認為紐約生活成本原本就非常高昂，收入不平等現象也越發嚴重，如果亞馬遜進入將產生很多高收入崗位，進一步提升本地生活成本。 如果說庫莫和白思豪的努力還有點搶救機會，或許只能靠歡迎就業的勞工組織幫助。但兩位政客沒能與工程和建筑服務工會組織起有效的反抵制活動，支持30億美元的獎勵亞馬遜計劃，創造就業機會，促進城市經濟進一步多樣化，并產生超過270億美元的收入。 紐約市議會發言人科里·約翰遜表示，“如果其他公司愿意來紐約，非常歡迎。”他是民主黨，也是公眾代言人，對亞馬遜的態度是強烈批評。 “我希望由此開始認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?！安还苁裁磿r候，我都會支持公共交通，不支持幫富人建直升機停機坪?！?/p> “紐約是我們的，不是億萬富翁的” 紐約的兩個進步組織“筑路”與“新經濟項目”，還有十幾家其他組織聯合發表聲明稱，慶祝亞馬遜放棄進駐紐約。 “這場勝利明確展示了皇后區和紐約工人和社區的力量，人們聚在一起為紐約市戰斗，城市是我們的，不是貝佐斯之類億萬富翁的?！甭暶鞣Q。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，稅收減免和補助將帶來高達275億美元的稅收收入，還要加上25000到40000個工作崗位，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號公路競爭的科技中心。 不過，州長和市長并未跟當地官員聯手，之前沒有，跟亞馬遜簽署住房和就業保障等可幫社區獲得福利的協議之后也沒有合作。 “應該針對社區宣傳，爭取反對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80年代他曾擔任前紐約市長愛德華·科赫的新聞發言人?！耙矐摖幦〗ㄖС?。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施，肯定一次成功。”阿爾茨補充道?！吧鐓^肯定挺他?！?/p> 盡管如此，反對者還是認為亞馬遜進入帶來的影響沒有那么大，庫莫和白思豪給公眾畫的餅不會實現。紐約市已經有460萬人就業，而且2018年創造了71000個新崗位。 “亞馬遜的任務是賺錢，我的工作是確保社區居民不受傷害。”賈納瑞斯在新聞發布會上說?！斑@是歷史上一個非常危險的時刻，大公司居然認為可以指揮政府了?！保ㄘ敻恢形木W） 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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