Delta Air Lines flap in Atlanta may be a boon for D.C. in the Amazon HQ2 hunt

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

Atlanta’s chances for landing Amazon’s HQ2 may have taken a hit — and that could be a big boon for the greater Washington, D.C. area.

Earlier this month, Georgia lawmakers pulled a tax break for Delta Air Lines after the Atlanta-based carrier put an end to discounts for National Rifle Association members. Delta made the move in response to a deadly February school shooting in Florida, leading to backlash from conservative state politicians.

Sen. Casey Cagle, a Republican candidate for governor, called out the company for “discriminating against law-abiding gun owners” and led the charge to revoke the airline’s tax exemption on purchases of jet fuel. “Corporations cannot attack conservatives and expect us not to fight back,” he wrote.

Jeff Bezos, the Amazon founder and CEO who has supported liberal causes, must have been paying attention. And it wouldn’t be surprising if the brouhaha surrounding Delta was enough to douse the city’s hopes of landing the 50,000 jobs riding with HQ2.

“When you drag a business into politics in a way that hurts their bottom line, that’s when you get taken off the short list,” Tom Stringer, a New York-based managing director and service leader for BDO USA’s corporate real estate advisory services practice, told sister paper the Atlanta Business Chronicle. “I think that’s what Georgia has just done.”

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2018/03/12/delta-tax-nra-atlanta-amazon-hq2-washington-dc.html?ana=e_tf&s=newsletter&ed=2018-03-13&u=ColXVN5SPzQtLHFP87ho2w07857290&t=1520976408&j=80475741

[elleng]

1. So that means, Virginia, I guess;

don't think MD or DC 'like' NRA.

[fescuerescue]

3. Isn't that the NRA HQ?

[elleng]

4. Yes it is,

11250 Waples Mill Rd, Fairfax, VA 22030

[Happyhippychick]

2. Bezos owns the Post. I'm betting on Maryland.

[elleng]

7. WaPo address:

1301 K St NW, Washington, DC 20071

[Happyhippychick]

11. Yes, but they don't have the room in DC that is required. Hogan is pushing hard, my money is on MD

[elleng]

13. Right, no room in DC (where I used to live.)

Hogan does that sort of thing, along with hampering education and transit (where I live now.)

PLENTY room in 'downstate' VA, and need for employment (from what I understand.)

[Happyhippychick]

14. We're neighbors

[elleng]

15. Hi, chick!

[Happyhippychick]

17. Hi EG!

[unc70]

5. Site speculation much like NCAA selection Sunday

Or Mueller watching. Those who actually know anything are not talking. This particular article seems an effort by northern Virginia advocates trying to denigrate Atlanta as a choice. The strongest VA argument is that it would make lobbying DC easier.

Where I live is also in the running, though probably down in the field (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill). We see lots of articles like this from all over the country. I think a big problem with both VA and ATL is their horrible traffic, a problem shared by most of the potential sites. Traffic is certainly a problem around here, but not quite as bad.

[politicaljunkie41910]

6. Bezos is crazy if he thinks he can compare Atlanta to Northern VA. I've lived in both recently

and still own homes in Atlanta and California. Even though the article claims this is going to be Amazon's HQ2, they are not going to have 50,000 high skilled, highly paid employees. My guess is that the vast majority of employees are going to be the typical low wage, low skilled employees found in other Amazon's fulfillment facilities where Amazon pays $10 bucks/hour (near my home in California) and works employees to death.

Northern VA is a high cost of living/ high density population area, with lots of traffic congestion even on the weekends, long commutes to short distances, and you cannot compare the Atlanta area workforce and housing costs. I know because I lived in both places recently owning in one and renting in the other. NOVA has a lot of people crowed into high priced town homes, high rises, and expensive older homes that need renovation. Buildable land is scarce and in short supply, very expensive, very crowded which is why there are more high rises, condos, townhomes than single family residences.

Atlanta is more spread out, lower housing costs, lower gasoline prices, lower taxes, etc.

I think Bezos is bluffing trying to gain concessions from NOVA and Atlanta, knowing he can't afford NOVA's workforce even with his billions.

[fescuerescue]

9. If its a HQ (#2), that's not fullfillment center expertise

I would expect these folks to be high-wage high skill folks.

Bear in mind that Amazon has a huge High-tech cloud services business too and the demand is crazy high with very high wages in Seattle.

I've done hiring for high-tech, high-wage jobs up and down the East coast, including Atlanta and Nova. Both are tough but Nova is a bit easier due to the density.

Now if it's just truly another warehouse and fullment center - neither is a good choice imo.

[politicaljunkie41910]

12. I thought about that, but 50,000 high skilled employees is a lot of money even for Bezos. I recall

also when he reorganized the company, some were suspicious of the numbers being reported by the Cloud segment. But then what do I care. (FTR besides being a political junkie, I'm also a stockmarket junkie.) I lived there for three years and hated it. Had a nice six figure income, and my husband was retired with an excellent pension. I hated the traffic and it took forever to go anywhere. I didn't want to live in a condo, or townhouse forever; I wanted a house. But the SFR closer to work were old, outdated, and on a small lot and still cost a fortune before you even factored in renovation costs. My husband had family in the Southeastern part of Virginia but they were 4 hours away and on any given holiday weekend, that trip could easily be more because highway 95 turned into parking lot. Four hours when you factor in that the Virginia State Troopers were everywhere ticketing for anything and everything. Also, if you want to drive into D.C. for sightseeing or events, there is no parking. Also, the weather was either too hot, too cold, or rainy.

My son did a congressional internship the second summer I was there and that made it worth the while because he got to work on Capitol Hill in Senator Harry Reid's office when he was the Senate Majority Leader and he got to learn a lot about how the government worked. There also was a commuter train station right across from our Complex which made his commute to Capital Hill very easy. Mine, not so much. I worked at a major Defense Contractor's Corporate Headquarters, and it took me more than an hour each way to go the short 19 miles I had to go from my parking lot to the parking garage at my job. Two thirds of that drive time was the six short miles on Route 26 to the Beltway. I loved my job and was offered a promotion to stay, but I couldn't stand the commute and the climate, and the fact that I would never own a home there, and after 3 years I had had enough. Also, my aging parents needed help back home in California so I returned home.

[zaj]

8. I'd be $10,000 it's DC

They will need regulatory protection over the next 10-20 years. Being a DC based operation will be a huge factor for them I suspect.

[Initech]

10. Blame Cagle, he's the one who escalated the situation.

[Ilsa]

16. It will be good ammo in the general election. nt