When Amazon announced in 2017 that it was looking for a location for a second headquarters, metro Denver was one of the areas that put together a package. Initially, the New York Times thought the Mile High City had it in the bag, and early this year Denver made the top-twenty cut. But on November 13, Amazon finally confirmed that its new headquarters would be split between two sites on the East Coast: in Arlington, Virginia, and Queens.
Was losing Amazon's H2Q to the East Coast a "bullet dodged," as one tweet suggested?
Says Bill:
Would have been good for Colorado. Higher-paying skilled jobs are needed here. It would allow for advancement for employees. Also, the higher-paid people spend money in the local economy on many levels.Responds Dawn:
Did you really want them bringing a bunch of out-of-state employees just to drive up cost of living even more? THAT is what would have happened. We are already one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation. We don't need help with that expansion. There are plenty of jobs here in Colorado already.Adds Adrell:
No corporation that promises high-paying jobs ever delivers. Even if they were available, they would not go to the people who need them. Plus, I'm glad that we won't be instrumental in Bezos making even more money. There are plenty of jobs out here; let's work on getting those up to a living wage.Suggests Jerimiah:
Denver never was a consideration. Bezos wants to expand further into government services and wants to be near our financial capital. Amazon just used other governments to sweeten his incentive package.Echoes Megan:
No more corporate welfare queens.Responds Brad:
Denver is simply too hostile to transplants; the Amazon employees would have been greeted with an ugly hostility in Denver that simply does not exist in either Crystal City or Long Island City, both already two of the most diverse places in this country AND particularly embracing of all people, no matter their ethnicity or place of origin. Denver's just not there yet, and likely will never reach a level of sophistication to ever get there. BUT HEY, there's always the Denver Stock Show. Yippppeee.And Sam concludes:
It's too late. The old Colorado that we once knew is in the rear-view mirror...growth growth growth traffic traffic traffic. Amazon didn't matter.Keep reading for more on Amazon:
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On the day that Amazon made its announcement, Denver officials were wooing another potential plum: Members of the United States Olympic Committee made a site visit to Denver to explore the possibility of a Mile High City/Colorado Winter Olympics bid.
But readers aren't much more excited about the prospect of the Olympics coming here than they were about Amazon. Says Zelda, "I sincerely hope the Olympics decide to go somewhere else in 2030. We don't need that kind of revenue." And Let Denver Vote is already circulating petitions to place a measure on Denver's May ballot that would demand voters be allowed to sign off on any potential Olympics bid.
Do you think Denver dodged a bullet when Amazon passed it by? Do you think Denver should skip making a bid on the Olympics? Post a comment or share your thoughts on [email protected].
