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Elizabeth Pagano is the editor of the Austin Monitor.
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Casar signs on to Florida pact
Tuesday, March 6, 2018 by Elizabeth Pagano
Yesterday, Council Member Greg Casar joined Richard Florida’s “mutual non-agression pact” in a call to refuse subsidies for Amazon HQ2. That pact reads, in part,
We are signing onto the mutual non-aggression pact initiated by Richard Florida and signed by a diverse group of thousands of economists, academics, business leaders, and everyday people across the country to reject massive subsidies for Amazon. Amazon is using their economic and political power to push cities into a race-to-the-bottom. Major corporate subsidies for Amazon would undermine our ability as leaders to fund critical needs like education, transportation, housing, and infrastructure which make our cities attractive for investment in the first place.
When Amazon locates their new headquarters, they will place a major strain on our existing infrastructure, housing stock, and they will worsen income inequality. Instead of pressuring our cities to offer the biggest possible tax-break package, Amazon should make real commitments to our communities such as investments in affordable housing, infrastructure, and living wage jobs.
Casar joined Council Member Brad Lander from New York and Council Member Jared Evans from Indianapolis as the first elected officials from Amazon headquarters finalist cities to sign the pact (which can be read in its entirety below).
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