Political leaders shouldn’t be offering Amazon our tax money

Jeff Bezos, the founder and CEO of Amazon, is the richest man in the world, worth around $100 billion. Amazon’s profits are soaring. According to the nonprofit Open Markets Institute, Mr. Bezos is engaging in anticompetitive practices that are putting retailers out of business and forcing drastic cuts in profits. His treatment of employees came under intense criticism in a 2015 New York Times expose “Big Ideas in a Bruising Workplace,” in which employees discuss 10- to 12-hour days, frugal benefits and oppressive management. Although some of his workforce is wellpaid (warehouse workers are not), a study by Payscale of Fortune 500 showed Amazon had the second-highest turnover of employees (Business Insider, July 2013).

Mr. Bezos has made his money by demanding sizable tax breaks to create jobs. Cities arenow outdoing each other in offeringridiculously lavish tax breaks, free land and unimaginable perks to win the bid for Amazon’s second headquarters. Cities say they are sworn to secrecy, and Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto and Gov. Tom Wolf are refusing to disclose to the taxpayers incentives offered to Amazon, denying legal Freedom of Information Act requests. What are theyhiding?

It has been only recently that Pittsburgh has escaped bankruptcy. Pennsylvania is facing a deficit that Mr. Wolf describes as a crisis. The tax cuts given by Republicans to corporations will only add fuel to the fire. Fixing our antiquated and unsafe water system could cost us $6 billion by the city’s own admission.

If Amazon selected Pittsburgh for its HQ2, how would the city and region handle the tremendous infrastructure costs associated with an influx of up to 50,000 jobs? In Seattle, Amazon’s main U.S. hub, a recent study by the Puget County Business Journal shows home prices doubling in the last five years, causing a crisis of homelessness, tent camps and displacement. Expenditures of $1 billion to address the crisis have been insufficient. The elderly, disabled and lowerpaid tech workers are being forced out of the city.

Our political leaders should stop Amazon and other companies from bribing taxpayers for jobs. We need to tax “nonprofit” entities that are making huge profits, we need a progressive state income tax, and we need publicly funded infrastructure jobs. Keep Pittsburgh on the most livable list. MARY LEWIN

Squirrel Hill