Would Amazon give back to the community?
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
When the city of Seattle blinked recently in a chicken fight with ecommerce giant Amazon and repealed a month-old tax meant to help combat homelessness, communities around the country took note.
Did that signal that Amazon is the kind of company that bullies governments even as it’s creating jobs and pushing up home prices? How much could the company be expected to help if its arrival sends up housing costs?
“I don’t think Pittsburgh needs another non-contributor to the tax base, like Amazon, that will put a strain on infrastructure and resources,” said Heather Mull, a freelance photographer who lives in Hazelwood, where land is being offered up for development.
The Steel City is one of 20 communities on the short list for a second headquarters, called HQ2, that Amazon has promised will bring up to 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment over 17 years. Even as the intense economic development pitches have continued around the country to lure the prize, the debates have raged over just how problematic a win might be for the host community.
“The situation in Seattle underscoreshow difficult it is to push this multibillion-dollarcompany to contribute their fair share to the community,” said Laura Wiens, directorof Pittsburghers for Public Transit, a grassroots organization advocating for equitable, affordable and sustainable transportation systems
in Allegheny The local strength repeal government County. showed in pressuring Amazon’s on taxes in Seattle, where it’s the largest employer with 45,000 workers. Amazon has been criticized for contributing to a widening income gap and fueling an increase population. in Seattle’s homeless
To entice Amazon, HQ2 finalists are offering immense tax breaks. Although it has not been publicly disclosed, Pennsylvania is believed to be offering as much as $1 billion in incentives.
After the Seattle vote, Drew Herdener, vice president of Amazon, issued a written statement praising the city’s turnabout as the “right decision for the region’s economic prosperity.”
Mr. Herdener also said the company plans to help ease that city’s homeless crisis by continuing to “invest Mary’s FareStart.” in local Last nonprofits Place year, Amazon like and announced plans to build a permanent Mary’s Place Family Shelter within its Seattle headquarters. It is expected to open in 2020.
Ms. Wiens noted there’s no indication of how Pittsburgh Amazon officials to help might resolve press any infrastructure issues. “We currently have a housing crisis here, and there is no stated plan by our political leaders about how Amazon would contribute to [solving that] existing crisis,” Ms. Wiens said. According to recent Pittsburgh City Council legislation, more than 23,000 Pittsburgh households spend more than half their income on housing, making those families susceptible to foreclosure, eviction and other hardships. City council has recently tagged $10 million to a Housing Opportunity Fund set to help affordable housing programs. any Amazon’s pressure — A sending community number have on both HQ2 predicted housing of that rents will assessments lands costs that and see home influx of prices new workers. up under the “If Amazon came to Pittsburgh, it would increase the pushout of black families and low-income families. There will be a mass migration out of the city, and rents will go up,” said Carl Redwood, co-director of Hill District Consensus Group, an organization empowering low-income and working class residents of the Hill District.
Chelsa Wagner, Allegheny County Controller, noted some large organizations here have worked to help the community, even if it’s not through paying taxes.
Ms. Wagner cited the Heinz Endowments, Pittsburgh Foundation and Hillman Foundation as “pouring money into the community.” Recently, for example, the Hillman Foundation gave $2.3 million to benefit local sustainability initiatives.
Ms. Wagner sees such groups as leaving a charitable path Amazon could follow. “If Amazon comes to Pittsburgh, I hope that it would follow their lead to found charitable foundations and work earnestly to help the community,” she said.
Mr. Redwood supports that line of thought. If Amazon did bring its second headquarters to Pittsburgh, he would want to see the company giving back.
“The vast majority of profits being made by Amazon should go back to the neighborhoods that subsidized them, rather than its own pockets,” Mr. Redwood said.
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