• About
  • Masthead
    • Editorial Board
  • Advertise
  • Join Us
  • Archives
The Wellesley News -
  • News
    • Residential halls experience maintenance issues
      Residential halls experience maintenance issues
    • Wellesley community grapples with ChatGPT’s implications
      Wellesley community grapples with ChatGPT’s implications
    • Students protest for trans and nonbinary rights
      Students protest for trans and nonbinary rights
    • News in Brief
    • Senate Report
  • Features
    • ES 300 Conducts Waste Audit
      ES 300 Conducts Waste Audit
    • Scholar-advocate visits Wellesley to discuss women and incarceration
      Scholar-advocate visits Wellesley to discuss women and incarceration
    • Diana Khoi Nguyen leads workshop and poetry reading
      Diana Khoi Nguyen leads workshop and poetry reading
    • Alumnae Spotlight
    • Faculty Focus
  • Opinions
    • Navigating Anonymity-Seeking Apps at Wellesley
      Navigating Anonymity-Seeking Apps at Wellesley
    • Trans people are not your culture war
      Trans people are not your culture war
    • The Silicon Valley Bank collapse has exposed how the government chooses to spend its money
      The Silicon Valley Bank collapse has exposed how the government chooses to spend its money
    • Staff Editorial
    • Letters to the Editor
  • Arts
    • Hozier stuns with “Eat Your Young” EP
      Hozier stuns with “Eat Your Young” EP
    • Diana Khoi Nguyen leads workshop and poetry reading
      Diana Khoi Nguyen leads workshop and poetry reading
    • “Cocaine Bear” indicates the return of camp movies
      “Cocaine Bear” indicates the return of camp movies
    • Books Before Boys
  • Sports and Wellness
    • No image
      What even is a BORG and why does it matter?
    • What even are BORGs and why do they matter?
      What even are BORGs and why do they matter?
    • What video games can teach us about self-care
      What video games can teach us about self-care
    • Athlete of the Month
  • The Wellesley Snooze
    • Miss Me With That Gay Shit
      Miss Me With That Gay Shit
    • Tower House Prez Emails
      Tower House Prez Emails
    • Worst Human Being You’ve Ever Met Validated by Stone Center Therapist
      Worst Human Being You’ve Ever Met Validated by Stone Center Therapist
By Sabrein Gharad OpinionsNovember 28, 2018

The Consumerist’s Mecca Relocated: The Implications of Amazon’s New Headquarters

Photo Courtesy of The New York Times

Amazon’s recent decision to establish headquarters in several new locations has been met with both fervent contention and eagerness. Over the past year, Amazon has received 238 proposals from cities across the country. The prospect of 50,000 new jobs and the inevitable economic transformation and growth that this sort of influx of employment and investment would yield seemed like a golden ticket for economic prosperity. Amazon finally revealed the locations of its new headquarters: New York City (specifically Long Island City) and Northern Virginia (specifically Crystal City in Arlington). The promise of economic growth and prosperity that most politicians have become so enamored with is unfortunately a nightmare for the already disenfranchised and poor people living in these areas who will be experiencing increasing wealth disparity and gentrification due to the new headquarters.

Both cities initially did not publicly disclose if they had included tax breaks and infrastructure investments in their bid, but it has now been revealed that New York City and northern Virginia will be providing around $3 billion and $1billion dollars respectively in tax cuts and incentives. These tax breaks allow Amazon to avoid contributing to investments relating to infrastructure and programs — such as  public education — that benefit the residents of these areas.

At the same time, the job creation that Amazon says justifies these tax breaks won’t be going to current residents or those suffering from unemployment. Most new jobs will be high-skilled, high-paying jobs that will recruit already qualified, employable and wealthy people from and outside of northern Virginia and New York City. In addition, the influx of high-paying jobs will increase the wealth gap in these areas, while also making affordable housing virtually obsolete. Rent and property values are predicted to increase dramatically. In northern Virginia, for instance, there is set to be the creation of around 25,000 new jobs. However, these jobs are highly skilled with an average salary of $150,000. This influx of high-income residents will make the cost of living in these areas impossibly high for those already trying to make ends meet, thus pushing them out of the areas and saturating these areas with wealthy, educated, predominantly white people.

Although Amazon is still receiving giant tax incentives from their new headquarters, they did not exclusively select these new locations because of their quantifiable benefits. Amazon chose to locate itself in the two greatest centers of power in the U.S. The northern Virginia headquarters is in close proximity to the political capital of the world. In addition, CEO Jeff Bezos already owns a home in Washington D.C. and owns the Washington Post. The New York City headquarters is located in the financial capital of the country, and arguably the world.

Many of the states that were rejected by the company are now thinking about both what they could have done differently and what took them out of the running. These states, however, should not be too critical of themselves after Amazon’s announcement, as some suggest that the nationwide search was hollow and a giant ruse from the beginning.

I would expect nothing less than such a strategic move from a company that is deftly infiltrating every facet of American life. By placing itself in such consequential locales, Amazon is ensuring its ability to exert its influence in legislation and policy and financial dominance to the point of monopolization, as well as being able to control their narrative and image in mass media. The prospect of any one company ––  and for that matter, any one person –– having such an inconspicuous stronghold on essentially every facet of power in American society will lead to an inevitable dominance and exploitation of the most vulnerable in society. Amazon has been using seemingly legal –– if morally reprehensible –– means to assert domination through exploitation up to this point without much pushback from those with the power to change those laws. So, by the time those in power realize the grave consequences of Amazon’s dominance, it will be too late to stop it.

 

Share on

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Google +
  • LinkedIn
  • Email
Previous articleSeeking an answer: mental health resources on campus
Next articleHate crime data collection needs to be overhauled

You may also like

Sidechat and YikYak's logos on a teal background

Navigating Anonymity-Seeking Apps at Wellesley

Chalk art on Wellesley's Academic Quad Reading "Not Just Acceptance, Liberation"

Trans people are not your culture war

The letters SVB in red are crumbling to pieces

The Silicon Valley Bank collapse has exposed how the government chooses to spend its money

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

COPYRIGHT © 2023 THE WELLESLEY NEWS
Back to top