Date: February 7, 2019
Contact: mediacenter@freeandfairmarketsinitiative.orgÂ
🚨#TBT🚨
WHEN FFMI WARNED MAYORS AND GOVERNORS THAT WISCONSIN’S FOXCONN SHOULD BE AN HQ2 CAUTIONARY TALE
Taxpayer handouts to Foxconn helped contribute to the downfall of former Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, and FFMI warned about Amazon HQ2 doing the same.
“Walker’s swift downfall after the Foxconn debacle is a cautionary tale for mayors and governors across the country, but especially for leaders in New York City and Northern Virginia who just signed away billions in taxpayer subsidies for Amazon’s headquarters.” (Free & Fair Markets Initiative, “The Stunning Ouster of Scott Walker Is A Warning To Lawmakers In NYC And Northern Virginia: Amazon Deal Could Spell Swift Backlash,” 11.16.18)
New study confirms that the same backroom dealing allowed Amazon to overpromise and underdeliver on HQ2, and could devastate New York and Virginia communities.
“Many of the companies that underdelivered had stipulations that shielded them from public scrutiny — contract clauses that allowed them to block the release of details on the deals, [University of Texas Professor Nate] Jensen and [graduate student Calvin] Thrall found…Amazon inserted such conditions into its HQ2 contracts with both New York and Arlington, Virginia.” (Axios, “When tax incentives go wrong,” Steve LeVine, 2.6.19)
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ABOUT THE FREE & FAIR MARKETS INITIATIVE
The Free & Fair Markets Initiative (FFMI) is a non-profit coalition of businesses, consumer advocacy groups, workers and community activists committed to scrutinizing and highlighting emerging market trends that are stifling competition and innovation, influencing federal and local government spending, putting consumer data in harm’s way and limiting consumer choice. For a list of members, please visit https://freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org/about-us/members/. For more information on the Free & Fair Markets Initiative, please visit https://freeandfairmarketsinitiative.org.
