Amazon bailed out from setting up a satellite headquarters in Queens , NYC when they felt unwanted there…
The New York Governor and others begged them to come back….
No such luck….’
In a Washington DC suburb things went different….
Small protests ….
But a quick approval….
Politico features a piece by George Washington Univ. professor, David Fontana that questions the coming arrival of thousands of Amazon ‘suits’ that could and probably WILL influence the close by wheels of the Federal Government….
Walk down a busy street in Washington during the week and you could run into a number of powerful people—but only certain types of powerful people. The powerful in Washington have earned that status mostly by what they have done for, with or against the federal government. And as much as Washington is defined by having big government in town, it has also been defined by not having big business in town. If you want to run into the titans of finance, go to New York City. If you want to run into the masters of technology, go to Silicon Valley. If you want to run into the giants of the entertainment industry, head to Los Angeles.
This geographic separation of Big Business from Big Government is not a bug—it’s a feature of American democracy at its best. The founders knew that democratic government demands a connection between the powerful and the people to survive and thrive—and that different kinds of powerful people need to be separated from each other to keep that connection strong. They designed the United States with this principle in mind—and for much of American history, it has stuck: We have kept our biggest corporations out of our our capital.
But this could be starting to change, and the reason is Amazon. The online retail giant has announced its decision to place a second headquarters, and therefore tens of thousands of high-level business jobs, in the Washington metropolitan area. The move will flood the capital, already crammed with the politically powerful, with economic elites, deepening the bond between the two groups and making it even harder for those outside the bubble of the rich and powerful to be in or influence the federal government.
Many of the founders would have hated the idea of a megacorporation in such close proximity to Congress and the White House—and they would have been worried about what it means for the country…..
image….medium.com