New York runs Amazon out of town .... what bugs me!

What bugs me about NYC running Amazon out of town... Let me tell you what I know as an ex-New Yorker. New York is full of loud mouth, know-it-all types... until, like with the Amazon screw-up, results prove maybe they were wrong all along. 

AOC, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, looked very sheepish when reporters stopped her in the halls of Congress with Amazon questions. She called it a victory for "every day people" against Jeff Bezos. She affirmed that the stood up to the richest man in the world. 

Stood up to Bezos? Bezos took his ball and moved the game to Nashville, TN and Arlington, Virginia. He walked away from the deal when it looked like New York politicians, etc.,, prepared themselves to rake him over the coals. Now they can fight and curse among themselves and put up billboards in Times Square attacking possibly the stupidest political decision ever made.

Giving up 25,000 jobs and $27 billion in projected income does not sound like a victory. Smells more like regret. New York governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill Deblasio of NYC, more seasoned Democrats, were excited to offer Amazon a deal. They wanted to bring jobs to Queens, NY and the average salaries were said to be upwards of $150,000 per year. That wasn't good enough

I tried to delve into the protests against Amazon from the left and the roots of their discontent. Maybe it's connected to the way New York City is actually thriving these days with a combination of immigrant energy and white flight back to the city.

I wondered if a weird nostalgia for the old New York can be the cause for leftist confusion. In the 50s, when I was a kid in Manhattan, the city felt polluted with smokestack industry, along with crowded streets and noisy traffic. My family was part of the white flight to the suburbs. The city became increasingly dangerous and unappealing through the 60s and 70s.

Now gentrification has flip-flopped the equation and maybe that helps explain people like AOC. They may feel things are too good-- too many rich people and young, educated types moving into the city and crowding the subways.

Amazon may symbolize more prosperous folks sipping lattes and crowding the subways. But Amazon jobs had potential for low-skill and high-skill employment-- and that's what bugs me!

You would have had construction jobs and low skill jobs available to the many people. Amazon wanted to assist with New York's infrastructure, including education. Some of those Queens College students would have had opportunities to put new found programming skills to use-- and raise themselves economically.

The deed is done. New Yorkers of various political persuasions have only to dry their eyes and point the fingers at each other to determine where the fault resides. 

I call it "being too smart for your own good."

New York City will go on and continue to prosper on its upward trajectory. 

Meanwhile we've got a New Yorker running the country. Trump did not win his own NY state but he looks formidable as a 2020 candidate. And the Democrats must evaluate their platform and decide if job creation is a plan they can support.

Trump Tower for All

Imagine a Trump Tower standing tall at the heart American capital cities. The Trump Tower deal  for Moscow reportedly included a gift to Vladimir Putin of a $40 million dollar penthouse apartment at the top of the building.

The recipients, like Putin, should have no real need for the gift—but demonstrate a good dose of chutzpah, the Yiddish word that best captures the Trump personality.

·      Atlanta, Georgia—

o  Ted Turner, media mogul, “Mouth from the South, ounder on CNN and revolutionized mass media on a global scale.

·      Austin, Texas—

o  Willie Nelson, country music star with IRS issues

·      Birmingham, Alabama—

o  George Wallace heirs, Alabama governor, ran for President despite reputation as racist

·      Boston, Massachusetts—

o  Big Papi David Ortiz, a “disruptor” who changed baseball by overcoming the Boston Red Sox curse with a 2004 World Series victory—an “unprecedented” achievement

·      Cambridge, Massachusetts—

o  Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts, an Oklahoma native she claimed Native American ancestry and got branded as “Pocahontas” by Trump—himself an individual known to stretch the truth on occasion.

·      Chicago, Illinois—

o  Rod Blagojevich, 40^thGovernor of Illinois until his impeachment and removal from office, contestant on 9^thseason of Celebrity Apprentice in 2010, good TV hair

·      Cincinnati, Ohio—

o  Pete Rose, star baseball player for Cincinnati Red Sox, Hall of Fame entry has been denied due to gambling habit

·      Dallas, Texas—

o  Ross Perot, the feisty billionaire, made a 1992 run as an independent Presidential candidate

·      Detroit, Michigan—

o  Henry Ford heirs, created Ford Motor company, used assembly line to produce cars for middle class

·      Houston, Texas—

o  Roy Hofheinz heirs, developer with vision, create the Houston Colt .45s (AKA Houston Astros) baseball team and developed the Astrodome (Eighth Wonder of the World), the first domed stadium.

·      Miami, Florida—

o  Meyer Lansky heirs, Jewish mobster who reached across the aisle to the Italian Mob to build Las Vegas in the middle of Nevada desert

·      Minneapolis, Minnesota—

o  Al Franken, former Minnesota Senator and SNL comedy performer, the penthouse apartment is consolation for Al being kicked to the curb by #metoo movement

·      Montpelier, Vermont—

o  Bernie Sanders, the independent Senator from Vermont, like Trump recognized the frustration of working class Americansrecognized the frustration of working class Americans

·      New Orleans, Louisiana—

o  Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong, trumpet player extraordinaire with gravel-toned voice and great phraseology

·      Portland, Oregon—

o  Phil Knight founder of Nike, advertising phrase “Just Do It” defines the Trump improvisational or “transactional” style of doing business

·      Los Angeles, California—

o  Arnold Schwarzenegger, bod builder and movie star turned an unlikely, unexpected, inexperienced politician who got elected despite the odds, failed host of The Celebrity Apprentice

·      San Francisco, California—

o  Stewart Brand, editor of the who anticipated Internet with Whole Earth Catalog, Brand insisted the Earth photo take from satellite in 1967 should be available to all

·      Seattle, Washington—

o  two penthouse apartments for: 1) Bill Gates (Microsoft), 2) Jeff Bezos (Amazon) real billionaires

Amazon Empties Storefronts Around America

Just read todays New York Times article on the disappearance of stores around New York City. Neighborhoods are built around people living, socializing and shopping locally. New Yorkers love to chat in stores and restaurants, sharing small talk with fellow shoppers, fellow diners, waiters, employees. We all love being recognized and a neighborhood store gives you a feeling of belonging. And especially if they know your name—that’s the best!

Just like the theme song to the “Cheers” show said in the song lyrics:

Sometimes you want to go 

Where everybody knows your name, 

And they're always glad you came; 

You want to be where you can see, 

Our troubles are all the same; 

You want to be where everybody knows your name. 

The Internet, of course, has been the great disruptor. Record stores were one of the first to go. The computer geniuses invented Napster and the file-sharing applications. No need to buy CDs.  Just burn the digital files. And iTunes made it all legit. You could now buy the songs you wanted from the comfort of your home—and use iTunes in a totally secure, legal environment. But the record stores disappeared.

Next the newspapers started to disappear. Why pay for a paper copy of the news when you can read 10-15 papers from around the country and never have to pay a dime. But then the newspapers disappeared—and even the strongest among them, New York Times. Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, etc. have to struggle to keep readers and stay relevant. They all became online newspapers in the process.

Jeff Bezos, the mastermind behind Amazon, bought the Washington Post, a somewhat counter-intuitive business decision since his online company Amazon.com is the king of all disruptors of the status quo. Why did Bezos want a print newspaper? Not only that—the Washington Post has become a relentless pursuer of the liberal-point-of-view. Bezos and his newspaper have been dogged in exposing the Donald Trump shenanigans and Trump doesn’t like it. By this point in his career, Bezos could have bought Nantucket Island. Maybe he felt some guilt for the decimation of print media?

Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, the three wealthiest Americans, have as much wealth as 50% of the population. These three men have a net worth equal to entire lower half of the American economy. That’s a lot of people in a country with a population of 323 million.

Bezos and Gates obviously have their vast fortunes closely tied to the rise of digital technology. The eco-system of our economy has been shaken and overwhelmed by the changes imposed by technology. Much like an environmental eco-system, our infrastructure is losing diversity at a rapid rate. Our climate is being reduced to less variety—temperatures almost always seem too warm. The flora and fauna, overwhelmed by climatic changes, and reduces its variety as we lose species. A simpler eco-system always spells disaster and we race headlong towards over-simplification of climate, environment and societal structures.

Bezos boldly expanded Amazon.com with a confidence that shocked the business world. Carpe diem. He seized the day. He virtually stole the day, and the economy along with it. Bezos realized Americans would love shopping on their computer, getting lower prices than the brick and mortar stores, and delivering groovy packages right to your doorstep..

The downside, of course, the stores are disappearing—part of the social network that existed long before the online networks. The people who acknowledged our existence at the local supermarket or bookstore—make us feel alive. If the stores disappear, the city streets lack their usual vibrancy.

Let’s call it a case of too much disruption.