Is Charlotte Wasting Its Time Trying To Lure Amazon Or Is It Worth A Shot?

Thursday is the deadline to submit bids to land Amazon’s second headquarters.
Charlotte is one of more than 100 cities courting the online retailer.
The city kicked off a campaign with the #CLTisPrime and Mayor Jennifer Roberts declared Wednesday Amazon Prime Day.
Amazon is promising a $5 billion investment and 50,000 high paying jobs over the next 15 years.
Most states are offering generous tax breaks.
New Jersey pledged $7 billion in incentives.

Critics say having Amazon come to a city will raise taxes and real estate prices.
Tuesday, 73 national civic groups, including four based in North Carolina, sent an open letter to Amazon with “expectations” for whatever city it picks.
On the list:
Safe, family-sustaining jobs where workers’ rights are respected.
Building and sustaining great communities by funding housing and transportation.
Plus, accountability and transparency with Amazon’s business dealings.

Charlotte’s been through this before.
Chiquita moving here was a huge win back in 2011.
Charlotte ponied up $22-million dollars in local and state incentives.
But after four years, Chiquita closed its headquarters in the NASCAR Hall of Fame building and laid off hundreds of employees.