The South Bend area, in Indiana, would be better without the headquarters of Amazon | Food for thought

The giant retailer has found its way into many parts of our lives. The company that started as an online bookstore has developed to power much of the Internet. This has changed the way many of us buy accessories as small as a USB key for items as big as a sofa.

Last week, Amazon announced that it had chosen the following cities: Queens in New York City and Crystal City, in the northern suburbs of Virginia, Washington, DC Nashville, Tennessee, was also named a regional hub of Amazon .

The move is expected to create 25,000 jobs in New York and the suburbs, as well as 5,000 in Nashville. This is a lot of jobs for a company that already employs 600,000 people, but suffers from reports of poor work practices.

The losers of the Amazon lottery began to disclose what they were offering, even though they had hidden this secret from taxpayers who would fund the lure. Pennsylvania offered $ 4.6 billion in bonuses. Philadelphia would have added an additional $ 1.1 billion. Maryland offered $ 8.5 billion. New Jersey promised $ 7 billion. According to the Guardian story, the communities offered all special treatment at airports, zoo membership and free pet adoption (with microchip) for employees.

It's the conversation that states, counties and cities have with businesses when they call. The competition for the QG2 of Amazon was in a different category, in line with a bid for the organization of Olympic organizations or a World Cup. These communities were chasing a retailer who changed our way of life. Assuming that Amazon is here to stay and continues to grow, it's not a bad idea to bet on Amazon. The question is what do you get in exchange for what you are willing to offer.

This is where I agree with Jacob Titus, who denounced the idea that South Bend should chase the Amazon landing here.

"Cities looking for a" savior "are reporting a crazy race (sic)," he wrote on a blog when Amazon announced that he was looking for a location for the QG2. "I'm tired of hearing people equate the future of South Bend with the attraction of" young talent "from across the country. The future of our city rests on its current citizens. "

I want smart, passionate people to stay in this region and more to come here. I like to hear the stories of people who grew up here, who left and who came back. I like to see how we celebrate innovation and form a region. We do not need Amazon for this.

Wooing Amazon was a big stakes poker tournament that was playing out in real time, but what the government and economic development officials were betting on was taxpayers' money. Nobody has ever seen such a big poker game.

New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the bets would carry a lot, even nine times. He claimed that the economic impact would be $ 186 billion over 25 years. When he is right or wrong, he will be absent, but voters will be able to respond as soon as possible to the agreement. Ask Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who lost on Nov. 6 following a $ 3 billion deal with electronics maker Foxconn. Incentives continued to increase as the number of jobs declined.

Let's all acknowledge that Amazon is changing the world and will have an impact on Virginia and New York. And then, let's keep an eye on the leaders of our city and our county when they come up with incentive agreements with companies, and get up if these deals are not appropriate for our community or do not involve betting. risky. This is how the private prison provider CoreCivic was denied in Elkhart County earlier this year.

Oh, and maybe we should all go shopping at small businesses Saturday later this week. The only thing I can assure is that if I buy something at a local retailer that day or another, that will help somebody here, someone with whom I can become a friend , rather than helping Amazon's founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos.