We were wrong about the delivery, but we were right about the pitch.
In a post yesterday, we poked a little fun at what Gov. Hickenlooper’s incentive package to Amazon might be to lure them to Colorado and build the company’s new second headquarters.
We weren’t too far off the mark.
Hick didn’t make the pitch from a call center in India, the proposal was emailed on Wednesday.
We said that if cheap labor recruited from India combined with a hip lifestyle was his brilliant idea of an incentive package to tweak Amazon’s interest, we’re in big trouble.
Here’s the pitch:
“Colorado’s proposal does not lead with incentives. It leads with talent,” said Sam Bailey, who led the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp. in working with the state to submit the official bid. “Ultimately, 50,000 jobs shouldn’t be led with incentives but a community that has the resources to support it.”
The state did throw in the usual incentives it uses to attract any company to the state — $10 million, and a tax credit which could reap a company the size of Amazon a $100 million break, the Denver Post reports.
Eight sites were presented to the company as possible headquarters, but those will remain secret to the public.
The package roughly puts us in fifth place in terms of dollar incentives offered. Newark, New Jersey offered a $7 billion proposal; Chula Vista, California’s is about $400 million; Worcester, Massachusetts offered a $600 million package; Atlanta, Georgia offered $800 million in wage credits.
Colorado officials insist it’s not just about money, but a quality of life that should bring Amazon to our door.
We certainly hope they’re right.