Amazon must punish city council by leaving Seattle

Sometimes, you need to get drastic — really drastic — to save a city from itself. Amazon should save Seattle from itself. Amazon should leave Seattle.

The Seattle City Council is too far gone to reason with. Councilmember Mike O’Brien loves to tell you he cares, while working overtime to ensure the homeless can live in parks, instead of in shelter beds. Councilmember Kshama Sawant wants to prosecute Amazon for fighting back against the head tax that would cost them $20 million a year. Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez misleads you about the so-called success the city has had on homelessness.

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But, bad politics and misguided policies aside, what’s more troublesome is the despicable tone these councilmembers take when discussing Amazon. During Wednesday’s public comment on the head tax, a speaker criticized (though not by name) Sawant. Councilmember Rob Johnson immediately warned the speakers not to personally criticize anyone. He was seated near Sawant who has accused Amazon of extortion prior to (and during) the hearing — he didn’t ask her to watch her tone.

Amazon is an easy target to blame for a city’s problem when you have a population full of Progressive activists who don’t want to be told it’s their bad policies that are to blame. So Sawant and O’Brien and others will happily use Amazon as the boogeyman.

Consequently, Amazon should move and show Seattle what that would do to the city. You think the housing affordability problem is bad now? Sure, no Amazon means more empty apartments, which will drive the rents down tremendously. But it turns out you still can’t afford rent, even when it’s cheaper than it is now, if you don’t have a job.

If Amazon left, so too, do the jobs. And not just high-paying coding jobs. Restaurants, bars, and coffee shops would be decimated. Vendors? Done. Construction jobs? Bye-bye.

If we let the council continue to go down this virulently anti-business road, Seattle will run Amazon out. But other Seattle businesses follow. That would do damage Seattle could never recover from.

So, please, Amazon: help us by hurting us. Leave with haste and Seattle will be better off when Seattleites realize what this council is doing.

We do not deserve you, Amazon. Tacoma? Bothell? Redmond? Start looking there.

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