RURAL ROUTES/Margot Ford McMillen

Who Will Pay for the New Economy?

While we’ve been focused on the presidential follies and the World Olympics, other stuff has been happening that’s worth our gaze. For example, I was knocked out the other day when a friend showed me a YouTube snippet of Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, christening a wind turbine in Texas with a bottle of champagne. The camera pulls back from Bezos, balanced carefully on the top of the turbine, and shows he’s in the midst of a wind farm. Ninety percent of its output will power Amazon projects. Turns out, Amazon and Google are competing for the gold medals in renewable energy. Not because it’s a chance to lower their carbon footprints and maybe cool the planet, but because it makes economic sense.

In the last few years, costs of renewables have come down and battery inventors have come up with longer-lasting, higher-capacity battery alternatives. Now it looks like building a new warehouse or corporate headquarters with its own power grid makes complete financial sense. Gas stations are installing solar panels and even Walmart is lobbying to get laws changed so they can cover their roofs with solar panels and become power sellers.

Here in Missouri, it means that eco-warriors are taking executives from the enemy side when they go to talk to legislators. They argue that we’re way behind in alternatives-friendly legislation and that even the poorly-run state of Illinois is way ahead when it comes to dotting the land with wind turbines. And even though our president loves “clean” coal, and global climate change hasn’t really been proven here in the Show-Me state, alternatives make economic sense.

This is what we’ve dreamed of, right? The bad guys caving in and seeing that we’re right. But, like everything else in bad-guy land, there’s no happy ending. For one thing, I’m waiting for an apology from all the utility board members who have defended coal plants and dumped their ashes into pits. Coal ash “ponds,” containing mercury, lead, arsenic and other chemicals, will be endangering the wells and streams near rural citizens for generations. Ameren recently announced that it will close the “ponds” and go to a dry-handling ash system but leave the waste. That’s not good enough. First, apologize and then fix the problems and abandon the coal trains.

And, there are catches a-plenty before we go shopping at Amazon. Last year, for example, at Amazon’s annual shareholder meeting, investors were encouraged by the very same aforementioned Jeff Bezos to vote down a proposal that would have made Amazon analyze their human rights record. Led by SumofUs, a nonprofit demanding accountability from corporate so-called citizens, the stockholders wanted to know if Amazon contractors have complied with Seattle’s minimum wage and sick leave laws.

SumofUs also highlighted the use of conflict minerals in Amazon products. Lisa Lindsley, SumofUs capital markets advisor said, “When it comes to disclosing minerals that go into ‘the Fire’ (a series of Amazon devices) that come from conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Amazon does much less due diligence than Apple, for example.” A whopping 23% of the shareholders voted with SumofUs, a significant jump from the 5% that voted for it in 2016. The upswing was no doubt aided by further publicity around a 2015 New York Times exposé on Amazon’s white-collar culture, and by reports that work in an Amazon warehouse is as grueling and competitive as work in the highrises.

So, as you’ve no doubt heard, Amazon is now asking for government incentives so it can build its new global center, now called “HQ2.” Remember back when corporations were supposed to make money, not ask for it? Well, those days are over. Two hundred cities threw in for the first round, and the number has been narrowed to 20. Raleigh, N.C., offers the smallest dollar amount to lure the giant: $50 million for infrastructure, coming from the state’s reserve account of $80 million. In addition, Amazon could be reimbursed for up to 100% of the withholding taxes from the jobs it creates, for up to 25 years. And, the One North Carolina Fund could award up to $5,000 per year, per job, for up to five years. To win this, Amazon promises to invest as much as $5 billion and hire up to 50,000 workers.

To the casual observer, that looks like a bunch of gamblers throwing money at a scheme that might pay off but at the risk of a generation’s future. Consider Raleigh’s $50 million used for humanitarian purposes. Education, say, or roads and bridges. Or how about investing in alternative energy? Would the school system, clean energy and transportation system under state management thrive to the extent that it could bring new business, or stimulate existing businesses? These are things that would really help the taxpayers who have put the money down.

But if Amazon's decision is made on the basis of who gives the most, the prize will go to Newark, N.J., with tax incentives that will amount to $7 billion. That’s billion with a “b.” Enough for Amazon to build a wind farm.

Margot Ford McMillen farms near Fulton, Mo., and co-hosts “Farm and Fiddle” on sustainable ag issues on KOPN 89.5 FM in Columbia, Mo. Her latest book is The Golden Lane: How Missouri Women Gained the Vote and Changed History. Email: margotmcmillen@gmail.com.

From The Progressive Populist, March 15, 2018

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