Did North Carolina Political Leaders Dodge Blowback on Amazon?

It appears some of North Carolina’s corporate subsidy supporters dodged a bullet by not securing the Amazon HQ. New York and Virginia handed out some $2 billion in handouts to land new Amazon headquarters in Queens and Arlington. The blowback to the corporate giveaway has been swift. One New York lawmaker has already proposed cuts to the subsidies, instead, wishing to redirect the tax breaks for student loan bailouts.

Even self-avowed socialist and Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets it:

Ocasio-Cortez went on to describe the reaction from her constituents as one of “outrage.” The issue of crony minded subsidies has most people of principle on the left and right in agreement. In a political era where the outrage is everywhere, often fanned incessantly by the media, this certainly qualifies as being legitimate outrage.

With Gov. Cooper and other politicos across the state all in for cronyism and other subsidies to attract big corporate firms, perhaps the blowback coming from north of our border will serve as a shot across their bow.

When lawmakers work to promote the common good for the private sector, they shouldn’t play favorites, but must provide tax cuts and incentives for all. Unfortunately, with so many politicians in the tank for cronyism, it’s up to the people to push back and be vigilant. Given the chance, of course, big corporations are going to take advantage of handouts from the government to boost their bottom line.

Civitas and other sound free-market proponents will continue to advocate for an equitable and free marketplace, where rich corporations won’t inherently be given advantages by the state over small businesses and other entrepreneurial start-ups.