The Government Might Borrow a Move From Amazon to Turn More Cities Into Seattle

Three years ago, Amazon's HQ2 competition showed the world just how many local politicians would happily sell their first-born child if it meant bringing tech jobs to their community. Hundreds of cities and regions made bids to land the everything store's new headquarters, offering all manner of subsidies and perks to one of the most powerful corporations on Earth with the hope that, by the grace of Jeff Bezos, they could one day become the next Seattle. Most of them never had a chance. Amazon largely ignored the offers from midsized contenders, instead selecting New York City and the Virginia suburbs outside of Washington, D.C., places with already-flourishing tech scenes where it would be easy to recruit talent. Although Amazon also promised to put a smaller office in Nashville, the outcome was a stark illustration of how, left to its own devices, the tech industry would likely continue concentrating itself in a handful of already-rich cities.