It's the final countdown.
There's only one day left until bids are due to lure Amazon's second corporate headquarters, and there could be at least 10 cities in Massachusetts, including Boston, making a pitch in the nationwide bidding war to win over the company and boost its economy with 50,000 new jobs.
Worcester is the latest city in the Commonwealth to throw its hat into the ring, offering a proposal with an incentive of $500 million in local property tax breaks.
But other cities in other states have upped the ante. Incentives total $100 million in South Carolina and more than $127 million in Ohio. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is offering $7 billion in tax breaks.
Craig Douglas, editorial director of the Business Journals in Charlotte, North Carolina, says this tactic could fund the disruption of the U.S. economy.
It's the allure of jobs, says Douglas, and not the long term plan that local officials are focusing on.
"It’s a risky bet — I think, in some regards, for cities to really just roll out the red carpet and not really think long and hard about the longer term implications of incentivizing and funding Amazon's expansion," he said.
When asked if any city seems to be leading the pack in the bidding battle, Douglas speculates that Pittsburgh has a good shot, because "it checks all the boxes that Amazon is seeking."
