New York Licks Its Wounds
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Kelly Evans Unsubscribe
11:30 AM (1 hour ago)
to me
FRI, FEB 15, 2019
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EDITOR'S NOTE
So many things to mention in the wake of Amazon's decision to cancel its HQ2 in Queens...
First of all, Stamford, I'm sorry for appearing to insult you during Rapid Fire yesterday! It was Connecticut as a whole that I meant has 'nothing there.' Which is also a little unfair, but here's my point:
CT's population is one of only three states expected to shrink in 2020 versus 2010. It lost its sixth Congressional seat in 2002 and may lose one of the remaining five by 2030 as a result. Its economy is still the same size, after inflation, it was in 2004.
New Jersey isn't faring much better. Governor Phil Murphy insisted on Squawk Box this morning his state can be 'progressive and pro-business,' and touted the strong school system--'#1 in physics and chemistry.' This as part of a last-ditch effort to woo Amazon to Newark. Amazon says it's sticking with existing plans in Virginia and Tennessee instead.
New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut are consistently ranked at the bottom in terms of economic competitiveness (see intro page 'x'). They desperately need revenues in order to not have to slash existing services and pensions. That gets a whole lot harder without major engines of job creation, like Amazon.
Stamford, CT, (where I have family!) has done a great job of reinventing itself, actually. We used to joke about it being 'Wall Street North,' but now it's got lots of media and tech companies, including Gartner, Indeed, NBC Sports, and WWE. It's also a 45-minute express train ride from Midtown Manhattan.
Wall Street is shrinking, and Amazon could have become the anchor of a flourishing new technology corridor all the way up to Boston--linking with Stamford's companies along the way, and attracting more families to settle in the area, instead of fleeing it.
The situation for these states is delicate, and the loss of face for the Northeast from this whole process could be far more damaging in the long run than just the loss of Amazon's HQ2.
Headlines below! Have a great weekend and I'll see you at 1 p.m. for 'The Exchange.'
Kelly
P.S. Don't miss Charlie Munger's take
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