Now that the home for its next headquarters has been chosen, losing cities are revealing how they tried to sweeten the deal

“Philadelphia is in the Goldilocks zone for Amazon – it possesses all of the key ingredients we looked for to support our long-term growth,” said Jeff Bezos, chief executive officer of Amazon and richest man in the history of the world.

At least, that’s what the city of Philadelphia was hoping Bezos would say when officials included a draft press release announcing the city’s hypothetical victory in their bid to become the site of Amazon’s second headquarters.

Following Tuesday’s announcement of the winners in Amazon’s competition, runner-up cities have begun revealing the details of their losing bids, many of which were kept secret from the very people whose tax dollars were being offered up as incentives to the $800bn company. And the details of those proposals make Philadelphia’s invocation of a tale about an entitled child who breaks into a family’s home, eats their food, messes around with their belongings, and then gets away scot-free come off as a tad on the nose.

Here are some highlights from the cornucopia of giveaways that Bezos decided were not “just right” for them.

Cash money

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Philadelphia promised to offer Amazon $1.1bn in ‘financial assistance’. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo

Between New York, Virginia and Nashville – the three sites where Amazon will build two new corporate campuses and a distribution hub – Amazon will receive nearly $3.5bn in public subsidies. But it could have had even more. Maryland was prepared to cough up $8.5bn, while New Jersey was willing to go to $7bn.

Now that they’ve lost, some localities are finally coming clean about what they’d put on the table. Pennsylvania, which had two different cities in the running, was prepared to offer the company $4.6bn in “financial assistance”, the vast majority of it through a “performance-based grant program” by which the commonwealth would collect income taxes from Amazon employees, and then give the money to Amazon – for 25 years.

Philadelphia was promising to add its own $1.1bn to the pot, promising that local taxes collected from Amazon for 20 years would be returned to the company as well. Pittsburgh’s mayor has not yet revealed what his city was promising.

Atlanta and Dallas have now revealed their losing hands as well: $2bn and $1.1bn in incentives, respectively.

First class travel

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Atlanta international airport. The city offered a ‘premier’ lounge exclusively for Amazon staff. Photograph: David Goldman/AP

Atlanta’s airport is one of the city’s major selling points (you can get a direct flight to almost anywhere), but for Amazon employees worried about rubbing shoulders with *shudder* regular people, the city’s bid promised a “premiere” lounge “for the exclusive use of Amazon HQ2 employees”. Plus, 50 free airport parking spaces.

But what about after you leave the airport, you might ask? Not to worry. Atlanta’s public transportation agency, Marta, committed to “exploring the possibility of adding an Amazon-dedicated car” to the light-rail system, as well as allocating tax dollars specifically toward “enhancing employee access” to the Amazon offices.

For those stuck driving on regular old public roads, the city also proposed renaming streets: “Amazon Lane, Alexa Way, Prime Place, Kindle Rd, etc.”

Dallas too was concerned with the special travel needs of Amazonians. Though the Dallas Fort Worth international airport is one of the largest in the world, the city was prepared to spend up to $25m to build a “corporate hangar” at a smaller airport closer to downtown, according to the Dallas Morning News. The city also promised to spend $1.5m on “shuttles, pedicabs, courtesy carts” and other transit options to help new Amazon employees ease into life in Texas.

Add to that, free one-year memberships for Amazon employees to family-friendly attractions including the Dallas Zoo and Dallas Children’s Aquarium – a perk that might be more appreciated by the city’s low-income families. The city even planned to spend a quarter of a million dollars so that Amazon employees could adopt pets and microchip them for free.

The winners

Facebook Twitter Pinterest An anti-Amazon protest in New York City, one of the winning cities. Photograph: Bebeto Matthews/AP

What New York and northern Virginia lack in free puppies and airport lounges, they make up for in being the obvious choices for a company looking to expand in the US’s centers of finance, culture and political power.

And fear not – Bezos will not be forced to brave the New York City subway or tangle with DC’s traffic: both bids include special dispensation for helipads.

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