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How to Grow the Middle Class

How to Grow the Middle Class

 By Murray Sabrin

The decision by Amazon to pull out of building a New York City headquarters has ignited a debate over growth, ("Amazons exit reignites a debate over growth," February 17).

According to the article Nick Hanauer, who was one of the early investors in Amazon and identified as a progressive activist and writer, decries tax incentives as an example of egregious trickle-down economics.  Instead, he and a former Clinton administration advisor are calling for "middle – out economics."

Mr. Hanauer states confidently, "The thriving middle class is the cause of economic growth." This is incorrect. A middle class is the result of investment and production.  Mr. Hanauer's own actions prove that. He invested in Amazon, because he obviously believed the new online book service would be success. He did not "invest" in Seattle's middle-class.

Despite Mr. Hanauer's mistaken assertions regarding economic growth, the truth of the matter is there is no shortcut to creating a middle-class other than to have a vibrant free-market economy based upon investment and production.

Why Amazon’s Departure is Bad for New York

 Why Amazon’s Departure is Bad for New York

By Lee Enochs 

In a stunning and detrimental economic development for all New Yorkers, the Empire State’s Democratic Governor, Andrew Cuomo, who truth be told, is generally not friendly to pro-capitalist business interests in the Big Apple, lashed out bitterly at progressive politicians such as Democratic-Socialist Alexandria Cortez and Massachusetts Junior Senator Elizabeth Warren, for influencing tech giant Amazon’s decision to leave the city. 

It has been estimated that Amazon’s New York headquarters would have provided close to 25,000 new jobs and billions of dollars of economic revenue for America’s largest city.

However, “AOC” as Ocasio-Cortez is known to her adoring, three million followers on Twitter, celebrated gleefully Amazon’s abrupt departure from the city which never sleeps, and said, 

“Anything is possible: today was the day a group of dedicated, everyday New Yorkers & their neighbors defeated Amazon’s corporate greed, its worker exploitation, and the power of the richest man in the world.”