Desperate Mayors Compete for Amazon HQ2

[@isair81]

That escalated quickly...

[@aidenromine1000]

Within minutes, a man resorted to blowing up a car to make a statement

[@cuzsleepisthecousinofdeath]

Pff you lost Brazil already named a river after Amazon They won

[@MirzaAhmed89]

They lost too. The Greeks named a mythological place ruled by women after Amazon, and that was 2,500 years ago.

[@9ser930]

@@MirzaAhmed89 nosso rio existia antes dos gregos, e estamos dispostos a nomear a floresta inteira se for preciso, nós precisamos daqueles empregos

[@christopherlarsen7788]

I live in Virginia. This is the way it happened. We dwell underground now, hiding our children in fear of Amazon corporate hunting parties. They use the Amazon drones to target the weak. But...you know, on the plus side, we get free shipping. So, that's nice.

[@michaelmbutler]

...and all the paleo mineral water we can lick off the stalactites...

[@TheCharleseye]

Your actors are too good. Now I have an urge to hunt people.

[@Destroyahx2]

I found "The Most Dangerous Game" a pretty compelling reason to hunt people

[@Fulminatrixx]

They are WAY too good. Now I wonder if it's a good idea to stand up to ambitious small town politicians...

[@justarob0x]

go tigers!

[@HVACSoldier]

Ringo Garvin 🤣

[@MirzaAhmed89]

I'd settle for the uncut Colombian cocaine.

[@studentofsmith]

Just focus on making your town or city an attractive place to do business in general. Getting a hundred small businesses to set up shop in your town may not be as flashy as getting a huge corporation like Amazon but it's just as effective AND has the benefit of keeping your economy diversified. Plus none of those small businesses can hold the city hostage by threatening to leave if they don't get special treatment.

[@MRCKify]

Pondering if you're setting up yourself to become a hostage is always a good question to ask and one you should always take your sweet time to answer.

[@pineapplefarmer7352]

That's better for the town, sure. But will it get you votes?

[@frentz7]

Gosh, why didn't every city in history think of that? Just have normal-sized businesses. [ slaps forehead ]

[@pandoradoggle]

Well, that got dark.

[@ChrisParrishOutdoors]

go tigers

[@RMBragg]

Nope. it STARTED dark.

[@AdamSPARTAN76]

Cronyism justified by Keynsiean economics. It doesn't get much worse than this.

[@cheeseburger12]

Yes it does. Marxism. Oh, and the Green Bay (SPIT) Packers.

[@TickedOffPriest]

Amazon disliked the video twice.

[@davidkanon4093]

They gotta be tempted by that bullet train though.

[@MirzaAhmed89]

@@davidkanon4093 I don't think the mayor of a small town in Virginia has the power to eminent domain 3,000 miles of railroad to Seattle.

[@SilverStarHeggisist]

47 Amazon employees didn't like that their human hunts were exposed.

[@SilverStarHeggisist]

@@MirzaAhmed89 with Amazon's money and his drive... Anything is possible.

[@EnergyKnife]

This is such an effective way of getting Libertarian messages out. Good work, keep it up

[@dariusthurman8835]

Broken window fallacy, Keynesian corporatist fascism, opportunity cost, capital flight, bribery.

[@kazikian]

Darius Thurman oh cool now I got the broken window joke :)

[@dariusthurman8835]

The broken window economic theory was based a french story of a mans window being broken, he pays to have it fixed, the Keynesian sees it as stimulus to the repair man but free marketers make us ponder what the shopkeep could have done with his money, pay debt, hire someone.

[@kazikian]

Darius Thurman yep! I didn't notice the joke until you brought it up.

[@vaibhavgupta20]

Darius Thurman what?

[@MRCKify]

I like the Broken Windows Fallacy as an exhibit of economic thought and how timeless arguments really are. Keynes wasn't even born when Bastiat argued that we shouldn't credulously take the benefits of the glass-repairman and the candlemaker to mean a benefit for all of society. In the same way that Keynes was annoyed by Say's Law, Malthus and Ricardo would argue if a free market would or wouldn't overproduce, lead to persistent unemployment or necessitate government purchases and commands to make the markets clear.

[@jeebus2121]

Beard guy is wonderful.

[@chrimony]

Go Tigers!

[@elijahp.3720]

Like a budget Zack Galifanakis

[@random_eskimo_in_the_rockies]

But unlike Zack, Austin doesn't have his head up his ass.

[@robertj.simpson354]

Absolutely brilliant. Love the Bastiat and Civil War allusions.

[@SpenserRoger]

Robert J. Simpson What part is that? I missed it and feel left out!?

[@x2f01mick]

SpenserRoger the broken windows is Bastiat. I missed the civil war part too.

[@Captain-Kidding]

x2f01mick the Mason Dixon line reference. Essentially saying they are slave owners.

[@x2f01mick]

Tranny Bane oh duh. Thanks.

[@srider33]

This is one of the best videos produced by these two gentlemen. When addressing freedom oppressors, it's hard to find that balance of quality humor mixed with powerful information, but this effort captures it magnificently. Well done! Keep up the great work!

[@thunberbolttwo3953]

Sad thing is that this actaully happens in the real world.

[@OMGshinyobject]

This is literally happening in the town I live right now 😑

[@jesseward4115]

It's legal for high ranking members of Amazon to hunt people in your city limits?

[@vandertuber]

I believe you OMGshinyobject. Politicians do this special favoritism all the time, when they SHOULD just lower taxes and minimize regulations for EVERYBODY!

[@OMGshinyobject]

Jesse Ward no I mean my town is shortlisted for the new Amazon hq in Canada

[@jesseward4115]

Dude, my town is doing that same bullcrap to get Amazon to come here.

[@nunyabeeswax186]

chicago ?

[@quintessenceSL]

So is this how the factory towns in the rust belt started? That ended well.

[@neomanrex]

Nanya yeah there was and then you know what happened? We outgrew it kind of like teenagers outgrow cracking voices, acne and raging hormones. And we got so good at it.

[@mrstatictunes]

@@neomanrex outgrew? No more like outsourced. We still consume all the products we just buy them from someone else.

[@neomanrex]

@@mrstatictunes and your point? There's nothing inherently noble about making your own products. I could make my own chicken sandwiches from scratch. I could grow the grain for the bun, mill it, make dough, cook the dough. I could raise and butcher the chicken. Grow the vegetables. Make my own oil for the mayonaise. It would take a few monthsand close to 1500 dollars. But hey I would have made it myself. Instead I go the the BBQ place down the street and get an amazing pulled chicken sandwich with a beer in 5 minutes for less than 20. THAT is progress. That is trade. That's the end goal of industrialization. I basically have outsourced cooking and farming and baking and cattle raising to OTHER people. Because it would be an inefficient waste of my time. Google word for the day: "Comparative advantage" We worked REALLY hard as a country in horrible conditions for close to a hundred years. Basically American industry is retired. Let the young kids in Indonesia make sneakers. 1. It's far better than rural farming life for them. 2. We get really cheap stuff. 3. It builds infrastructure over time in their country. Just like it did here.

[@mrstatictunes]

@@neomanrex If you dont see that our infrastructure is suffering because of outsourcing, I dont know what to tell you.

[@StavroginNikolai]

@@mrstatictunes Examples?

[@robw9435]

In all seriousness, I've never understood the legality of exempting one specific business from tax liability. I know that clever politicians can always craft laws to do this, but it really amounts to legal sleight of hand, like the grandfather clause. How do these preferential tax treatments stand up in court?

[@swordarmstudios6052]

This is brilliant.

[@Jedlmind]

Wow. This was way above my expectations.

[@TheMillerMilitia]

This has been criminally under watched.

[@Oscabellai-pd1oh]

Im trying to catch the accent, did he say a haunted rock quarry? 🤣

[@OccupancyZero]

Austin is one of the most underrated actor/writers ever... would love to see him on more Reason content.

[@DavidisDawei]

Well done. What normal person chooses to be a politician? People know politicians are corrupt but they continue to expect expect government to come up with solutions (when all they know how to create is problems). So as George Carlin pointed out, the people get the politicians they deserve.

[@MikeFuryTech]

Someone has to do the job. So, we have to choose among those that are willing to do it.

[@FloydMaxwell]

Politicians are support vandals. When the vandals start stealing stuff or spraying graffiti, politicians just stick their hands out. Graft is good.

[@damiengrief]

This is incredible. Well done.

[@homewall744]

If it weren't truly done this way, it would be funny.

[@tsargreene]

Home Wall I would contend it is funny precisely BECAUSE it is done this way 😂

[@OccupancyZero]

Nearly a laugh but it's really a cry

[@cainrahl]

Let me just say, that curl falling & the shading at the end was excellent.

[@unextrordinary4711]

This is the best thing* *I've ever seen

[@kevinhixson1586]

Jeff besos watching this: "what the hell is going on".

[@InsatiableMonkey]

Jeff Bezos actually watching this: "Hunting people is overrated. The real victory is keeping them alive and crushing them under your rule."

[@banderfargoyl]

Over the top! The only way to go.

[@TylerLarew]

Well shit.... That got dark 😂

[@BoyKagome]

That escalated gradually.

[@JDoors]

Went a little dark there ... but what do I know? That may just be on the table. Go Fighting Illini!

[@TurboKing12]

Go tigers

[@jcoglesbee9049]

Michael Reno No........GEAUX TIGERS!!

[@cecemeyers5998]

Never seen that guy laugh before.

[@davidkanon4093]

Love this! Should be required screening for ALL politicians. Then take a poll to see how many think these are "sound" ideas.

[@leem3876]

well done

[@alexhopkins2053]

Lmao, Reason. 😂😂 this should go viral tbh

[@LizRealGirlBeauty]

Oh man, our CT governor was doing this kind of stuff just for a warehouse!

[@MirzaAhmed89]

And we still couldn't keep GE or Aetna.

[@traviswall1982]

Was? Probably still is....

[@davidglad]

@@MirzaAhmed89 Happy to say I left CT four years ago for sunny San Antonio specifically because of the politics creating such lackluster jobs.

[@jeronimotamayolopera4834]

GREAT JOB.

[@SciVias917]

That escalated quickly.

[@fantastichamp]

This is so awesome, that's all I can say, words fail me to describe how much I love this. I want to have your reason baby and name her liberty! Merica!

[@Liberty4Ever]

Damn that went dark at the end there. Well done. I'm so sick of cronyism.

[@honprelude]

That was freaking awesome, bravo

[@sujaykrishnanath82]

You know this is one of first times I am seeing libertarians satirizing tax cuts.

[@sondadir9205]

These are not tax cuts, taxes are not going down. They remain at the same level, but the political friends escape it. Corruption for some, and tax increase for the others.

[@manydirt2600]

This isn't a tax cut, it's more like a bribe

[@JustinVK]

Hillariously terrifying!

[@SouthernersSax]

That escalated at a wholly reasonable rate.

[@BobWidlefish]

Too real.

[@kazikian]

I don't always agree with ReasonTV but this was brilliant!

[@JasminLeblanc]

that escalated quickly

[@chaosXP3RT]

Big business usually does help small towns by providing jobs (usually well-paying jobs). These jobs introduce new sources of income into the town allowing it to grow. But the short-term cost is that the local government will sometimes make the taxpayers pay more in exchange of giving the big business tax-breaks. Which is risky in itself because increasing taxes on the locals stifles their ability to spend money thus stagnating the local economy and growth. Another solution could be to offer tax-breaks and not increase taxes on the locals, but that means the local government has to make cuts, which some small towns simply can't afford to do. The biggest risk is always that the big business could leave the town, bankrupting the town in the process because it becomes so reliant on that big business. Also getting a big business in town makes local politicians look really good and increases their chances of re-election.

[@ram0166]

Wow! That got rather dark and creepy !

[@gogojiayou6735]

They really took it to another level with this one.

[@TymonScott]

John Oliver & co. liked this video so much they stole some of the jokes

[@kalebbruwer]

I thought this was a serious video for about 10 seconds.

[@jred7]

Wow... That got dark real quick...

[@Vratix75]

Guys I love you both so much keep it up

[@sangaman]

This is incredible. Hilarious and exactly on point.

[@watchdealer11]

What is that music at 2:22?

[@WRATHofDESTRUCTION]

Well,that got dark quickly.

[@ironmanjakarta8601]

I dont always laugh at videos but when I do I laugh at Reason.com videos, because they're hilarious.

[@heartlandokie4485]

That last part was eerily close to Lestat's speech in an interview with a vampire. =)

[@ShinSheel]

Glad Reason made a documentary

[@EverettBurger]

No pressure on those high school sports teams at all.

[@unknownname7696]

Nice video! A little humor while you give a reality check with a smile. Lets build it for Amazon too, see how long that deal lasts once they come.😂👍

[@planethedgehog2427]

3:07 - 3:32. I might use those lines, in the cover letter for my resume!😁 "You have not lived until you have seen the light go out in another man's eyes. Full in the knowledge it was your cunning and guile that extinguished it, a candle snuffed out that will never burn again. To take a soul from another human being is to bond with an ancient energy in the universe. To touch the face of God himself. All of this I offer you and more."

[@dariusthurman8835]

Keynes didn't even have an economics degree.

[@sonnyhernandez8333]

DAMN at 3 minutes this went super dark!

[@stevenw5013]

No matter how many times I watch this, by "Let's get real; real talk," I always bust a gut laughing.

[@redbearded122]

That uh..That got a little dark at the end there. A little creepy....kinda .....intriguing....

[@roflchopter11]

Where was this filmed? Especially the segments with beard guy by the brick building

[@rafaeldasilva2945]

Do a video on Sealand!

[@dogguy8603]

My town is doing the same, now I cant walk outside without wearing a bulletproof vest or see a steak cooked medium rare waiting in the middle of a human sized bear trap, comical yes, but also very serious

[@vinnycgaz1]

nice documentary

[@SpenserRoger]

This got dark quick! I wish it was a little more informative either philosophically or historically. Was still a great piece! 👍👍

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

We already know all the philosophy and empirical history. The statist dummies aren't going to watch this.

[@remembermyname7604]

Sounds like a good Deal

[@mmille10]

Could've done without that last part. Creepy.

[@USA96651]

I live in Pittsburgh and has to listen to our arrogant mayor about this dumb a$$ amazon headquarters for the last 8 months. I am so thankful these crooked politicians did not get their way! Hilarious video cause this is perfect example

[@iamagi]

An episode with some possible solutions would be nice.

[@jason-ge5nr]

Ill wager there is more truth in that video than politicians are willing to admit.

[@furtim1]

Seriously, there is. I have been involved in deals like this. It gets pretty twisted.

[@jred7]

This came out more than a year ago. Why is KZbin saying it was uploaded a year ago?

[@magister343]

I just thought of one new Federal tax I might consider supporting: A federal tax set to exactly offset any special tax breaks granted to specific companies as cronist incentives.

[@furtim1]

That's nothing. After the incentives are approved, every one who sponsored them is indicted, found guilt, imprisoned, and hung for money laundering and breach of Constitutional law. Go Tigers!

[@bass779]

Eliminating the SALT deduction is basically that. I don't hate the proposed tax plan

[@bass779]

furtim1 Go Tigers!

[@Tay-ky3fi]

Dear God this is an underrated video.. LOL

[@AJ6644]

Proper stuff!

[@mww1006]

2:48 I will do anything for those jobs ... While saying this, he applies heavy layer of lip balm to mouth.

[@far2ez539]

Too on-the-nose. Wouldn't be very funny. Now, if he had applied the lip balm ~10 seconds prior when it seemed unrelated, and we caught just the tail-end of the application before he gave his pitch, and then emphasized "ANYTHING" with a slight lip pucker to spread the balm... now THAT would have done it.

[@aguyfromnothere]

As long as politicians don't make any money who cares if taxes are cut for businesses. If all taxes are theft, then its just less theft. Govts competing for businesses is exactly what we would expect in a libertarian paradise.

[@grassyclimer6853]

The satire is off the charts

[@arvinrunstein5707]

That was great!

[@llewodcm20]

I love the progression of his tie as he gets more and more desperate

[@eem8039]

Why is it so funny? I'm from Eastern Europe but cracked me

[@theatheistpaladin]

Too bad you couldn't realease this before Halloween. This was awfully dark...

[@kennethschlegel870]

was the human killing speech taken from something? it just seems so perfect like it could be in a movie

[@MegaCokamo]

I would like to see it in Philadelphia.

[@notthefbi7932]

Love how dark this got 😂😂😂😂

[@Derpster2493]

If the new HQ building is less than one cubic kilometer in size it's not worth mentioning anywhere.

[@finddeniro]

I am Prime.

[@ruzzelladrian907]

Unfortunately the majority of my generation can't tell the difference between free-market capitalism and crony-capitalism.

[@workhardism]

Who won? You decide.

[@MirzaAhmed89]

Epic Tax (Giveaway) Battles of History

[@vikkycb7948]

1.22 mark from 3.5 min video and already 30 billion dollar in non sequential bills has been dropped. And it only escalates from there

[@lego501stTrigger]

Meanwhile in Toronto... "We have no money, but we do have the best transit system in North America."

[@jonathangrey2183]

Don't forget that sweet sweet healthcare....

[@MilwaukeeF40C]

Toronto's transit is wretched.

[@gentellabs]

any system that takes tokens blows.

[@lego501stTrigger]

Unless you're old, tokens have been replaced by Presto

[@gentellabs]

I was there two months ago. They absolutely sell tokens. www.ttc.ca/Fares_and_passes/Prices/Buying_tickets_tokens_and_passes.jsp You probably live way out in Hamilton or something and don't actually ride the subway.

[@RankinAuctions]

That was hilarious. Go Prime Tigers!