This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Your July 9 front page features an article about Utah's generous GOED incentive ($5.6 million) to Amazon, a company with $136 billion in revenue for 2016. Amazon is adding 100 warehouses in 30 states by the end of 2018. Their expansion of internet sales will be astonishing. How high can that $136 billion go now.
Thomas Wadsworth, the director of corporate growth and business development at GOED, claims the small number of high-paying jobs will "raise wages across the board, across the economy." Sounds like the old GOP "trickle down" to me. The majority of the jobs (1,500 full-time) are not guaranteed any more than minimum wage. Gov. Gary Herbert calls this a win-win-win.
To put this in perspective, Denver declined to offer any incentive because Amazon would not guarantee higher wages. Aurora, Colo., offered $1 million, and Thornton, Colo., offered nothing. All three cities will be getting an Amazon warehouse. This letter is leading me to Wadsworth's statement at the end of the article. He said the company's presence would attract workers despite the potentially below-average pay. "You bring in a company like an Amazon that has a sexiness factor to it," Wadsworth said, "It's typically something that (Utah?) employees want to associate themselves with."
Minimum wage in Utah is $7.25 an hour or $240 per week or $1,032 per month. Average rent in Salt Lake is over $1,000 for one bedroom. Ooops. Guess that sexiness will find you homeless or give you a real long commute. And you definitely will not be able to afford health care coverage. Ramen noodles will also have to suffice. Thank you, Mr. Wadsworth and GOED. I wonder what else we could have done with that $5.6 million?
Susanne Reeves
Riverton