Roberts: Does Arizona have what Amazon is looking for?

Sorry Tucson, Amazon doesn’t want your 21-foot cactus.

“Unfortunately we can’t accept gifts (even really cool ones),” the company tweeted on Tuesday.

I’m pretty sure Amazon founder Jeff Bezos will accept a few billion in tax breaks as he considers where to build his second headquarters. I’m also pretty sure that every serious bidder will offer a few billion in tax breaks to land 50,000 good jobs and the attendant economic development.

But prickly things that don’t grow in Seattle? Not so much.

The whole cactus embarrassment got me to wondering just what Bezos – a visionary guy who launched a website to hawk books and built it into the worldwide marketplace for, well, everything – is looking for in what he’s calling HQ2.

So I went to Amazon’s webpage on HQ2.

What does Amazon want? Investment

Here’s what stuck out to me. The webpage used the word “investment” eight or nine times.

Amazon describes its investment in its company. It’s investment in the Seattle community and economy. It’s investment in its employees. It’s investment in protecting the environment.”

My guess is they’re going to be looking for a city or a state that is equally committed to making investments in its own future.

VALDEZ:Tucson proves it's too dumb for Amazon

Some place that isn’t afraid to spend money because it knows that investment will pay off in spades over time.

Is that us? Is Arizona that kind of place?

Are we investing in public education? Is our ranking as one of the most poorly funded public schools likely to demonstrate an investment in the children of Arizona and, by extension, the children of future Amazon employees?

How to become Amazon's dream city

We can turn it around. There is talk by some business leaders about extending the soon-to-expire six-tenths of a percent sales tax for education and expanding it to a full percent or more. It must go on the 2018 ballot, given that the current tax expires in 2021. Waiting until 2020 would be cutting it too close.  

It’s a given that Gov. Doug Ducey will oppose any tax increase. But will he block the sales tax extension/expansion from even appearing on next year’s ballot, when he is up for re-election?

And if Ducey does get in the way, will the business community go around him and launch a voter initiative to get the proposal on the 2018 ballot?

Are we investing in our universities? Does the Arizona Legislature’s legendary animosity toward higher education – reflected in a pattern of budget cuts that have pushed tuition to levels that have now drawn a lawsuit from the state’s attorney general – reflect a commitment to turning out a highly educated workforce?

We could be Amazon’s dream community. Our population is diverse, our cost of living is relatively low and our state is spectacular – and growing every day. Our universities are strong despite the Legislature’s best efforts to weaken them. And our leaders will certainly come up with a respectable package of tax incentives. They rather excel at offering tax breaks to business.

Do we have the political will to think big?

What I don’t know is whether there the political will to do as Amazon suggests – to “think big.”

That would require public officials who think beyond their next election, who don’t faint at the possibility of making big investments in order to reap long-term payoffs. 

The sort of thing I'm guessing Bezos did to build Amazon from bookseller to retail powerhouse.

“The Project requires a significant number of employees,” Amazon’s request for proposals says. “We want to invest in a community where our employees will enjoy living, recreational opportunities, educational opportunities and an overall high quality of life.”

Is that Arizona?

Do we have the leaders who can build us into that Arizona?

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