article from november, but it's a good one

The Battle for Amazon HQ2 Was a Con

Did Bezos think no one would notice?

The CONtest

Amazon’s HQ2 search was not a contest but a con. Amazon will soon have 3 HQs. And guess what? The Bezos family owns homes in all 3 cities. And, you’ll never believe it, the new HQs (if you can call them that) will be within a bike ride, or a quick Uber, from Bezos’s homes in DC and NYC. The middle finger on Amazon’s other hand came into full view when they announced they were awarding their HQ to not one, but two cities. So, really, the search, and hyped media topic, should have been called “Two More Offices.” Only that’s not compelling and doesn’t sell. Would that story have become a news obsession for the last 14 months, garnering Amazon hundreds of millions in unearned media?

…

We all have a code. How do we want to live our lives at home and at work? How do we ensure our actions foot to our values? This gaming of the commonwealth (HQ2… and 3) reflects a gestalt that is pervasive among big tech: a lack of regard for the commonwealth. Jeff Bezos and his board are impressive, and 238 cities wanted to work with them. The Amazon HQ2 process was not transparent, but illuminating: Mr. Bezos and his board lack character and code.

sauce https://medium.com/s/no-mercy-no-malice/no-mercy-no-malice-hq2-and-3-82bf3c776f9c (medium is shitware, read it at https://archive.fo/V4vEA instead)