Pence's Agenda Doomed Indiana's Amazon Hopes

According to a report on IBJ.com, many analyses say Indy is out of the Amazon sweepstakes.

Why?

"As Harvard Business Review notes, Amazon’s selection criteria helpfully spell out the attributes cities MUST have if they want to be a serious part of America’s growing digital economy.

"This is a told-you-so moment for everyone who has championed K-through-college STEM education, strong infrastructure, green development, mass transit, walkability, placemaking and cultural diversity."

All things that the theocratic Pence agenda disdained (and a good part of the reason that his reelection bid was toast).

However, as the IBJ concludes: "We need to embrace this roadmap, and that’s no game."

Here's more:
"America’s latest parlor-game craze is 'Where Will Amazon Put HQ2?'

"It’s fun, because a huge portion of the country appears to be in the running for the $5 billion facility, if you start with Amazon’s requirement of a metro area with at least 1 million folks. That criterion produces a list of 53 urban/suburban areas, including metro Indianapolis.

"But the national media wants us to know that we’re entertaining a pipe dream.

"Several news organizations have analyzed ALL of Amazon’s criteria and determined the pretenders, the contenders, and the short-listers.

"It looks like Denver is the leader, while Indy is barely in the conversation.

"The New York Times probably does the best job analyzing the advantages and drawbacks of both cities. Slate likes Denver, Chicago and Philadelphia. MarketWatch stops at 11 contenders, including Denver. The Brookings Institution narrows it down to 20 contenders (not including Indy)."