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How the NRA-Delta flap could actually help sweeten Atlanta deal for Amazon's HQ2

Could the controversy actually help woo Amazon?
Credit: David Ryder/Getty Images
An Amazon logo is seen inside the Amazon corporate headquarters on June 16, 2017 in Seattle, Washington. Amazon announced that it will buy Whole Foods Market, Inc. for over $13 billion.

ATLANTA — Amazon is growing closer to selecting a new home for its second headquarters.

But while some believe the Lt. Governor’s threat to pull tax incentives for Delta over NRA discounts lost the state’s chances, 11Alive Investigator Andy Pierrotti discovered how it could actually give Amazon leverage for more incentives.

Business leaders called it a “flap,” a “spat,” and “punishing” to Georgia. All after, Cagle tweeted last month it would “kill any tax legislation that benefits Delta unless….it reinstates its relationship with the NRA.”

It’s the kind of press Gov. Nathan Deal didn’t want while trying to lure Amazon and its 50,000 jobs.

“I don’t think they’re going to look at it adversely," Deal said after the public tiff. "They understand that there are situations that develop and there are circumstances that sometimes materialize that nobody anticipated and that is one of those kind of situations that nobody anticipated.”

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Dr. Marcus Cunha is a marketing professor at the University of Georgia and believes the state could still hang on to the chance of Atlanta as Amazon's HQ2 despite what happened.

Cunha previously taught at the University of Washington in Seattle for eight years, where Amazon is based. He knows the company’s progressive values and its attraction to government incentives.

The professor says while Cagel's actions likely created uncertainty in the Georgia’s business environment, it may have given Amazon more leverage.

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“I think at a minimum, it gives Amazon a big bargaining chip," Cunha explained. "If they are really, strongly considering Atlanta as part of their headquarters, they say, 'Hey now we have this uncertainty, what can we get from the state in order to decrease the potential uncertain business environment.'”

“And what would that be,” Pierrotti asked.

“Probably more incentives,” Cunha replied. "If I were Amazon, I would be playing that card."

Cunha said more progressive states will be playing a similar hand, by telling Amazon it won’t have to worry about a fickle legislature pandering to the NRA. But Governor Deal hopes to prove the naysayers wrong.

“What’s your message to Amazon,” Pierrotti asked Deal.

“We’re a warm and welcoming state and we’re one that has diversity in it…. That’s okay. We’re still in good shape,” the Governor concluded.

In the short-term, Cunha said the NRA-Delta issue could make Georgia a less desirable home to move progressive workers, which Amazon typically attracts. But, he said if Amazon picks Georgia, he doesn’t expect it will be a problem when the company starts building in a few years.

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