The Amazon-in-New York lesson: Cities need to keep their arrogance in check

Anti-corporate forces are gaining strength, and so supportive politicians need to be ready to fight back.

The thing I don’t understand, with all the finger-pointing that’s gone on since the announcement Thursday that Amazon.com Inc. was abandoning its plans to set up shop in New York City, is why so many of the fingers have been pointed at the least culpable party — i.e. Amazon itself.

Yes, the $3 billion in tax incentives the state and city dangled to lure Amazon to Queens was absurdly rich — and probably unjustified. But Amazon didn’t hold a gun to anyone’s head. There were 237 other cities offering their own unjustified tax breaks in the hope of landing the company.