• jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works
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    4 hours ago

    If you build a factory someplace, the factory consumes a lot of resources and can be a nuisance. But in return, it provides jobs; at the very minimum. Going beyond that, usually someone in the corporate heirarchy is smart enough to realize that building good will with the neighbors is important and they encourage the employees to give back to the community to that end.

    The actual impact may vary but if nothing else, symbolic gestures that say, “we know our presence here has an impact and we want to make sure it’s a positive impact as much as possible.” tend to go a long way in terms of winning support and acceptance from the community.

    Data centers consume lots of resources and can be a nuisance. Unlike other operations, they provide very few long term jobs and give basically nothing back to their host community beyond that. They take far more than they give back. If the “geniuses” who run these tech firms spent less money lobbying politicians and instead offered to pay for the college tuition of every student who successfully graduated from the local high school, they would probably get a very different reaction from the public.

    • jtrek@startrek.website
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      3 hours ago

      If the “geniuses” who run these tech firms spent less money lobbying politicians and instead offered to pay for the college tuition of every student who successfully graduated from the local high school, they would probably get a very different reaction from the public.

      Yeah , they could do a lot with their wealth. Unfortunately they are stupid and selfish. They’re playing a dangerous game and eventually they’ll roll for guillotines.

    • Johanno@feddit.org
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      3 hours ago

      Well the people with money don’t care about people. They lobby the politics so they can fuck you over and you are ordered by law to like it