At a recent event with tech executives, President Donald Trump stood firm in his support for data centers, noting that they are “really financially beneficial.”
asserted
they → stand → centers
He was right to do so.
asserted
He → do → ?
Data centers have existed quietly in America for decades.
asserted
centers → exist → decades
For years, no one held rallies against them.
asserted
one → hold → them
Campaign ads did not feature foreboding gray buildings.
asserted
ads → feature → buildings
Pollsters never identified them as a wedge issue.
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Pollsters → identify → issue
That changed the moment they became politically useful.
asserted
they → change → ?
Polling from Public First and developers’ experiences explain why.
asserted
Polling → explain → First
Left-wing voters energized by environmental politics and a segment of rural Republicans unsettled by change in their communities and the digitization of the economy are both anxious about data centers.
asserted
voters → energize → centers
That combination is a political operative’s dream — two groups who agree on almost nothing, united in anxiety about the same buildings.
asserted
who → agree → buildings
In a close district, a challenger can mobilize that unlikely coalition, put the incumbent on the defensive, and walk away with a win on an issue that, examined plainly, should not be controversial.
asserted
that → mobilize → issue
Step back from the politics and look at what is actually happening in communities where data centers exist.
asserted
centers → step → communities
Data centers are causing electricity rates to fall, not rise.
asserted
rates → cause → ?
Data centers use a small fraction of the water of other industries.
asserted
centers → use → industries
Efficiency innovations continue to improve both metrics.
asserted
innovations → continue → metrics
In Richland Parish, Louisiana, Meta’s data center represents the largest private investment in the parish’s history.
asserted
center → represent → history
The results are direct and visible: a teacher bonus program funded by data center revenues delivers bonuses of up to $50,000 to educators.
asserted
program → fund → educators
In a state where teacher pay has long been a source of frustration and flight, that kind of money keeps experienced teachers in classrooms that need them.
asserted
that → keep → them
In Quincy, Washington, a small agricultural town of roughly 8,000 people, over a decade of data center investment from Microsoft and others has produced something remarkable.
asserted
over → produce → something
The town built a new public library that it could not have funded otherwise.
uncertain
it → build → that
A new aquatic center opened.
asserted
center → open → ?
School budgets expanded.
asserted
budgets → expand → ?
Road and utility infrastructure improved.
asserted
infrastructure → improve → ?
And property tax rates for ordinary residents fell, because the data center tax base grew faster than the cost of running the community.
asserted
base → fall → community
The jobs created are not remote tech positions.
asserted
jobs → create → ?
They include electricians, HVAC technicians, fiber specialists, and construction workers.
asserted
They → include → electricians
These are high-paying trades that bring positive economic activity to the area.
asserted
that → pay → area
In Columbia County, Georgia, a Google data center investment has been so substantial that the county is eliminating a significant portion of its property taxes, and electricity rates are frozen for years.
asserted
rates → eliminate → years
In Loudoun County, Virginia, which has more data centers than anywhere else in the country, homeowners save an average of $5,800 per year on property taxes thanks to data center revenue.
asserted
homeowners → have → revenue
The arithmetic behind these outcomes is straightforward, and it is why Trump is correct that data centers make communities rich.
asserted
communities → make → outcomes
A large data center brings some high-paying jobs, billions of dollars in capital investment, and generates reliable tax revenue.
asserted
center → bring → revenue
But unlike a typical factory, it doesn’t often arrive with many thousands of new families demanding proportional increases in schools, roads, and emergency services.
asserted
thousands → arrive → schools
The revenue per existing resident is exceptional.
asserted
revenue → exist → resident
That is the structural advantage, and communities that understand it and negotiate well come out dramatically ahead.
asserted
that → understand → it
Nobody wants a data center next to their home.
asserted
Nobody → want → home
That is fair and should shape siting decisions.
asserted
That → shape → decisions
The answer cannot be “therefore build nothing anywhere.”
asserted
answer → build → nothing
The answer is thoughtful siting and ensuring the benefits flow to the community.
asserted
benefits → ensure → community
When Richland Parish gets teacher bonuses, Quincy gets a library, and Georgians and Virginians see their taxes go down, the community’s relationship with a data center changes.
asserted
relationship → get → center
The broader stakes are hard to overstate.
asserted
stakes → overstate → ?
…and 12 more, not listed.
The Aporia
