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0 pointsecshafer18d ago0 comments

Lets say they build 100 Data Centers in Oswego county. Per Capita income is only $20k and one of the poorest in new york state. There is a lot of space that is not used for anything. 100 Data Centers is going to provide some amount of jobs at each one, remote hands, janitorial, security, etc. Those all pay more than the per capita income. At scale you need some amount of plumbers, facilities, electricians, etc. Not to mention the local labor that gets hired to build them. I know plenty of guys working Steel that leave to go build Data Centers in other places, and go back to upstate new york. Enough Data Centers means more power plants for even more jobs.

In poor rural areas, 50 jobs paying not that much is a big improvement.

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3 comments · 2 top-level

runtime_terror18d ago· 1 in thread

Local labor is often not used to build them. Most of these companies have crews they bring in during build out. Plus the actual setup of the facility is highly skilled: everyone is imported. The only local jobs we're talking about would be things like security, cleaning, and maybe some site prep work. The actual technical staff will not be hired locally in the majority of cases.

The argument here tho is the amount of jobs provided does not do a good enough job counteracting the downsides (noise, ground water pollution, generator air pollution, grid load and offset costs to customers, etc). In most cases these far outweigh <50 jobs if you look at overall cost/benefits.

kube-system18d ago

Local labor is almost never used for these projects. Data centers are built by huge national or multinational construction companies, not a local general contractor.

kube-system18d ago

Then the local utility companies have to undertake giant projects to keep up with demand. They issue many millions in bonds. Also, all of the construction trucks tear up the local roads. The local municipality has to allocate a bunch of money to fix the roads.

Then, next year, the AI bubble pops, and most of those data centers shutter their doors and stop contributing tax revenue.

Now you have the same $20k per capita income, but many millions more in debt!

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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3 comments · 2 top-level

runtime_terror18d ago· 1 in thread

kube-system18d ago

Local labor is almost never used for these projects. Data centers are built by huge national or multinational construction companies, not a local general contractor.

kube-system18d ago

Then, next year, the AI bubble pops, and most of those data centers shutter their doors and stop contributing tax revenue.

Now you have the same $20k per capita income, but many millions more in debt!

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse