Let’s see: everyone, for good reason, believes the current data center boom is predicated on the expectation that their jobs will be taken by AI (for some this has already happened). To add insult to injury, they drive power bills through the roof. The data centers employ at most a handful of workers.

It follows that the hostility is entirely rational.

I forget what brought it to mind but earlier today I remembered the old saw "If you want less of something, tax it." I think new data centers should be heavily taxed by the cities and states where they're built.

Truly one of the most loathed things in the country