Data centers promise that billions they invest will help communities, but let’s be clear: those billions are private investments for private profits, not guaranteed benefits to the public. I wrote about this and other concerns I have about data center investments

As communities across the country push back on #datacenters and state lawmakers reconsider sales tax breaks for the industry, the same question keeps coming up: are these deals delivering good jobs, or is this just hype? I’ve updated my thoughts 👇 goodjobsfirst.org/will-data-ce...

Records show that Raytheon was able to claim tax refunds for jobs it didn’t create and bypass public comment for new grants in North Carolina. inkstickmedia.com/special-trea...

NEW: 36 states lavish tax breaks on data centers. But just 11 of those states reveal the names of the companies getting the tax breaks, fewer disclose the value of the tax breaks, and NO state provides both estimated and actual jobs created. 1- goodjobsfirst.org/cloudy-data-...

If a data center wants to come to you community, remember it is NOT a done deal. Community mobilization, digital organizing & grassroots education can successfully challenge even the most powerful company in the world. Tucson residents showed how to do it: goodjobsfirst.org/tucson-resid...

At least 10 states already lose more than $100 million per year in tax revenue to data centers, according to @goodjobsfirst.org. goodjobsfirst.org/cloudy-with-...

Elon Musk's SpaceX "has received billions of dollars in federal contracts over its more than two-decade existence. But SpaceX has most likely paid little to no federal income taxes since its founding in 2002 and has privately told investors that it may never have to." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/t...

NJ created a half billion dollars manufacturing subsidy finance.yahoo.com/news/murphy-...

Our globally popular database tracking corporate misconduct (Violation Tracker) now has a new way for users to interact with the data: a data visualization dashboard. Dig around and let us know what you think: goodjobsfirst.org/data-visuali...

#Datacenters can create air and noise pollution, use excessive amounts of water and create little economic development. To mitigate those negative effects, local organizations could negotiate community benefit agreements. Here are some ideas for demands: goodjobsfirst.org/community-be...

A massive data center in #Wyoming will use 5 times MORE energy than ALL households in the state. 5 times more! And no one wants to admit it is OpenAI data center. www.msn.com/en-us/money/...

Amazon breathlessly announced a $10B investment in data centers, and the governor claimed “hundreds of good-paying jobs and an economic boost to Richmond County.” The *actual* agreement requires Amazon to invest $1 billion and create 50 jobs. www.newsobserver.com/opinion/arti...

“Giant corporations prefer to operate in the shadows, but Tucson is not for sale. We deserve transparency and accountability” ~ Council Member Lane Santa Cruz. A good post on non-disclosure agreements and data centers boondoggle.substack.com/p/the-secret...

Wisconsin is giving Eli Lilly, a pharmaceutical giant, $100 million in subsidies for expansion of its manufacturing network in the state. This will be the company's 4th megadeal. content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIG...

This is not economic development. This is race to the bottom. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/two-...

Cities give companies billions of $ in the name of “economic development. This can be a complicated process, and residents are often left in the dark about who decides about those dollars. But a town in Texas makes sure residents know where to look for the info goodjobsfirst.org/inside-amari...

Tesla has quietly opened a warehouse in #SC. It is safe to assume that Tesla is benefiting from property tax breaks that the industrial park where the project is located has in place. In FY '23, schools across the state lost $541M to such corporate tax breaks www.postandcourier.com/news/elon-mu...

Today, we published a new report. “Google’s Eco-failures” goes deep into the appendices of Google’s environmental report to bring you the truth about their skyrocketing emissions and speculative investments. Read more here: noclimateresultsfound.com/report/

Site selection industry wants policy makers to believe data center subsidies are good for their local economies. Do not buy into this rhetoric. Those subsidies have negative return on investments & let the wealthiest companies pay nothing in sales tax for decades. siteselection.com/data-centers...

One solution to this problem is, as the report outlines, strong local hiring requirements for companies receiving public money, as well as well-structured apprenticeship programs with a realistic path to employment and wage protection.

Wow. This $15 Billion in federal tax breaks would be on the top of billions of dollars in state and local tax breaks Meta is getting across the country for its #datacenters.

Venice to Bezos: "If you can rent our city for your wedding, you can afford to pay more taxes." www.bbc.com/news/article...

Independent evaluations & audits of subsidy programs can bring more accountability to billions of $ spent by states and localities on economic development. #Connecticut auditor just found major problems with the state $100+ million/year film subsidy program. www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article...

Amazon wants a $102M tax break on a warehouse in Orange Co, NY. People say: NO! Amazon doesn't need public money, to which the corporation says it will look for other options if the "deal does not suit them." Does Amazon really feel so entitled to tax breaks? westchester.news12.com/orange-count...

Always happy to see more states taking warehouse safety seriously! www.bnd.com/news/local/a...

Amazon doesn't have to "fund" education, it just needs to pay full property taxes - taxes that pay for local schools - like every other community member does. levittownnow.com/2025/06/09/a...

It seems to me that Amazon is running out of ideas how to justify those massive projects that pay little if any taxes and consume extreme amounts of water and power: "The investment will...support thousands more [jobs] in the Amazon Web Services data center supply chain, the company said."

"This is a sales tax exemption that is being asked for by the largest, most profitable corporations that have ever existed on the face of the earth... it’s really important that we... look at the powers that are lining up to try to force us to make this decision..." ~ Minnesota Rep. Aisha Gomez

Amazon would still get a tax break on almost everything it buys for their data centers in #Minnesota - servers, computers, cooling systems, you name it - except now power. And no, it is not a tax hike on data centers - it is making sure large corporations pay taxes as everyone else does.

Looks like they do - they got $12.5 million in California tax breaks for it subsidytracker.goodjobsfirst.org/subsidy-trac...

In the last two years, Twitter/X data center was exempt from paying $12 million in property taxes in Hillsboro. This money, if paid, would go to support public services, like the local fire department which fire fighters, despite everything, rushed to help.

Phoenix Mayor Gallego calls for end to "antiquated" data center subsidies. "Data centers ... pose risks and take up so much energy that it threatens the future of other kinds of businesses. They produce a lot of heat and noise but only bring a few long-term jobs." www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news...

This is just too common: Google hides behind an LLC, asking for tax breaks for a massive data center. There is a short public hearing with a little notice given to residents who will be impacted the most. The mayor insists secrecy is necessary. The deal passes. www.jonesborosun.com/theeveningti...

Charleston Co schools lost $16M in a single year, $207M over the past 7 years, because of tax abatements approved by the County. @postandcourier.bsky.social is right, any improvement to Charleston Co subsidy transparency is welcomed, but more needs to be done www.postandcourier.com/opinion/edit...

Believe it or not, there is NO LIMIT to the amount of tax subsidies tech companies can collect for their data centers. In fact, states like UT and IN don’t even disclose how much money these projects are costing the public. goodjobsfirst.org/cloudy-with-...

If data center companies - think Google or Microsoft- paid taxes like everyday people do, Wisconsin would have additional millions to pay for things that grow the economy. Instead, tech comps get massive tax breaks, with no limit, no end in sight @athenaforall.bsky.social www.wpr.org/news/wiscons...

Sometimes it feels like there is no limit to how the public subsidizes the biggest companies in the world, in this case Google.

$13 BILLION subsidy!!! Yes, this is getting ridiculous! "That would make the total public subsidy for Commanders owner Josh Harris’s stadium-plus-other-development project around $13 billion"

Holy smokes. The DC MOU subleases Harris the ~24 acres comm parcel for 60-90 yrs! $1 rent through 27th year, market rent based on yr 27 phased in from 28th-32nd lease year, and then from the 32nd yr onward, rent is based on 32nd yr rent. So rent in year 2114 is based on rent in year 2057.

Independent evaluations of data center subsidies in VA, GA and WA show that the industry brings less new tax revenue to state budgets than what those massive facilities get in tax breaks. So, the claim that data centers are good for public coffers doesn’t add up. goodjobsfirst.org/clouded-judg...

"The independent study finds one NY tax dollar going to the film industry generates $0.30 in taxes, while...less sophisticated, methodologically-questionable industry report says a dollar of taxpayer subsidy generates $1.70. Guess which report the NY Times “data reporter” cites at greater length?"

With Josh Harris getting free land, paying $1/year rent, and keeping all revenues, it adds up to ... I dunno, $2.5B in public subsidies? $3B? It would surely be the most taxpayer money poured into one stadium in the history of the U.S. if not the universe.

TX will lose $1B this year because data centers don't pay sales tax when they buy things they need to build & run those projects. By 2030, this lucrative tax break will cost the state $9B. Big tech and crypto companies benefit from the subsidy, but there is one recipient that may surprise you: Tesla

CO wants to create sales tax exemptions for data centers. We have a cautionary story for the state lawmakers: those subsidies get very expensive, very fast. WI's program abated $40M in its first year; TX's subsidy cost projections for FY25 went from $130M to $1B goodjobsfirst.org/cloudy-with-...