• Fuswoo@lemmy.worldOP
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    13 days ago

    These documents were supposed to stay secret.

    Entergy sued local newspapers, trying to keep its deal with Google confidential. The suit failed; the news is out. Entergy plans to hike West Memphis ratepayers’ utility bills by ~$6 each month for the next 20 years, all to fund Google’s new datacenter.

  • Laurel Raven@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    13 days ago

    Anyone ever consider that Google could, you know… Afford to fund their own damned data center project if they want it so badly?

    • willington@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      13 days ago

      But why?

      I once worked for a startup where the founder and the CEO was a hundred(s) millionaire, and he could have easily funded the startup on his own. And you know what? He’d be constantly pitching to investors, nonstop. And when the other investors lost confidence, he closed the business.

      It’s a matter of principle for many of these people. You don’t ever want to risk your own money unless there is no other choice. It doesn’t matter if you can afford it. The question is why? If I can spend your money why would I spend my own? It makes no sense.

      These billionaires will spend our money, time, dreams, energy indefinitely, if they can. Only if there is an absolute and absolutely unbypassable barrier that prevents them from even trying would they stop. They won’t ever volunteer to stop.

        • 4am@lemmy.zip
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          12 days ago

          Socialism Silicon Valley is great until you run out of other people’s money.

      • schema@lemmy.world
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        12 days ago

        Yep. When the business loses, it’s not their money, but when there are profits, it’s suddenly all theirs.

      • Prior_Industry@lemmy.world
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        12 days ago

        Which is a laugh when we’re supposed to accept you can’t tax these people because otherwise they won’t invest. They’re only ever using other people’s money anyway.

        All you’re doing is slowing down their money hoarding game.

        • ParlimentOfDoom@piefed.zip
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          11 days ago

          Also that entire premise is built on a lie. Higher taxes increase investment in the business, because it’s either they give it away to the government and get nothing lot of it, or use to it strengthen the business.

          When taxes are low, that’s when the rich take the money out of the business to keep for themselves.

  • Melobol@lemmy.ml
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    13 days ago

    The funny thing if they were using that money to build utilities / buildings for the community to use - that could be applauded.
    But they are taking money to pay for a for profit company, that will provide for profit services, that will disturb locals for profit.

    • VonReposti@feddit.dk
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      13 days ago

      Not when you have a Free Market™ sprinkled with lots of Freedom™. And don’t call me Shirley.

    • jj4211@lemmy.world
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      12 days ago

      That’s the neat part, they generally do pay for “their” electricity, but there isn’t enough electricity for them to do that so power plants and infrastructure expansion must happen and they pretend that’s for everyone, not just them, so they shouldn’t pay for the capacity since technically they can’t tell whose electricity is really whose.

      It’s a pretty broken model in this scenario.

  • switcheroo@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    That is so fucked up. Why are WE paying for that??? Imagine having a grocery store open and they increase your utilities because there’s a store now using electricity. Or a tire shop opens up.

    MFera need to pay their own bills! This is in-fucking-sane!

  • deathbird@mander.xyz
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    12 days ago

    Funny how every major innovation that’s sweeping the world and gonna make all the money ever still needs public subsidies.

  • Kintarian@lemmy.world
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    13 days ago

    By their logic I should be able to plug into my neighbor’s electric, right? I mean, why should I spend my own money?

    • boonhet@sopuli.xyz
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      12 days ago

      If you’re loaded and live where there’s enough sun all year round, it’s not a bad idea. Particularly if you can get enough production and storage to last through a long winter night after a short winter day and then throw in a backup generator, you will never need the grid again.