Is the shine already coming off ai & data centers?

[ababyatemydingo]

Like I was saying, I wonder what a person who stands to profit would say...

critical thinking, bro. think for yourself

Who are you suggesting stands to profit? Any business investing money into a project is doing it to profit. Do you think Alphabet doesn't profit from YouTube or Gmail? Do you think DS doesn't profit from SPS? He has a room full of big screen TVs to prove he does. If you're insinuating that I stand to profit from a data center, you couldn't be further from the truth. I spent 35 years building a multi-million dollar business from scratch, before semi-retiring and deciding to run for local office to help my community grow.

 

[dorndawg]

critical thinking, bro. think for yourself

Who are you suggesting stands to profit? Any business investing money into a project is doing it to profit. Do you think Alphabet doesn't profit from YouTube or Gmail? Do you think DS doesn't profit from SPS? He has a room full of big screen TVs to prove he does. If you're insinuating that I stand to profit from a data center, you couldn't be further from the truth. I spent 35 years building a multi-million dollar business from scratch, before semi-retiring and deciding to run for local office to help my community grow.

I dunno man - it really seems like you’re trying to shut down reasonable discussion on this. That’s a bad look for an elected official.

I don’t know if you personally or politically stand to profit, but you’re practically acting as an advocate for data centers. Frankly, if I were a constituent I’d be curious if they have contributed to your campaign committee. It could also be that you genuinely believe data centers will make your constituent’s lives better.

You continue to have one of the great usernames here.

 

[ababyatemydingo]

I dunno man - it really seems like you’re trying to shut down reasonable discussion on this. That’s a bad look for an elected official.

I don’t know if you personally or politically stand to profit, but you’re practically acting as an advocate for data centers. Frankly, if I were a constituent I’d be curious if they have contributed to your campaign committee. It could also be that you genuinely believe data centers will make your constituent’s lives better.

You continue to have one of the great usernames here.

Campaign contributions are public information. Anyone can see that. I'll tell you though that I didn't accept a cent of campaign contributions when I ran. Didn't need to. And haven't accepted any since I ran and won. Don't need it. And I won with 80% of the vote over a 12 year incumbent. You deduct from that what you will. My knowledge comes from 35 years in that line of business, and a crap load of due diligence in the last 2 1/2 years. Traveling all over the country to gather real information. Not contrived, propaganda YouTube information

 

[JackReacherDawg]

Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Outlook, MS 365, Quickbooks, Sixpackspeak, MSNBC, CNN, whateverotherliberalragyouread.com, YouTube, NSA, FBI, CIA, ...and on and on. All run from data centers for decades. You don't hear any sky screaming about them. Only AI data centers. We went through this the other day. You have a short memory. The AI sky screaming is Chinese propaganda. China WILL NOT stand by quietly and let the US win the AI war.

Well, there are some differences. These AI data centers are getting some sweetheart deals. I'm sure the past ones kinda did too, but it seems its off the charts now, with pre-clearance from any regulation of just about any aspect.

Also, there's the scale of the investment. I'm not against building houses, but that doesnt mean the housing bubble was a good thing. Communities authorizing these projects need to ensure that the middlemen building them cant just declare bankruptcy and walk away, leaving a costly trash site to remediate at taxpayer expense.

 

[ababyatemydingo]

Well, there are some differences. These AI data centers are getting some sweetheart deals. I'm sure the past ones kinda did too, but it seems its off the charts now, with pre-clearance from any regulation of just about any aspect.

Also, there's the scale of the investment. I'm not against building houses, but that doesnt mean the housing bubble was a good thing. Communities authorizing these projects need to ensure that the middlemen building them cant just declare bankruptcy and walk away, leaving a costly trash site to remediate at taxpayer expense.

they aren't public projects. they're private projects. you have subdivisions all over Mississippi that were nice when built and are dumps now. You've got them declaring bankruptcy before they're even built. The three companies that are looking at our county are some of the most liquid in the world. Pretty sure bankruptcy isn't anywhere in their future. And Amazon certainly isn't declaring bankruptcy, and they're building 4 data centers in the state

And cite facts on these "sweetheart deals". And not BS you saw on YouTube. I have intimate inside knowledge on the technology side and the government side, so you won't be able to BS me. I've already stated one incentive that the state is giving any data center to come to Mississippi. Doesn't have to be AI. As a matter of fact, 2 of the 3 looking at my county aren't AI. They're just data centers that could house anything from Twitter to Oracle, to Gmail, with multiple tenants. The state is offering no sales tax on the equipment that goes inside them. That's it. That's the only incentive. The counties, cities, school districts enter into a Fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes agreement with the companies and get windfall revenue to do things that their schools, counties, and cities have never had the revenue to do. Our current county budget is $20 MM a year. If those 3 projects go through, our budget will increase to right at $250 MM a year. We've already started long range planning on that. We'd have money to have nice asphalt roads, instead of rock and tar roads we have to patch on until we can afford to re-seal them. We'd have money to build state of the art parks and recreation areas for our residents. We'd have money to build senior services and transportation within our county. We'd have money to offer every qualified high school graduate in our county a free college education. We'd have money to upgrade our airport. I could keep going, but it would be fruitless against the cynics on here who got their expert knowledge from watching YouTube videos produced with Chinese and European Billionaire money who are terrified of the US AI industry right now. It's the same ones who became Covid experts in 2020, with no knowledge other than what someone told them online.

 

[HRMSU]

I wonder if those who stand to profit would ever holler "outside agitators!" when questions start getting asked?

Absolutely . That's the problem you have. That group has a vested interest in making a profit. Then you have the "outside agitators" that have a vested interest in not seeing the US win the AI race.

In the middle you have people picking either side for different reasons that may ultimately support the end goal of the profiteers or the outside agitators, typically we refer to these people as useful idiots.

I want the US to win the AI race but I also don't want to be a useful idiot to either side.

 

[paindonthurt]

Cato has us at 15th, for what that is worth.

https://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index/2025

I’m sure you believe that as well!

 

[paindonthurt]

They will lie to the public and claim they have the problem solved or it’s just around the corner, meanwhile once they get the data centers on line, the power grid and public water supply will get fleeced. This project is something the elites want and it’s not in our best interests.

So let me get this straight.

they are gonna take all the power?
Let’s assume they keep all the power for their factories that will make stuff via AI.
Then they shut off the regular power for us peons.

WHO THE 17 is gonna buy all the $h1t they want to sell? The people dying from no water and no power?

 

[mstateglfr]

I’m sure you believe that as well!

I said in the post 'for what that is worth'.
That is a common way to express that info is being provided without really taking a position on the matter.

I posted it, in part, because Cato is a think tank that exists on the right end of the political spectrum. Figured that may help reduce ignorant dismissive claims of liberal bias.

 

[paindonthurt]

I said in the post 'for what that is worth'.
That is a common way to express that info is being provided without really taking a position on the matter.

I posted it, in part, because Cato is a think tank that exists on the right end of the political spectrum. Figured that may help reduce ignorant dismissive claims of liberal bias.

So you did or didn’t believe it?

 

[mstateglfr]

So you did or didn’t believe it?

I don't know enough on the data discussed to hold an informed opinion.

 

[paindonthurt]

I don't know enough on the data discussed to hold an informed opinion.

Figured

 

[mstateglfr]

Figured

Yeah, I don't know enough on a topic to form an opinion.

No need to be a dick.

 

[ababyatemydingo]

I said in the post 'for what that is worth'.
That is a common way to express that info is being provided without really taking a position on the matter.

I posted it, in part, because Cato is a think tank that exists on the right end of the political spectrum. Figured that may help reduce ignorant dismissive claims of liberal bias.

Will let you in on a secret you may not be aware of. I spend a good bit of time in DC throughout the year. And have rubbed elbows with many "think tank" people on the right and the left. A lot that you'd recognize their names. "Think tanks" don't sit around thinking. They hire famous ex politicians to push a narrative that they've bid out to the highest bidder. They say what they're paid to say. Left and right. They don't research a damn thing.

 

[mstateglfr]

Will let you in on a secret you may not be aware of. I spend a good bit of time in DC throughout the year. And have rubbed elbows with many "think tank" people on the right and the left. A lot that you'd recognize their names. "Think tanks" don't sit around thinking. They hire famous ex politicians to push a narrative that they've bid out to the highest bidder. They say what they're paid to say. Left and right. They don't research a damn thing.

OK...so a heavily right leaning think tank paid an ex-politician to push the narrative that the right leaning think tank wanted...and that narrative was that the US is 15th globally in the human freedom.

Odd narrative for a right leaning organization to push.

 

[paindonthurt]

Yeah, I don't know enough on a topic to form an opinion.

No need to be a dick.

Like I said. I figured.

 

[Bilbo69]

All I know is a data center has never done one thing to make my life better.

Why should the public shell out for these things? These CEOs of these mega corps are literally telling us these things are meant to put people out of work. The drain our resources. Take our tax dollars. I think my life was better before Big Data

 

[Bilbo69]

No no
It’s clearly the regular folks and the Sixpack warriors who know what’s better!

Hey here’s a wild thought. Maybe the tech leaders incentives aren’t aligned with the average joes. They couldn’t give a **** about what is good for you and I.

 

[ababyatemydingo]

All I know is a data center has never done one thing to make my life better.

Why should the public shell out for these things? These CEOs of these mega corps are literally telling us these things are meant to put people out of work. The drain our resources. Take our tax dollars. I think my life was better before Big Data

This is Mississippi ignorance at its finest right here. If you've ever used any online website or services (including this website you expressed your ignorance on), a data center has "done one thing to make your life better".

 

[RebelRH]

Southaven residents just filed a class action suit against Musk's xAI power generation site. Also someone at work told me this morning that a company is looking at putting a datacenter in Pontotoc county and people are already complaining and don't know anything about what, where, or when. Going to be interesting.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

I didn't realize I was supposed to pick a side on data centers.

 

[Bilbo69]

This is Mississippi ignorance at its finest right here. If you've ever used any online website or services (including this website you expressed your ignorance on), a data center has "done one thing to make your life better".

Ignorance is thinking the current data center build out has anything to do with internet infrastructure. The internet isn’t going anywhere. AI’s role in our lives is the question that you are dodging by playing semantics.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Our current county budget is $20 MM a year. If those 3 projects go through, our budget will increase to right at $250 MM a year. We've already started long range planning on that. We'd have money to have nice asphalt roads, instead of rock and tar roads we have to patch on until we can afford to re-seal them. We'd have money to build state of the art parks and recreation areas for our residents. We'd have money to build senior services and transportation within our county. We'd have money to offer every qualified high school graduate in our county a free college education. We'd have money to upgrade our airport.

Thanks for coming back. I knew there was a county guy on here that had explained these before.

My question is, why can't this be made public so everyone is clear on these benefits?

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Ignorance is thinking the current data center build out has anything to do with internet infrastructure. The internet isn’t going anywhere. AI’s role in our lives is the question that you are dodging by playing semantics.

This is kinda changing the narrative, right? We go from, 'are datacenters bad' to 'is AI bad'. Two different things.

 

[dorndawg]

This is kinda changing the narrative, right? We go from, 'are datacenters bad' to 'is AI bad'. Two different things.

I'm not sure how you have one without the other?

 

[ababyatemydingo]

Ignorance is thinking the current data center build out has anything to do with internet infrastructure. The internet isn’t going anywhere. AI’s role in our lives is the question that you are dodging by playing semantics.

Websites and web services don't run on wires and "internet infrastructure". They 100% run in data centers. You're doubling down on your ignorance now

 

[OG Goat Holder]

I'm not sure how you have one without the other?

We've always had big asss buildings to house the internet. AI is nothing but a more advanced version of Google or whatever.

So you're right, but I see this discussion of whether 'AI' itself is bad, as a separate item. I don't think it's good or bad, it just 'is'.

This thing will ultimately hit critical mass at some point. It's getting close now, because people don't want these things by them. So it'll be the places who can quarantine them in industrial parks/etc. who get them and possibly benefit.

 

[johnson86-1]

OK...so a heavily right leaning think tank paid an ex-politician to push the narrative that the right leaning think tank wanted...and that narrative was that the US is 15th globally in the human freedom.

Odd narrative for a right leaning organization to push.

Cato is not right leaning. They are libertarian leaning, which most often ends up matching with the right because they are now the party more in line with classical liberal thoughts. But they still have their leftists from when it was more evenly split because leftists were more supportive of things like free speech when they held less control. For exmaple, they had an obviously ridiculous "paper" claiming more political violence comes from the left mainly by just excluding or ignoring anything that would be considered leftist political violence (e.g., the attempted assassination of a bunch of republican representatives playing softball, jihad, etc) and attributing any fringe cases (e.g., antisemitic attacks, which seem to belong on the left these days, and random white on black violence as right wing political violence, but not counting black on white violence motivated by racial animus as political).

 

[JackReacherDawg]

they aren't public projects. they're private projects. you have subdivisions all over Mississippi that were nice when built and are dumps now. You've got them declaring bankruptcy before they're even built.

thats not how regulstions work. Often they are there because private projects dont otherwise have oversight to prevent pollution or such. Being "private" is not a exemption. But rare exceptions are being made for these AI data centers. See how the Southaven one put in turbines without any review.

The three companies that are looking at our county are some of the most liquid in the world. Pretty sure bankruptcy isn't anywhere in their future.

Then it should be easy to put sufficient assurances down. But even supposedly liquid companies can get way over leveraged.

And Amazon certainly isn't declaring bankruptcy, and they're building 4 data centers in the state

If Amazon is building them directly. Using middlemen is common. Some leveredged other separate company may be building it to own with a deal to lease by Amazon. That way they, not Amazon, are responsible for problems. There's a high chance that a lot of these announced data centers dont get built. You could have a half built one get canceled, and if its a middleman company doing the build they'll declare bankruptcy, and the locality will he stuck with the site as is.

They're already exempting these sites from taxes and regulations, you dont think they've thought to get themselves exempted from the bill if they get cancelled?

And cite facts on these "sweetheart deals". And not BS you saw on YouTube. I have intimate inside knowledge on the technology side and the government side, so you won't be able to BS me.

Turns out "AI" is good for this!

Google Search

I've already stated one incentive that the state is giving any data center to come to Mississippi. Doesn't have to be AI. As a matter of fact, 2 of the 3 looking at my county aren't AI. They're just data centers that could house anything from Twitter to Oracle, to Gmail, with multiple tenants. The state is offering no sales tax on the equipment that goes inside them. That's it. That's the only incentive.

The counties, cities, school districts enter into a Fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes agreement with the companies and get windfall revenue to do things that their schools, counties, and cities have never had the revenue to do.

ok, so what STATE incentives are they getting? You realize all the regulations, like water usage, go through the state right?

Our current county budget is $20 MM a year. If those 3 projects go through, our budget will increase to right at $250 MM a year.

We've already started long range planning on that. We'd have money to have nice asphalt roads, instead of rock and tar roads we have to patch on until we can afford to re-seal them. We'd have money to build state of the art parks and recreation areas for our residents. We'd have money to build senior services and transportation within our county. We'd have money to offer every qualified high school graduate in our county a free college education. We'd have money to upgrade our airport. I could keep going, but it would be fruitless against the cynics on here who got their expert knowledge from watching YouTube videos produced with Chinese and European Billionaire money who are terrified of the US AI industry right now. It's the same ones who became Covid experts in 2020, with no knowledge other than what someone told them online.

Honestly, you seem more full of yourself than actually knowledgeable.

 

[dorndawg]

We've always had big asss buildings to house the internet. AI is nothing but a more advanced version of Google or whatever.

So you're right, but I see this discussion of whether 'AI' itself is bad, as a separate item. I don't think it's good or bad, it just 'is'.

This thing will ultimately hit critical mass at some point. It's getting close now, because people don't want these things by them. So it'll be the places who can quarantine them in industrial parks/etc. who get them and possibly benefit.

Saying hyperscale DCs and buildings with some servers "house the internet" is like saying Nick Saban and Zach Arnett both coached football in the SEC.

 

[JackReacherDawg]

Websites and web services don't run on wires and "internet infrastructure". They 100% run in data centers. You're doubling down on your ignorance now

Yes, but the data centers for them have always been built up at a steady pace as needed. This massive, quick AI data center build up is different. Theres more risk when making a deal. Surely you understand that?

 

[dorndawg]

Our current county budget is $20 MM a year. If those 3 projects go through, our budget will increase to right at $250 MM a year.

Is it worth considering if this might be too good to be true?

 

[johnson86-1]

All I know is a data center has never done one thing to make my life better.

Why should the public shell out for these things? These CEOs of these mega corps are literally telling us these things are meant to put people out of work. The drain our resources. Take our tax dollars. I think my life was better before Big Data

This is Mississippi ignorance at its finest right here. If you've ever used any online website or services (including this website you expressed your ignorance on), a data center has "done one thing to make your life better".

The comment also ignores that the public is largely not shelling out for these things, at least in Mississippi. I understand the skepticism because Mississippi has done some stupid **** in the name of "economic development" in the past, but they have shockingly mostly learned their lessons. Most incentives are backloaded or infrastructure based, and there are typically some protections if there is project specific infrastructure and the deal doesn't go to completion.

It's a fair question of how to price the need for new capacity and whether existing utility customers essentially have a right to the benefit of existing, depreciated capacity (I'm more of the belief that new customers aren't second class citizens to existing customers, but I get the alternate view).

But generally people are just assuming that we're somehow paying for these with no evidence (I guess because they think of reducing ad volorem taxes is somehow shelling out, even though the county and particularly the schools are getting more money by offering the incentives).

 

[johnson86-1]

Is it worth considering if this might be too good to be true?

This doesn't make any sense. They're not betting on profits. They are making predictions on a pretty straight forward formula. Claiborne county did in fact get a **** ton of money from Grand Gulf. Didn't matter that it almost bankrupted everybody involved with it. The county did great. The only risk for the county is putting in infrastructure and the project not getting completed and the owners declaring bankruptcy. That should be addressed in their economic incentive deal. If they are doing it right, they are getting security on that up front or at worst pushing that risk to the State.

 

[ababyatemydingo]

Is it worth considering if this might be too good to be true?

I've always respected your takes. They're generally pretty logical. Even if I don't agree with most. I stilll respect them for the logic and thought you seem to put into them. But this is a comically weak rebuttal. Look into how fee-in-lieu agreements are structured in Mississippi and you'll have your answer.

 

[dorndawg]

This doesn't make any sense. They're not betting on profits. They are making predictions on a pretty straight forward formula. Claiborne county did in fact get a **** ton of money from Grand Gulf. Didn't matter that it almost bankrupted everybody involved with it. The county did great. The only risk for the county is putting in infrastructure and the project not getting completed and the owners declaring bankruptcy. That should be addressed in their economic incentive deal. If they are doing it right, they are getting security on that up front or at worst pushing that risk to the State.

Sounds like everybody's gonna get rich with no strings attached!

Legit hope you're right.

 

[ababyatemydingo]

Yes, but the data centers for them have always been built up at a steady pace as needed. This massive, quick AI data center build up is different. Theres more risk when making a deal. Surely you understand that?

Newsflash. It's not all AI. 2 of the 3 I've been in negotiations for are not AI. Just your run of the mill data centers. You know. Like to run the website your typing silly takes on. And the website you get your email on

 

[dorndawg]

I've always respected your takes. They're generally pretty logical. Even if I don't agree with most. I stilll respect them for the logic and thought you seem to put into them. But this is a comically weak rebuttal. Look into how fee-in-lieu agreements are structured in Mississippi and you'll have your answer.

They've got you working mighty hard to talk us into it. Thank you for the nice words.

 

[OG Goat Holder]

Look into how fee-in-lieu agreements are structured in Mississippi and you'll have your answer.

From AI below. This appears to me to just be a reduced tax. What am I missing?


In Mississippi, Fee-in-Lieu (FIL) of Property Tax agreements are powerful economic development incentives used by local governments to attract major business investments. Essentially, instead of paying standard, variable ad valorem (property) taxes on a new project, a company negotiates a predictable, reduced fee to pay the local government instead.

Here is a breakdown of how these agreements work, who qualifies, and the rules governing them.

1. The Core Qualifications​

A company cannot just request a fee-in-lieu agreement for any standard project. Mississippi law sets a high bar to ensure these incentives are reserved for substantial economic drivers:

• Minimum Investment: The project must generally require a minimum capital investment of $60 million.
• Exceptions: For specific sectors, like certified health care industry facilities, the minimum capital investment threshold jumps to $100 million.
• Eligible Entities: It applies to "new enterprises" or major expansions of existing ones (such as manufacturing plants, data centers, large-scale warehouses, and research facilities).

2. How the Fee is Negotiated and Calculated​

The agreement is a contract negotiated between the business enterprise and the local County Board of Supervisors and/or Municipal Authorities (if the project sits within city limits).

• The School Tax Factor: A county board or city council can negotiate on behalf of their respective local school districts.
• The Floor (Minimum Payment): By law, the negotiated fee cannot be less than one-third (1/3) of what the standard property tax levy would have been (including school district taxes).

3. Duration and Time Limits​

The timeline for an FIL agreement has two distinct limits that often confuse people:

• The Agreement Term: The overall fee-in-lieu agreement can be structured to last for up to 30 years.
• The Property Limit: However, no single, specific parcel of land, building improvement, or item of personal property can benefit from the fee-in-lieu reduction for more than 10 years.
• How this works in practice: For massive, multi-phase projects built over a decade, Phase 1 gets its 10-year clock, Phase 2 starts its own 10-year clock later, and so on, all managed under one master 30-year agreement.

4. The Approval Process​

Local governments cannot grant these exemptions in a vacuum. The process requires state-level oversight:

1. Application & Local Negotiation: The business submits a request detailing the scope of the project, job creation, and capital investment to the local board(s).
2. Local Binding Agreement: If the local authorities agree, they draft and execute a binding written contract.
3. State Final Approval: The agreement is not legally effective until it receives final review and approval from the Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) to ensure it strictly complies with state statutory requirements.

Why do companies and counties use them?
For companies, it offers immense tax savings and long-term financial predictability, which is crucial when projecting the ROI of a massive facility. For counties and cities, it allows them to remain highly competitive against neighboring states to secure thousands of construction and permanent jobs, while still ensuring at least a baseline stream of revenue flows into local government and school systems.

 

[BigDawgs26]

they aren't public projects. they're private projects. you have subdivisions all over Mississippi that were nice when built and are dumps now. You've got them declaring bankruptcy before they're even built. The three companies that are looking at our county are some of the most liquid in the world. Pretty sure bankruptcy isn't anywhere in their future. And Amazon certainly isn't declaring bankruptcy, and they're building 4 data centers in the state

And cite facts on these "sweetheart deals". And not BS you saw on YouTube. I have intimate inside knowledge on the technology side and the government side, so you won't be able to BS me. I've already stated one incentive that the state is giving any data center to come to Mississippi. Doesn't have to be AI. As a matter of fact, 2 of the 3 looking at my county aren't AI. They're just data centers that could house anything from Twitter to Oracle, to Gmail, with multiple tenants. The state is offering no sales tax on the equipment that goes inside them. That's it. That's the only incentive. The counties, cities, school districts enter into a Fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes agreement with the companies and get windfall revenue to do things that their schools, counties, and cities have never had the revenue to do. Our current county budget is $20 MM a year. If those 3 projects go through, our budget will increase to right at $250 MM a year. We've already started long range planning on that. We'd have money to have nice asphalt roads, instead of rock and tar roads we have to patch on until we can afford to re-seal them. We'd have money to build state of the art parks and recreation areas for our residents. We'd have money to build senior services and transportation within our county. We'd have money to offer every qualified high school graduate in our county a free college education. We'd have money to upgrade our airport. I could keep going, but it would be fruitless against the cynics on here who got their expert knowledge from watching YouTube videos produced with Chinese and European Billionaire money who are terrified of the US AI industry right now. It's the same ones who became Covid experts in 2020, with no knowledge other than what someone told them online.

Ya'll need to listen to this guy. He knows what he is talking about.

For example.... If the current data center in Meridian builds out the planned 8 buildings then it will potential produce enough fee-in-lieu of ad valorem taxes annually to exceed the budget of each of the 3 public entities getting the money. If not exceed it will be close. A county that has been starving for tax revenue is about to get it.

OpenAI says China tried to influence US attitudes on AI data centers - POLITICO