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Cloud centers bring high-tech flash but not many jobs

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Re: Cloud centers bring high-tech flash but not many jobs

#51
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That quote seems more like political-speak than actual hard numbers. The article also said that the state government gave Apple $46 million in tax breaks, while local government cut their property taxes by 50 percent and personal taxes by 85 percent. I'm hard-pressed to see how the taxpayers aren't subsidizing this datacenter.

They gave Apple those breaks to get them to build the facility there. No breaks 0 revenue, breaks some other > 0 revenue.

Money is fungible; tax breaks are no different in function than charging the full tax rate but handing Apple a pile of cash equivalent to what they'd have saved with the tax break.

It's a subsidy. The argument that they made more with the subsidy than they would have without it is separate from the idea that tax breaks don't amount to a subsidy (which was yummyfajitas assertion).

Re: Cloud centers bring high-tech flash but not many jobs

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To the small town which is giving tax breaks, it's a somewhat important thing to discuss.

True, but there are knock-on effects of creating 50 new jobs in a town of 3400. These 50 people now have money to spend locally which could result in the creation of many more low wage jobs to service the new business.

Yeah, but then, the town is also now on the hook for police and fire service (and probably a variety of other non-obvious costs) for a huge datacenter, though the company is paying discounted taxes...
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