Proposal Targets Data Centers with Carbon Tax to Dodge Voter Backlash

@mattyglesias A good policy, but I thought most of the tech companies that are building data centers already have net-zero committments. Hence their sigificant interest in developing clean sources.

@mattyglesias This won't work because data center opposition is mostly a matter of fashion (it's the Current Thing) and faction (opposition to the tech industry) rather than actual underlying material concerns.

@mattyglesias I’ve seen a similar idea on here by someone here who proposed “congestion pricing but only for driverless vehicles”.

@mattyglesias

@HopfJames @mattyglesias Commitments are fungible.

@mattyglesias The whole point of a carbon tax is it's industry/product-neutral, unlike e.g. a gas tax. How much carbon tax you pay only depends on how much damage you do to the environment

If you levy it on one specific group, it's not clear at all whether it's even beneficial

@utility_enjoyer @mattyglesias Yesyes, the bad old liberal media told us to hate data centers because we're all children who can't see how great it is to not have clean water.

How about forget net zero don’t call things green energy. Focus on building more energy to lower prices. . Force data centers to Build modular nuclear because it’s the most efficient use of resources. Stop opining about green commitments. And just build every data center we can and every nuclear and non nuclear power plant possible. Instead of mandating utilities use green energy mandate unit prices go down by 50% over the next 5 years and brand it “energy abundance”

@mattyglesias What if we have no carbon tax at all and let the market decide + drastically reduce red tape at NRC?

@mattyglesias 💯

@mattyglesias This is honestly a great idea.

@mattyglesias Like the old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup add but in reverse

@mattyglesias Carbon dioxide isn’t a pollutant

@mattyglesias Interesting

@mattyglesias How would this help data centers get built? The opposition is local and mostly just your run of the mill NIMBYism despite the online discourse.

@mattyglesias By Jove, it just might work!

@mattyglesias Lets increase taxes on the fastest growing, capital intensive business in America? Is that your master plan @mattyglesias