I recorded a conversation with my friend Curtis who until a few years ago was a city planner in Holyoke MA and had a lot of thoughts on a recent data center moratorium there.
There definitely needs to be a shift on how society views taxes. Everybody views taxes as a punishment by the government instead of a tool to fund specific things that the government does. They'll complain about toll roads while also complaining about potholes and traffic. I think a way to address this would be to somehow get people engaged in the process, or to inform them that they already had a hand in the process through their vote. Maybe some sort of gamification by having graphics displaying the cash flow and progress of projects being funded by that cash flow.
Maybe if the past 40 years had led to improvements people could see in their daily lives. Like, while I disagree and think part of the issue is it's largely being run by people who don't want to exist in many ways, but conservatives are right to notice we spend a lot more on education even accounting for inflation than we did in 1980 but education looks the same.
On a national level, we're asked to pay taxes that go disproprtionately to giveaways to corporations and the military industrial complex, but we're told spending money on say free education or actual universal health care is impossible so we have to be happy w/ half a loaf.
On a local level, no, we can't keep the parks or library funded at prior levels, but we can give a cushy deal to another developer who will promise their giant apartment building will bring enough people in. I say this as a YIMBY - but the argument of 'if we let developers do all they want, you're rent won't go down, but it might go up slower' is not the best argument to normal people.
The reality is that without the economic revitalization that data centers bring, rustbelt towns will continue to get decline and they won't be able to maintain basic infrastructure, including infrastructure that is good for the environment (bike lanes, sidewalks, public transport, better sewage treatment, parks, nature preserves, urban greenspaces, redevelopment and cleanup of abandoned industrial parks).
There definitely needs to be a shift on how society views taxes. Everybody views taxes as a punishment by the government instead of a tool to fund specific things that the government does. They'll complain about toll roads while also complaining about potholes and traffic. I think a way to address this would be to somehow get people engaged in the process, or to inform them that they already had a hand in the process through their vote. Maybe some sort of gamification by having graphics displaying the cash flow and progress of projects being funded by that cash flow.
Maybe if the past 40 years had led to improvements people could see in their daily lives. Like, while I disagree and think part of the issue is it's largely being run by people who don't want to exist in many ways, but conservatives are right to notice we spend a lot more on education even accounting for inflation than we did in 1980 but education looks the same.
On a national level, we're asked to pay taxes that go disproprtionately to giveaways to corporations and the military industrial complex, but we're told spending money on say free education or actual universal health care is impossible so we have to be happy w/ half a loaf.
On a local level, no, we can't keep the parks or library funded at prior levels, but we can give a cushy deal to another developer who will promise their giant apartment building will bring enough people in. I say this as a YIMBY - but the argument of 'if we let developers do all they want, you're rent won't go down, but it might go up slower' is not the best argument to normal people.
As a native of Holyoke, found this really interesting.
We were promised mongol content!
I recommend David Morgan's The Mongols. Short, detailed, and readable. But William of Rubruck has the account that made me want to know all that there was to know about the Mongol Ulus. https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/rubruck.html#karakorum
The reality is that without the economic revitalization that data centers bring, rustbelt towns will continue to get decline and they won't be able to maintain basic infrastructure, including infrastructure that is good for the environment (bike lanes, sidewalks, public transport, better sewage treatment, parks, nature preserves, urban greenspaces, redevelopment and cleanup of abandoned industrial parks).