[duped]

I'm really tired of reading comments like this"this is a policy choice" when these companies are straight up bribing politicians or exploiting their conflicts of interest to make this their policy. The public doesn't have a choice when all our leaders are bought and paid for by oligarchs and their businesses.

[abduhl]

Comments like this are even more tiring. Everyone knows that there are moneyed interests in politics. But decisions on these issues are made at a local level and so are the most addressable by local political actions.

[duped]

In my area there is quite a lot of mobilized anti-data center action that is completely ineffective. There is no legal way to remove corrupt local politicians from office that prevents the harm from being done.

And I mean this as in, local government ostensibly representing the community are also the land owners and contractors selling to developers, who can't be voted out of office until next year at the earliest and whose contracts and permits can't be revoked by a subsequent administration.

How exactly are you supposed to stop that?

[blackqueeriroh]

You’re not. You’re reaping the consequences of your previous decisions as a community.

[TurdF3rguson]

So what? You're saying local officials can't be corrupted by campaign donations? Because that's a hot take.

[abduhl]

I’m saying local officials are the ones where your vote counts the most.

[TurdF3rguson]

Sure but the corruption money offsets informed votes against with campaign spend. The economics of expecting to vote them out doesn't work.

Plus it feels like one party is getting flexible when it comes to corruption in their leaders. It's not as disqualifying as it was 15 years ago.