Dear Friend,
We are rightfully consumed by the urgent fights against corruption and threats to our democracy. But right now, at great pace, another immediate crisis is unfolding right under our noses: the silent invasion of massive data and AI centers in communities all over the country.
These digital fortresses, fueled by the insatiable demands of Big Tech and consumers, are devouring our public resources, eroding our tax base, and leaving behind a wake of environmental and social costs that local residents are left to bear. The truth is stark: while these tech giants promise progress, they deliver peril. Too many Americans find themselves powerless against a wave of unchecked growth that is aggressively supported by the Trump administration and complicit Republicans.
The Hidden Costs: From Water Wars to Noise Pollution
The allure of “tech investment” often masks the devastating realities of what these facilities truly demand.
Draining Our Lifelines: Data centers are voracious consumers of water, often siphoning millions of gallons daily for cooling systems. In regions already grappling with drought, this creates a cruel irony: residents face mandatory water restrictions while multi-billion-dollar corporations operate without constraint, leveraging precious public resources for private profit.
Straining Our Grid, Polluting Our Air: A single large data center can demand as much electricity as a small city. This monumental energy pull strains local power grids, often necessitating new, costly infrastructure like substations, and frequently increasing our reliance on dirty energy sources to keep servers running. And let’s not forget the constant, low hum of massive cooling towers—noise pollution that erodes the peace and quiet of nearby homes. Residents can hear it.
A Raw Deal for Taxpayers: State and local governments routinely offer colossal tax breaks, property tax abatements, and sales tax exemptions that can last for a decade or more. This means the very communities hosting these resource-intensive behemoths lose out on critical revenue for schools, roads, and emergency services.
Jobs Mirage: The promise of local jobs from data centers is a mirage, not a reality. While construction offers temporary work, an operational data center typically employs fewer than 50 people. This is a dismal return on the massive public investment made through tax incentives and subsidies. Worse, the few permanent positions—often low-wage maintenance and grounds-keeping jobs—fall far short of the promised living-wage opportunities for the community.
The Power Imbalance: Political Collusion and Corporate Conquest
The unchecked spread of data centers is not accidental; it’s the result of a systemic imbalance of power and direct collusion between Big Tech and the Trump Administration/Republicans.
The goal is simple: deregulation and aggressive use of tax policy to ensure massive companies can build infrastructure quickly and at minimal cost, at the expense of the American people.
Federal Regulatory Sabotage: The administration has issued Executive Orders aimed at fundamentally reshaping the regulatory landscape. These orders streamline environmental reviews (NEPA), expand expedited permitting for large infrastructure projects (FAST-41), and instruct agencies to limit or waive key regulations under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act (Section 404 permits).
Massive Taxpayer Subsidies: Aligned with federal policy, Republican-led statehouses aggressively compete by passing laws that grant 100% sales tax exemptions on equipment (servers, cooling gear) and offer long-term property tax abatements, sometimes extended until 2050 or later. This is often the costliest state subsidy, shifting financial burdens onto communities—US!
Direct Financial Incentives: Federal initiatives directed by the Commerce Department are funneling financial support—including loans, grants, and tax incentives—to “Qualifying Projects” with minimal environmental oversight, provided the companies commit vast capital expenditures.
Government Secrecy: Negotiations involving state incentives often rely on Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), preventing local officials from disclosing crucial details (like water or energy usage projections) until the project is approved.
Empowering Americans Against the Digital Goliath
The fight against this corporate overreach is crucial. It’s a fight against the erosion of democratic local control and against politicians who prioritize Big Tech’s profits over public good. Lincoln Square insists that communities are not powerless. Focused, organized action can still force concessions, mitigate damage, or even halt projects.
Organize and Inform:
Form a Unified Front: Establish a dedicated community group (”Citizens Against Data Center Overload”) to pool resources and share thoroughly researched, factual information about the specific data center’s impact. Create a website or Facebook group to recruit local citizens to join the fight. Post information about the data center plans on your Facebook. Put the pressure on lawmakers.
Demand Transparency: Utilize Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to pry loose all internal government communications, impact studies, and details of every incentive offered to the corporation. Sunlight is the best disinfectant for political collusion and corruption
Contact Lawmakers using the new LINCOLN SQUARE ACTION platform to inform them that you stand against Data Centers being built in your communities. Data Centers may not be a problem now in your area, but they WILL. Click here to use our platform to contact your lawmakers and share on your social media to encourage others to do the same. [ [link removed] ]
Target the Infrastructure, Not Just the Land:
Challenge Permits, Not Zoning: Instead of fighting the uphill battle of rezoning, focus legal and public pressure on the critical utility permits these facilities need: water rights, air quality permits for their massive backup generators, and the approval for new high-voltage transmission lines. These are often regulatory weak points. You can find this information through your local government website and by attending city councl meetings.
Lobby Utility Boards: Data centers cannot exist without massive power and water. Pressure local and state utility commissions and boards, arguing that the projected demand is unsustainable and detrimental to existing ratepayers and grid stability.
Negotiate for Real Mitigation (If You Can’t Stop Them):
Demand Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs): If tax abatements are inevitable, push for an agreement requiring the company to make direct, negotiated payments to local services like the school system to compensate for lost revenue.
Enforce Green Standards: Advocate for mandatory environmental standards, such as requiring the use of recycled or reclaimed “grey water” for cooling, or demanding verifiable renewable energy offsets for their massive consumption.
Noise and Aesthetic Controls: Demand robust noise mitigation (e.g., acoustic fencing) and architectural designs that minimize the visual impact on surrounding neighborhoods.
The growth of data centers is a critical fight for local autonomy, environmental stewardship, and fiscal responsibility. Lincoln Square stands with communities demanding a say in their future, urging every citizen to become informed, organized, and ready to stand up to this silent invasion.
Lincoln Square is the amplifier for the truth, exposing the corporate corruption—like the tax breaks and environmental rollbacks for Big Tech data centers—that threatens our communities. We must reach the disengaged, red state and swing state voters who will decide the fate of the mid-term elections and America’s future. This is your chance to directly fund the dissemination of facts, hold the powerful accountable, and help us defeat the Trump authoritarian regime.
Please invest in Lincoln Square today. Your donation is a decisive step in informing citizens and defending our democracy. If you are a current donor, thank you for fighting with us. It’s all up to us to reclaim our country and our future as Americans.
Sincerely,
Lincoln Square
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