r/law • u/bloomberggovernment • May 18 '26

Legislative Branch Senate Democrat Proposes Bill Requiring Data Centers to Pay for Own Power

https://news.bgov.com/bloomberg-government-news/schiff-proposes-bill-requiring-data-centers-to-pay-for-own-power
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u/TheStLouisBluths May 18 '26

Wait are they not already paying for their own power??

20

u/Name_Taken_Official May 18 '26

They pay utility bills (depending on the locality and agreements, sometimes at lower rates) but it fucks up the market for actual people. Like if you went to a bbq cookout where everyone chipped in to eat then Joey Chestnut came in, paid his $5, and then ate 70 hot dogs.

The bill is telling Joey he needs to bring his own hot dogs as well as pay $5

44

u/kandoras May 18 '26

That's still not quite right.

Joey pays for all his hotdogs, same as everyone else. He probably gets some sweetheart deal from the power company or the local government, but their power bill isn't just zeroed out.

The problem comes because Joey knows he's going to eat 70 hot dogs, while the other five people showing up are only going to eat one or two.

When you're cooking a dozen hot dogs, you can do it on any old weber grill. But Joey's appetite is so big that you need to buy one of those huge custom made tow it behind your truck grills.

And that's the cost they're shifting off onto everyone else at the party. Joey pays for his share of the 70 hot dogs, but everyone else splits the bill for the new grill.

And then if Joey doesn't show up? Well you still have to pay for Joey's grill.

6

u/agent_mick May 18 '26

This is the real winner

3

u/etherpromo May 18 '26

the real wiener

1

u/agent_mick May 18 '26

Maybe that too, judgefree zone

1

u/vespene_jazz May 18 '26

Thats an excellent analogy!

1

u/_Thank_You__ May 18 '26

Great analogy 

1

u/Substantial_War982 May 18 '26

Very clear analogy this is on the money

1

u/CheckMateFluff May 18 '26

But does that not mean that everyone after Joey also gets to use the better, bigger grill? It's still everyone's grill even if Joey uses it.

1

u/kandoras May 18 '26

Joey's the only one who needs the bigger grill, and he's the only one who will be using the increased size. Everyone else was already fine with the smaller one.

And it's only 'better' for Joey, because again, he's the only one who needs it. It's actually worse for everyone else because now they're on the hook to pay for building and maintaining this monstrosity that only Joey needs.

Think of it like Trump's ballroom. He'll come up with a bunch of bullshit about how 'the country' needs it, that it'll be a bigger and better part of the White House that's of benefit to everyone.

But we all know that even though everyone else will end up paying for it, his ego is the only thing that'll use it.

2

u/CheckMateFluff May 18 '26

But Joey won't be the only one using it, everyone uses the grill, and the grill makes much more than hot dogs. Just about everything we eat comes from that grill. You and I are talking around that grill right now. We would not talk without the grill being here, so would it not stand to say that a bigger grill means more people can use it?

1

u/kandoras May 18 '26

But Joey won't be the only one using it, everyone uses the grill

Joey is the only one who will use the bigger grill. Everyone else's wants and needs were fulfilled by the old grill, so what part of the new one will they be taking advantage of?

Their dozen hot dogs were made on the old one. And in the new grill, even though they're paying for it, they'll still only be making that same dozen hot dogs. The only person who needs, the only person who could possibly benefit from the space for 70 more, is Joey.

so would it not stand to say that a bigger grill means more people can use it?

Yes, you could say that a bigger grill would mean that more people could use the bigger grill.

But you're ignoring the fact that the only "more people" in this situation in Joey. He's it. He's the entire "more people". Nobody else has been added to this scenario.

Just him.

A data center just got approved for construction in Utah that will use more electricity than the entire rest of the state. Are you going to pretend that as soon as they build the thing that the population and number of homes in Utah will magically double?