Nevada bill would allow tech companies to create governments

[Raze]

https://apnews.com/article/legislature-legislation-local-governments-nevada-economy-2fa79128a7bf41073c1e9102e8a0e5f0

Quote

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Planned legislation to establish new business areas in Nevada would allow technology companies to effectively form separate local governments.

Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a plan to launch so-called Innovation Zones in Nevada to jumpstart the state’s economy by attracting technology firms, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday.

The zones would permit companies with large areas of land to form governments carrying the same authority as counties, including the ability to impose taxes, form school districts and courts and provide government services.

 

The measure to further economic development with the “alternative form of local government” has not yet been introduced in the Legislature.

Sisolak pitched the concept in his State of the State address delivered Jan. 19. The plan would bring in new businesses at the forefront of “groundbreaking technologies” without the use of tax abatements or other publicly funded incentive packages that previously helped Nevada attract companies like Tesla Inc.

Sisolak named Blockchains, LLC as a company that had committed to developing a “smart city” in an area east of Reno after the legislation has passed.

The draft proposal said the traditional local government model is “inadequate alone” to provide the resources to make Nevada a leader in attracting and retaining businesses and fostering economic development in emerging technologies and industries.

The Governor’s Office of Economic Development would oversee applications for the zones, which would be limited to companies working in specific business areas including blockchain, autonomous technology, the Internet of Things, robotics, artificial intelligence, wireless, biometrics and renewable resource technology.

Zone requirements would include applicants owning at least 78 square miles (202 square kilometers) of undeveloped, uninhabited land within a single county but separate from any city, town or tax increment area. Companies would have at least $250 million and plans to invest an additional $1 billion in their zones over 10 years.

The zones would initially operate with the oversight of their location counties, but would eventually take over county duties and become independent governmental bodies.

The zones would have three-member supervisor boards with the same powers as county commissioners. The businesses would maintain significant control over board membership.

The governor’s economic development office did not respond to questions about the zones Wednesday.

 

[Leo Gura]

Shameless.

Disappointed in my state

[Preety_India]

That's not good news at all. 

It's monopoly. 

What the heck? 

 

[DocWatts]

*shakes head* Did no one read any cyberpunk literature  (or even watch movies like Robocop or Alien), and get it through their thick skulls that allowing Corporations to form their own governments is objectively a terrible idea? Let's just go back to the days where workers get paid in company scrip while we're at it... 

[Mushroomed]

This is the type of shit that could be so toxic that it would make libertarians realize what capitalism with small government actually is

[Preety_India]

Capitalism with small government and monopoly = Cult like Hell

 

[Raze]

The power Big Tech is gaining is very worrisome. They have an absurd amount of control over what a large amount of the population sees every day. Now they are using their wealth to lobby the government. With enough lobbying and a divided opposition they could legitimately control the federal government eventually.

[DocWatts]

25 minutes ago, Mushroomed said:

This is the type of shit that could be so toxic that it would make libertarians realize what capitalism with small government actually is

Don't underestimate the power of Willful Ignorance and Motivated Reasoning.

If large swathes of people were capable of using empirical evidence to modify thier worldview, we wouldn't have 70 million people voting against thier self interest when they cast a ballot to give Trump a second term.

[aurum]

2 hours ago, Raze said:

The draft proposal said the traditional local government model is “inadequate alone” to provide the resources to make Nevada a leader in attracting and retaining businesses and fostering economic development in emerging technologies and industries.

Yes, Nevada is a “leader”. It’s not at all about them doing shady things to out compete other states.

This is the shit-show that happens when you have bad Game Theory.

[Forestluv]

They are essentially trying to sell power to corporations. 

Companies can move overseas to increase their relative power. For example, clothing manufacturers can increase their power by locating to a country in Asia that has lax laws and won't try to regulate the company. This is basically telling mega-companies that they can create their own virtual mini-country. 

[JosephKnecht]

Not sure why everyone is against this... 

This is basically an admission of the government that local laws are too restrictive, and new governance structures are needed for progress.

Why do you assume that the new governance structure won't be democratic? 

[Preety_India]

1 minute ago, JosephKnecht said:

Why do you assume that the new governance structure won't be democratic? 

And why are we to automatically assume that the new structure would be democratic? 

 

[JosephKnecht]

2 minutes ago, Preety_India said:

And why are we to automatically assume that the new structure would be democratic? 

Because in the long run, only democratic governments survive. 

You have to be an idiot to choose another governance structure other than democracy. 

[Preety_India]

Just now, JosephKnecht said:

Because in the long run, only democratic governments survive. 

You have to be an idiot to choose another governance structure other than democracy. 

Nobody is choosing it. If corporations get enough power from the government, we won't be choosing it? We would be chosen by it. 

Are we choosing all the lobbyists that work today? 

We can't wait till something has been made democratic? Tech companies are viciously capitalistic and monopolizing. What makes you think their structure is going to favor democracy? 

 

[DocWatts]

21 minutes ago, JosephKnecht said:

Because in the long run, only democratic governments survive. 

You have to be an idiot to choose another governance structure other than democracy. 

Autocratic power structures have proved stable in China, the largest country in the world, for more than half a century. I certainly wouldn't want to live under one, but claiming that they're inherently unstable reeks of Western chauvinism.

Edited February 10, 2021 by DocWatts

[Forestluv]

12 minutes ago, JosephKnecht said:

This is basically an admission of the government that local laws are too restrictive, and new governance structures are needed for progress.

Then restructure government for progress. In my view, allowing a corporation to create their own virtual mini-country in which they write all their own rules without regulation is giving corporations even more power. That is moving in the opposite direction of progress. "Too restrictive" is from the perspective of the corporation. Of course corporations see any regulations that interfere with profiteering as "too restrictive". They don't like being told they have to socially distance due to the pandemic, they don't like minimum wages or unions, harassment and nondiscrimination laws. They want more power to hire and fire anyone they want, have however they want, dump toxins into the environment without consequence and set up their own legal / judicial system. . . It's privatization on steroids. 

At the societal level, "restrictions" (aka laws and regulations) is a good thing. Yes, there can be over-reach at times. Yet overall, the majority of governmental laws and regulations are a good thing for society. I'd much rather see government progress than give corporations the power to write their own laws and do whatever they want. 

[DocWatts]

And also Corporations are not democracies, the vast majority of them are run as top-down Autocracies. Now this is 'fine' as long as these mini Autocracies are regulated and controlled by more powerful democratic institutions, but take those restraints away and you're in for a horror show. Look to sweatshops and factory farms to see just how devoid of morality Corporations will sink to when not reigned in by an outside power.

Edited February 10, 2021 by DocWatts