Jason Baxter

@shanethevein I’d settle for a simpler way to separate who is actually dumb and who is intentionally obtuse or abusive simply to game engagement metrics.

I'm starting to rethink my position on social media. Giving a platform to everyone to voice their opinion might be a bad idea.

@boneherguy @StallionCornell Social media optimizing for engagement regardless of quality is a drain on society.

@StallionCornell It’s not upstream from the salt lake. Stop falling for propaganda

Building a massive water-sucking data center upstream from the collapsing Great Salt Lake is so transparently stupid on its face that I don’t understand how it was even seriously considered, let alone approved.

@jerseyh0mo Comes up constantly. Loudest people opposed often have experience with how great it is.

I have no respect for anyone who’s angry about this. This is exactly what taxes should be spent on. Not subsidizing corporations and giving bombs to Israel.

@KUTV2News @bmullahy2news An awful lot of people in these comments have no idea how much it costs when their employer buys them lunch once in a while. Multiplied by many thousands of employees, across a large school district. Several of those examples are a few dollars per employee on average.

@KUTV2News @bmullahy2news And some people don’t think these things might be associated?

Some school districts in Utah have apparently spent tens of thousands of dollars this year on catering, pizza, movies, travel, hotels, Bees baseball, Amazon and even high-end blankets. @bmullahy2news kutv.com/news/education…

@goddammitsarah @GarrettWebste13 @Dandletonian @DavidInPuyallup Couple do it for Utah. Link is one for Idaho if you want to compare that it isn’t state specific. It’s up to the insurance company to decide if worthwhile where they offer coverage. autoinsuranceez.com/discount-auto-…

@GarrettWebste13 @Dandletonian @DavidInPuyallup it's not a private company, it's a huge national insurance company. the insurance agent u spoke to told me she had to ask it. you don't know what the fuck you're talking about lol goodbye

in transferring my vehicle insurance over to utah, my insurance rep said "this is kindof a cringe question but do you drink and would you like the nondrinker's discount on your policy"

@Soapywings @foxonabox_ Yes, always bothers me that manufactured urgency and cutting taxes on a project is the solution to “make sure it comes here”. If things are such a good idea and benefit to the community, would it also happen without cutting corners and decades long tax exemptions?

@foxonabox_ The tax incentive is the big one for me. Why benefit a big company but not small business. Also, it’s not like it’s a lot of permanent jobs.

I’m not saying the data center is for sure a terrible idea and it’s going to ruin everything. It might not! What bothers me is the process that was taken to get to where we are. This was clearly done very rushed and behind closed doors, and that worries me.

@Belowavgutdad @saltyposaune The land/water rights certainly are already used other ways today. You are claiming water used in this area has no potential relation to the Great Salt Lake?

@saltyposaune No GSL water is being used in the data center build.

Any recommendations of where I should move to when the GSL dries up? Might as well get a head start on looking

@tvheidihatch Has anything shared explained how payments to state trust lands used are being handled? Many of the tax rates being cut to compete for the project makes me wonder if Utah schools are going to get shortchanged as well.

The project area encompasses approximately 40,000 acres of privately held vacant land split into three different sites. One is intended to support large-scale energy generation and a data center, with two additional sites planned for future uses that may include manufacturing, retail, restaurants, hotels, and public works infrastructure (sewer, water, drainage, etc.). These future development areas are also where MIDA anticipates the creation of an estimated 2,000+ jobs associated with the project. Stratos is designed to strengthen domestic energy capacity, support national defense priorities, and create long-term economic opportunity in Northern Utah

Box Elder County Commission on vote in favor of Stratos Data Center “Today’s decision isn’t the end of the oversight process, but just the beginning,” said Box Elder County Commissioner Tyler Vincent. “We appreciate all the residents who shared comments, questions and concerns with us as we took the necessary time to do a thoughtful evaluation of the project. The agreement we negotiated with MIDA reflects thoughtful consideration of long-term economic opportunity, infrastructure planning, and responsible stewardship.

@JetSetGent @Romy_Holland Exactly. If I have a full week work trip across the country I can often save hundreds of dollars on airfare by visiting friends/family for a few days and flying home “anytime not Friday evening”. Bosses budget saves money, I save entire round trip cost for quick visit.

@Romy_Holland It entirely depends on timing. If you have to travel on the day when everyone else does (e.g. Friday before long weekend), the price will be sky high. On Wednesday after said long weekend it will be dirt cheap.

okay so everyone keeps saying this, but im on a $280 flight to japan rn so im kinda confused.

@confusedorlean This is if you are starting in Chicago with a couple airport options, for comparison. Half the travel time, lower costs. It gets even pricier if the alternate airport doesn’t exist or is more than 2 hour drive.

@confusedorlean Very dependent on where you are. And also if you have time constraints on planning. Regional airport has no nonstop option, for what could be 4 hour flight. See the “tip” Google has at bottom? That’s a 2+ hour drive to the next airport. Which will also charge parking, etc.

@CorbeilJb Thought more about this later. You already called out the no debt assumption and asked location. Original post really needs more detail on other constraints. Even 4k a month would buy “something” in most of the country.

@CorbeilJb I agree it is likely workable at that income. However, how much do you reduce that number for retirement savings, non-house payments, etc? Banks will always lend you far more than is actually comfortable to budget around. My pre-approved numbers every move were insane.

I’m almost 30, top 10% of American earners my age, I can’t afford a house - which means that the other 90% can’t either. Who are buying all of these houses?

@Bromleyr6 What part of the country? In my SLC suburb you are describing an older 700k-800k duplex. Family in Midwest could buy that for around 200k and easily swing it with a renter.

@frenbilt So you either make a lot less than the top 10%, or you are looking at freaking mansions. My daughter is 31, makes under 50k, and just bought a house. Duplex, one three-bedroom, and the other two. Can rent out the bigger one for more than her mortgage payment. Stop your whining.

@KevinKangas5 @frenbilt 2 bedrooms in my area built in the 1950’s have gone from $120k when I bought one in 2006 to now $400k and up. Neighbors thought I was crazy for paying the 120 instead of the 80k they had paid in 90’s. Luckiest timing I’ve ever had was sizing up to “forever home” in 2012.

@frenbilt What are you wanting to buy? My first house bought in 1985 was tiny, old, 2 bed, 1 bath.

@NotADebacle @rustyshack234 @tednotlasso Chicken/egg issues. If not enough density to justify transit, then individual cars are required. And once everyone has sunk costs in individual cars, it’s harder to justify transit or more density.

@rustyshack234 @tednotlasso So many people are incapable of this basic math and are so emotionally invested in their stupid fucking vehicles that America will never be fixed outside of a handful of cities

hot take: manhattan is relatively affordable outside of its main bottleneck - rent - if you're willing to forego the luxury layer its functional layer is very low-cost: public transport (big one), coffee, pizza, delis, free parks + museums + events most people want luxury tho

@manlio0914 I was entirely in Manhattan for a week, obviously might be less useful crossing other boroughs or transit doesn’t cover every activity 5+ days a week.

@manlio0914 @tednotlasso After my last visit, I realized the weekly cap means it is a great deal if you can use transit for everything. Just owning a car is going to cost $5 a day, whether you start it or not. Gas/wear and tear add extra. I was mad I couldn’t use transit on a Texas trip a week later.

@FreeRange_Rach Ah yes, I’ve made the mistake of engaging in good faith. How silly of me.

@TheJasonBX @olgakhazan Dude if you’re too lazy to do any of the heavy lifting, you shouldn’t have a kid. Does that help? That’s my conclusion, Jason Baxter cannot be bothered to be a father.

Ok one more thing: it’s also really hard to know whether you can afford kids because childcare providers don’t list their prices online. It’s *the* biggest kid expense and could be anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 a month