Governments Subsidizing 'Server Farms'

"Both Google and Microsoft received generous subsidies from state and local governments. According to the Charlotte Observer, city officials in Lenoir agreed to waive 100 percent of Google's business property taxes and 80 percent of its real estate taxes for three decades. Lenoir is a city of about 17,000 about 70 miles northwest of Charlotte.

'This company will provide hundreds of good-paying, knowledge-based jobs that North Carolina's citizens want,'' North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley said in a statement. The governor said jobs at Google are expected to pay $48,300, much more than the county's average yearly wage of $27,300."