Editorial -- Alarming Report Shows Financial Benefits of Data Centers Overstated

There was an alarming report that crossed our emails recently from the Missouri State Auditor’s Office. It stated that Missouri is on track for painful emergency budget cuts and that the General Revenue Fund will be completely exhausted by Fiscal Year 2028.

"The numbers are right there in black and white, and unfortunately lots of red, and they show a trend of deficit spending that cannot be sustained and that continues to jeopardize our state's financial health," said State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick in his news release, issued Wednesday. "As someone who has served as chairman of the House Budget Committee, I know making spending cuts can be difficult and even painful, but if we can make a responsible, proactive course correction for our budget today these cuts will be far less painful than the ones that will be necessary in the near future. That's why it's disappointing that the situation has gotten worse, rather than better, since we released our first report in December 2025."

At the same time, we are being told that data centers are a lifeline for rural communities. The one proposed for Nodaway County is supposed to bring in $1 billion over the lifetime of the project to Nodaway County and millions to the South Nodaway school district. A few weeks ago, the Governor’s office sent a news release celebrating a center two and a half times the size of this one that will be built in Montgomery County.

But the fact that we are being told by the State Auditor that Missouri is headed down a fiscal cliff while we are being told that data centers are worth billions to the state tells us something does not add up. Either the tax revenue figures being quoted to us are too high, or the harm that opponents say should be enough to stop these projects means that Missouri stands to lose more money than the tax benefits these facilities would bring.

The Nodaway County Commission is considering a moratorium on data centers in the county until commissioners can study the effects, both good and bad, on the county. We would go further. We think there should be a statewide moratorium until we can study the impacts, both good and bad. And we should reject the proposed elimination of the income tax and reject the blank check it would give our legislature to rewrite our sales taxes, since they led us to this cliff to begin with.