The whole framing is lame. The money did not evaporate. It was spent somewhere else. Maybe journalist who are to lazy to investigate that thread deserve to be replaced by AI.
@KanaMauna@rodhilton it would be interesting to see the effects on local communities and also on general health of the population. My gut feel is that they are quite positive (but I have no data to prove it).
@gasproni@rodhilton For the first few years sales for bicycles, garden nurseries, home improvement stores, and related contractors were absolutely booming. Not as glamorous as yet another glassy monolith but probably a lot more spread and impact.