H1, Segment 2 - Charlie and callers debate the true impact of data centers in Spartanburg.

What this episode covers

Segment Transcript Charlie: All right, let's go back to Mike in Boiling Springs. He called just a minute ago. Mike, welcome. Mike: Hey, I'm back. Yeah, I was having a connection between my phone and my radio. Charlie: Oh, okay. Yeah. What's up, man? Mike: Yeah, that data center, it's a bad idea. I mean, it's connect—our phones are all connected, all to all that mess. It's like our cell phones ain't cell phones no more, they're devices. They're spy devices for the NSA. Charlie: Probably so. And even—even more, and you might be right about that, Mike, I appreciate it. But somebody sent me this text. They said, "Hey Charlie, you know who else doesn't like—don't—doesn't want us to have data centers? China." Wait a minute, dude. China made your phone. China made your computer. China made your chips in all of those things. You don't think they've got that access to all of that information? Let's go to Steven in Piedmont. Steven, welcome. Steven: Hey Charlie, can you hear me? Charlie: I can. Yes, sir. What's up? Steven: Yeah, you asked a question on what the data centers is for? Charlie: Yeah. Steven: I can tell you for a fact what it's for. Charlie: Okay. Steven: For all these—for these flock cameras that's popping up everywhere. Charlie: Ah, flock cameras, yeah. Steven: Yeah. Yeah, they need that—they need a data center to be able to hold all that information that they're receiving. And along with that, and the other information that they're gathering, that's the only way they'll be able to have a, um, storage that—a storage big enough to hold that much information. They've got a data center. Charlie: A permanent database. Steven: Yes, exactly. Charlie: Yeah. A permanent database. Steven: That's exactly what it's for. Charlie: Unbelievable. You're right, Steven. I appreciate it. Jack is in Spartanburg. Jack, welcome. Jack: Jack, are you there? Jack: Uh, yes I am. Charlie: Okay, good. Great. What's up? Jack: In regard to the gentleman who called about the—all the jobs that the data centers bring. Yeah, about 10 or 12 years ago I visited Hickory, North Carolina, and I was riding around this large building with a fellow that works up there. I said, "My goodness, what is that?" He said, "That's a Google data center." He said, "We're really mad about it." I said, "Why?" He said, "Well, they promised all these jobs and we gave them all these concessions." And he said it has about 50 to 60 jobs. All the high-paying technical jobs were filled from out-of-state workers, he said. And about 10 to 12 jobs hired by locals were security and maintenance jobs. Charlie: Right. Yeah, that's my big concern. Jack: Yeah. And half the jobs don't exist, yeah. Charlie: No, no, you're exactly right, Jack. I appreciate it. Well, what they do is they—they don't hire people for high wages, they bring those folks in. When—whenever they say, "Oh, this company is bringing 1,000 jobs to the Upstate," that's not Upstate jobs. They're importing those jobs. Other people are going to be doing those jobs, not South Carolinians. Let's go to Roy in Greenville. Roy, welcome. Roy: Thank you. Charlie: Yep. Roy: Um, you—I have to disagree with you concerning, uh, importing jobs. Charlie: Okay. Roy: Um, one, I'm one of those people for data centers. Charlie: Okay. Roy: I work in data centers. Uh, it's a specialty, uh, position. It requires a lot of skill. It's not a regular administration job when you're dealing with— Charlie: Okay. Well, all right, Roy, Roy, Roy, hold on. This is your time to enlighten us. What do you do at the data center? Roy: You have to administer 100,000 computers at a time. You have to upkeep 100,000 computers in each data hall. Charlie: Okay. Roy: You don't think they break down? You don't think they—you don't think they need main—Well, what about your phone? How often do you have to replace your phone? What about your laptop at home? How often do you have to replace your— Charlie: Okay, Roy, Roy, Roy, Roy, ca ...

Distinct summary based on available episode metadata or transcript content.