Learning Notebook - David Rostcheck
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Elon Musk has talked about wanting to build his own futuristic city called Starbase that could be worth 20 billion dollars--and he’s already taking steps to do it. Why a City? Why would Musk want to have there be a Starbase, Texas? Well, making a city from the ground up could have many benefits for SpaceX. Theoretically, it maybe would help the company attract future employees, give it a power in the political climate that is friendly to it, and even help make way for the creation of the kinds of amenities that might crop up near a would-be transportation hub--a big airport, shopping malls, a sports team, and more! Currently, the town with his factory that produces Starships is known as Boca Chica. It is by the Mexican border. Musk clearly wants SpaceX to grow beyond only having a factory in Boca Chica and become the city of, “Starbase, Texas,” however. He actually tweeted in early March, “Creating the city of Starbase, Texas," adding, "From thence to Mars, And hence the Stars." The Mars aspect is an important consideration too. Making a Starbase, Texas could serve as a kind of testing ground for in the future when Musk wants to advance humanity to Mars. Musk wants cities on the Red Planet, and having a city on Earth to try various ideas is an appealing concept. While building a city on Mars is a new idea, Musk isn’t even the first businessman to think about creating a city to support his businesses. Think of cities like Hershey, Pennsylvania, which formed up around the famous chocolate factory. In the state of Nevada, there was even a proposal to allow technology companies to make their own small local governments within the state with their own sets of laws. Having a city that basically relies upon a single business can bring controversy too. Historically speaking, arrangements like this have given company towns a reputation for exploiting workers. In some cases, the employer owned the workers’ homes and could deduct rent from their pay. With a company holding the power to set prices and extend credit, workers could find themselves mired in debt and basically owe their entire lives to a single company! Tha’s in the past, though, and we now have modern versions of the, “Company,” town like none other than Silicon Valley. Silicon Valley is full of cutting-edge start-ups full of ingenuity and creativity just like the kind SpaceX has, so why not have SpaceX make its own city in Texas? SpaceX incorporating its own city would give it more control over local ordinances, such as zoning, which could enable the company to conduct more test flights and launches without having to clear the nearby area for safety. It could also set up the area to be appealing for potential workers to relocate to it. How much of this is theoretical and how much is already happening? Steps Are Already Being Taken Musk has already taken steps to assist the region in developing and possibly gearing up to be a place that reflects his goals. Cameron County is the region that houses the city of Boca Chica and Brownsville, among others. Musk recently tweeted he plans to donate 20 million dollars to the schools of Cameron County and 10 million dollars to the city itself. The 20 million is to be used to help the schools renovate and have plenty of supplies and technology for the students. The 10 million going to the city is for, “Downtown revitalization.” This means the city of Brownsville can use the money to fix up buildings, add new stores and restaurants, offer tax incentives for other businesses to open, and otherwise, it’ll really help Brownsville to grow. Why is Musk being so good to Cameron County, however? Well, he probably wants to show how much good he can do for it so his ideas for a Starbase, Texas, don’t seem as far-fetched. According to the laws of Texas, for a city to be incorporated that is handled by the County Court. Therefore, Musk would need to go through the Cameron County Commissioners Court if he wanted to incorporate his own city out of others. The court has stated it’s been officially informed of Musk’s interest in doing this incorporation and Musk has been tweeting support for, “Engineers, technicians, builders & essential support personnel,” to move to the, “...greater Brownsville/South Padre area in Texas & encourage friends to do so!" It makes sense Musk wants to help Cameron County do well because if his ideas to revitalize the region turn out well then everyone in the county and cities may be open to the formation of a new city being incorporated out of their existing cities.
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