West Texas has achieved SimPEUlarity. To understand the term it is useful to examine Singularity in physics.
Singularity - a point or region of infinite mass density at which space and time are infinitely distorted by gravitational forces and which is held to be the final state of matter falling into a black hole
The Big Bend region is home to The McDonald Observatory. Texas has long had numerous political black holes.
I offer the following with a private equity underwriter (PEU) twist.
SimPEUlarity - a point or region of economic development in which government, private equity (the Lords of Capital) and their TechGod brethren have distorted market and political forces to the point citizens feel like they are falling into a black hole.
This happens when citizens have four data centers interested in San Angelo/Tom Green County and two of the four are a complete secret.
This happens when Chamber of Commerce executives excitedly share how private equity has "discovered" our area and wants to do deal after deal after deal. Many of our local employers already had PEU sponsors. They implemented job/benefit cuts and pay raises? They were few and far between. Generous applied more to executive gains than to anything that actually dribbled down to staff.
This happens when elected officials prioritize the needs of corporations over the interests of and service to citizens.
This happens when nearly nearly every story could be cross-posted on all three of my blogs, 1) private equity, 2) local focus and 3) national politics.
It's SimPEUlarity. For those unaware of what is happening in our area of West Texas I offer the following
The City of San Angelo has partnered with private equity backed Skybox Data Centers since March 2025 when City Council approved a letter of intent for land sale and annexed that very property into city limits in the same meeting. PEU Blue Owl Capital has financed numerous Skybox projects.
Skybox hired Emergent Data Centers to develop their potential project. Emergent markets the SA1 Data Center as "a municipal partnership built for speed" and having "exceptional municipal support." Emergent's founder Chris Sumter highlighted his private equity pedigree in a recent public meeting.
The other three potential data centers are exploring sites in Tom Green County. Beacon Data Centers has an option on land west of San Angelo in the Dove Creek area. Beacon is owned by PEU Nadia Partners. Dove Creek residents spoke loudly in a public meeting, asking for Beacon to go elsewhere. Beacon executives said they would conduct their studies (which few wanted done) and get back with the community on the results. No one wants to hear the words "we're coming."
The two secret data center developers will be named at some point if their interest continues. Their PEU ties can be examined once they are identified.
The Lords of Capital and their TechGod brethren are the dark energy of the American economy. They operate unseen and only look out for themselves.
Texas just approves permits for building, permits for pollution faster than other places and that makes it easier to build this kind of large infrastructure project.
Residents opposing the data center rush can sense the black hole closing in. Most Texas politicians were sucked in long ago. Many will need to break away from the SimPEUlarity to actually serve the people.
Politicians Red & Blue love PEU and their new TechGod/CryptoBro brethren. Increasingly, more are one and for that the common person suffers.
Update 5-17-26: Wired wrote about companies cutting benefits for the worst reasons.
Update 5-18-26: Chevron could qualify for $227 million in tax breaks over ten years for a power plant that does not serve the public but a West Texas data center (near Pecos). In addition to funding Chevron's subsidy West Texans would get the pollution from gas fired generators.
That's the deal our elected officials are offering. That's a $9 million tax break per job created ($227 million divided by 25 jobs).
Dylan Ratigan wrote about the intersection of political influence in cornering subsidies, regulatory advantage and creating monopoly power, When that happens capitalism is replaced by a leveraged extraction system. I contend that's what the PEU boys and their new TechGod buds have created over the decades.
