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Phoenix Policy Outlook: Goldwater Institute’s Bill Beard on Data Centers, Local Government, and the Digital Economy
02/11/2026
Phoenix Policy Outlook: Goldwater Institute’s Bill Beard on Data Centers, Local Government, and the Digital Economy
In this episode of the Phoenix Business Brief Podcast, host Brian Hyde sits down with Bill Beard, municipal affairs liaison at the Goldwater Institute, to discuss how local and state policy decisions are shaping Phoenix’s role in the rapidly expanding digital economy. Beard explains why public policy debates often miss the mark by focusing too heavily on national politics while overlooking the outsized impact of city councils, school boards, and county governments. The conversation explores the growing presence of data centers in the Greater Phoenix area, addressing common misconceptions around power usage, land development, and infrastructure strain. The discussion also looks at how data centers function as the backbone of modern commerce, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, and why regulatory decisions rooted in fear rather than cost-benefit analysis can stall economic growth. Beard argues that Arizona’s geography, energy capacity, and policy environment have made Phoenix a national hub for digital infrastructure, with long-term implications for jobs, innovation, and competitiveness. The episode closes with a broader look at AI’s accelerating impact on healthcare, business, and everyday life, and why policymakers must ground decisions in logic, property rights, and free-market principles as technology continues to evolve.
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