From the Associated Press:
Planned legislation to establish new business areas in Nevada would allow technology companies to effectively form separate local governments.
Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak announced a plan to launch so-called Innovation Zones in Nevada to jumpstart the state's economy by attracting technology firms, Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday.
The zones would permit companies with large areas of land to form governments carrying the same authority as counties, including the ability to impose taxes, form school districts and courts and provide government services.
In other words: they're Factory Towns, where the workers earn money from an employer, which they then pay back to the employer in exchange for real estate, groceries, education, etc.
The bill is reportedly designed to attract big tech companies to setup shop in Nevada. The businesses would have to commit to buying at least 78 square miles of undeveloped, uninhabited land within a single county, with plans to invest at last $1 billion dollars in their zone over 10 years. Blockchains, LLC is mentioned as one company that's already committed to such a project—which basically means that the aforementioned cyclical financial exchange probably won't even involve any physical currency.
It's like the Industrial Revolution all over again. But this time with smart phones!
Nevada bill would allow tech companies to create governments [Associated Press]
In Nevada desert, Blockchains LLC aims to be its own municipal government [MarketWatch]
Image: Public Domain via NASA Ames Research Center