I seem to remember lots of threads on this site during a government shutdown that weren’t receiving rent. 

I'd hardly call this an example of out of control government.

Most people outside the profession don’t understand the time and capital it takes to make a project come to fruition.Before a single piece of equipment touches the ground, there are years of government meetings, environmental and site assessments, engineering studies, etc.Each step requires significant time, effort, and capital investment.But when done right, it creates a ton of value and transforms communities, which is why I love it.

ALWAYS LOOK PAST THAT AND READ THE FINE PRINT.  

Local governments may have tighter restrictions.

STRs also make for a convenient scapegoat for the government when they need to divert attention away from their own policies that make adding more housing units more expensive/time consuming. 

Government cheese for keys!

Mary’s Counties.)The market here is often driven by government and military employees due to the proximity of Patuxent River Naval Air Station and government agencies in DC, The Southern is known for larger lot sizes, single-family homes, and a mix of new developments and older properties.

In our24 years of experience, managing almost 100 S8 leases currently, the average S8 tenant has a FICO under 580, numerous collections from utility & cell phone companies, doesn't want to pay a security deposit, much less an application fee and claims they don't know how to fill out their S8 paperwork despite being in the program for several years - hint: they want YOU to do it for them.Most, not all, are eligible for government assistance due to a funeral-march of bad choices.REALITY: you are trust trading one set of problems for another.You can succeed with S8, but you need to understand the challenges and plan accordingly.

Have friends working in this space along the Columbia River in WA/OR that oversee the data centers, and working with friendly government was key to their growth.