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Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production

reuters.com

11–20 of 301 posts

Re: Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production

#11
post #2

This was kind of expected due to the shutdowns required by most countries during the chaos of COVID. Of course we need our infrastructure to be more robust, but no use crying over spilt milk.

There have been calls for some time to treat semiconductor manufacturing as in the interest of national security. The funding and policy isn't onerous to do so, and "never let a crisis go to waste." Something similar was already done for rare earths [1]. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=rare+earth+us+national+secur...

That's not an incorrect way of thinking! If we need it to be effective for self-defense and existence, it probably needs to be protected as such.

Re: Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production

#13

1. Set up off shore tax havens to not pay tax 2. Lobby government for subsidies 3. Laugh all the way to the off shore bank

protip: the funds are in on-shore banks under offshore business names. this isn't controversial, just something many don't understand as readily available and commonplace.

Re: Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production

#14
post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There have been calls for some time to treat semiconductor manufacturing as in the interest of national security. The funding and policy isn't onerous to do so, and "never let a crisis go to waste." Something similar was already done for rare earths [1]. [1] https://www.google.com/search?q=rare+earth+us+national+secur...

That's not an incorrect way of thinking! If we need it to be effective for self-defense and existence, it probably needs to be protected as such.

For sure. It's clear that in many cases (from pandemic experience), resiliency and supply readiness should be prioritized above cost efficiency.

Re: Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production

#15
post #12

How ballsy for a bunch of corps that barely pay taxes to ask for government subsidies.

I mean you only need to get one agency head, or one head of state / cabinet member, or the majority of congress who votes in unison right now to agree, once

Re: Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production

#16
post #8

> Some of the world’s biggest chip buyers, including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Alphabet Inc’s Google, are joining top chip-makers such as Intel Corp > to create a new lobbying group to press for government chip manufacturing subsidies None of those companies need subsidies.

I'm ok with subsidies if they open up their designs.

Commoditize your complement. To some approximation and with few exceptions, hardware is everybody's complement.

Re: Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production

#19

How about you spend some of that cash hoard and do it yourself? I would rather the government start dealing with cyber attacks because that's going to affect the east coast something fierce if this crap keeps going. If the government gives money then it better talk to these companies about where their items are produced.

My exact reaction as well. Or how about all that money used for stock buy backs over the last decade? Intel especially. It's been mismanaged and now it's putting its hand out for government money while having spent billions on stock buy backs. No more but of course it'll happen because the politics of it. Socialism for the rich and corporations, capitalism for the rest of us.

Re: Tech giants join call for funding U.S. chip production

#20
Wealthiest entities on Earth lobbies government for handouts.

I'm not even being snarky, this is just a lobby group trying to socialize costs to avoid spending their own money. Explicitly: “Government should refrain from intervening as industry works to correct the current supply-demand imbalance causing the shortage,”. The industry is not stripped for cash at all, so if the government is not expected to steer, why should it put up the people's money?

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