Biden's Big Plan -- Semiconductors -- February 24, 2023

Never quit reading. It always amazes me how "things keep popping up in the most unexpected places."

Earlier I mentioned the 16-page essay "Greetings From Austin" in The New Yorker and in it, Reagan's M. C. C. 

Then, out of the blue, yesterday, the "Biden chip plan." 

I haven't yet read the "Biden semiconductor plan" but the headline certainly suggests the Biden administration has taken a page from Reagan's M. C. C. 

From Yahoo!Finance:

The centerpiece of the plans, which Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo laid out during a speech, is the creation of at least two semiconductor manufacturing and research hubs in the U.S. These sites—she hopes—will create new U.S. manufacturing and research capabilities and supply chains that will generate momentum for the sector even after the government money runs out.

The speech comes after months of intense lobbying from the semiconductor sector. Companies like Intel Micron, IBM and even the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company have scored visits from President Biden to tout plans for new U.S. plants in the works— and they appear well positioned to take large pieces of the coming windfall. Meanwhile, Raimondo and other officials promise that the funds will be spread across the industry among a range of companies of all sizes.

Reagan's MCC:

• founded in the United States in 1982; ceased operations in 2000; and, formally dissolved in 2004.

Note:

In late 1982, several major computer and semiconductor manufacturers in the United States banded together and founded MCC under the leadership of Admiral Bobby Ray Inman, whose previous positions had been Director of the National Security Agency and Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Such formations were illegal in the United States until the 1984 Congressional passage of the "National Cooperative Research Act".

Texas Monthly maintains an article, published in 1995, that really, really explains the MCC and provides an excellent historical perspective. 

The funding plans -- Biden's and Reagan's -- seem to be very, very different -- based on what little I know -- but times have changed and Biden's team may have gone the route they did for very, very good reasons. If one's a proponent of Trumpian MAGA, then Biden did the very, very right thing, but Biden's plan is not intuitive if one is a Darwinian free-market capitalist. 

[Later: this note from Peter Zeihan popped up after my blog. It explains exactly what I meant the previous statement:

If indeed, the two centers are truly "physical" centers, it will be interesting to see which city/state "wins." It's possible, the two sites will be more decentralized than some may have predicted. 

It's easy to imagine the sites in play: Silicon Valley (northern California); Austin, TX; MIT-Harvard-Boston; Phoenix.

However it plays out, this is going to be a huge, huge deal. 

This is the "big thinking" about which I often write. 

Gina Raimondo:

Gina Marie Raimondo (born May 17, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and venture capitalist who has served as the 40th United States Secretary of Commerce since 2021.

A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 75th governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021, and is the first woman to serve in the role.Born and raised in Rhode Island, Raimondo began her career in venture capital following law school.

In 2000, Raimondo co-founded Point Judith Capital, Rhode Island's first venture capital firm. She entered politics in 2010, when she successfully ran for the position of general treasurer of Rhode Island.During her first year in office, Raimondo prioritized reforming Rhode Island's public employee pension system.

A fifth site: the arc from Westchester County (NYC) - New Haven (CT) - Providence (RI).