THE WORLD HAS GONE CHIPS (NUTS)

The world has gone completely mad, hundreds of billions are being spent on developing chips for mainly military purposes and yet the money to save the turtle is too much. The outsourcing of chip manufacturing (particularly to Asia where 75% of the world’s semiconductor chips are currently manufactured) was a known problem for years, these problems really hit home during the COVID pandemic and the subsequent disruption in critical supply chains that resulted in a massive shortage of chips. Investment in organic chip manufacturing in the United States by U.S. companies has been a recognized problem for years, but only recently have government attention and corporate investment taken hold. For example, a large US company is investing $100 billion to build four separate semi-conductor fabrication plants in New York. The first phase alone would provide 3,000 jobs and $20 billion of investment over the next five years (with the other phases to follow). This represents the largest single private investment in New York State’s history. The project will also create 40,000 construction and supply chain jobs, a significant boon to the state and national economy but not to the environment.
Control over the production of semiconductors/chips is critical to ensuring the viability of our supply chain and mitigating possible cyber-espionage and malicious activity. With the advent of the Internet of Things and digital modernization in every industry from manufacturing to agriculture, this type of control over chips for improved cyber-security is a national strategic imperative. President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 invests in our national capacity to build chips in the United States and directs policy and funding support to R&D, workforce skills development, and science/technology. The U.S. government investment associated with the Act is significant and provides $52.7 billion in funding including $13.2 billion for research and development and $39 billion for production incentives and workforce development. It also provides significant tax incentives for private industry investment in semiconductor/chip technology. This investment by both the government and private industry will result in competitive global business advantages, provide improved cyber-security for commercial and military industries, and will create jobs (particularly at plants that are built in economically depressed areas).

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