• Cataphract
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    6 months ago

    Agreed that it’s not for everyone, sorry if it came across as “every country”. The US just recently passed the chips act which included huge funding for private sector semiconductor manufacturing. Even Bernie Sanders came out against it referring to it as a “blank check” for the industry. Just tired of everyday survival needs in society only being catered by private companies (with government subsidies) while completely hindering any competition from a public institution (just look at tax preparation, high-speed internet, even NOAA has been attacked for their weather services).

    With the new announcement on tariffs I see prices skyrocketing again. We don’t have a fair market, just large monopolies that can’t be touched because of lobbying control. Having a public option for purchases could help with price gouging as well which has been going on since the pandemic.

    Antitrust concerns - In February 2024, the antitrust think tank American Economic Liberties Project released a report evaluating the state of the semiconductor industry after the CHIPS and Science Act passed. It found that the Act was insufficient in dealing with what it saw as the effective monopolization and monopsony of the American semiconductor industry by TSMC and by ‘fabless’ semiconductor firms that practiced routine outsourcing, such as Nvidia and Apple Inc., the result of shareholder-driven decisions. It also found the Act was insufficient in shoring up American mid-level, consumer market-oriented manufacturing by increasing competition and resiliency there. source