When Congress passed the CHIPS Act last summer a lot of Democrats privately grumbled that it’s $52 billion in federal funding of semiconductors was a form of corporate welfare run amok. They were right. Meanwhile, 16 ostensibly conservative Republican Senators joined with Democrats to pass the bill with blather about this bill enhancing national security.
We warned that Washington’s bailout money is never “free.”
That’s why we were appalled, but not surprised when the Biden Administration announced new regulations that will require firms seeking the cash to provide subsidized child care for their workers, limit stock buybacks, and share excess profits with the government. And our favorite: “consult with the unions.”
CHIPs details to raise costs:
1) Mandated daycare
2) Davis Bacon pay regulations
3) Buy American
4) Consult, engage, coordinate with unions
5) NEPA compliance
6) Source materials from small, minority, and women owned business https://t.co/2TLrdbrBmP— Adam Ozimek (@ModeledBehavior) February 28, 2023
The WSJ editorial board notes: “Government subsidies are never free, and now we are learning the price U.S. semiconductor firms and others will pay for signing on to President Biden’s industrial policy. They will become the indentured servants of progressive social policy.”
The abuse of executive authority in this administration knows no bounds.
