- Senator Bernie Sanders has announced his opposition to the bill that would provide subsidies to chip manufacturers, calling it a “boondoggle” that would add US$79 billion to the deficit over 10 years.
- Sanders, a democratic socialist, is joined in his opposition by conservatives who argue that the bill is too expensive and would benefit China more than the United States.
The bill is meant to help the United States build more chip plants and compete with China, but it faces an uphill battle in Congress with both Republicans and Democrats opposed to it.
However, supporters of the bill argue that it is essential for the United States to maintain its position as a leader in the technology industry. The debate over the bill is likely to continue in the coming weeks as Congress considers its fate.
While some lawmakers see the semiconductor industry as a worthy recipient of government assistance, others view it as an example of corporate welfare. In their view, this is just the latest instance of how spending taxpayer dollars to help the private sector can cross traditional partisan lines and create allies on both the left and right who agree on little else. One such ally is Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who has positioned himself as a defender of the little guy against powerful interest groups lining up at the public trough.
According to Sanders, voters are more concerned with issues like climate change, gun safety, and abortion rights than they are with helping the semiconductor industry. As such, he doesn’t believe that this is something that should be high on the government’s list of priorities.
“Not too many people that I can recall – I have been all over this country – say: ‘Bernie, you go back there and you get the job done, and you give enormously profitable corporations, which pay outrageous compensation packages to their CEOs, billions and billions of dollars in corporate welfare,’” Sanders said.
Senator Sanders is the only one among the Democrats who voted against the original semiconductor and research bill last year. Joining 31 Republicans, Sanders believes that the spending would be better directed to elsewhere.
However, Senator Mike Lee argues that such spending would only fuel inflation that hurts the poor and middle class. While both parties have different views on how the spending should be dealt with, they both agree on one thing: The spending needs to stop. Such a divided government makes it difficult to pass any legislation, let alone something as contested as this bill. Perhaps with more cooperation and compromise, they can reach a solution that is beneficial for all.
“The poorer you are, the more you suffer. Even people well-entrenched in the middle class get gouged considerably. Why we would want to take money away from them and give it to the wealthy is beyond my ability to fathom,” Lee said.
