Biden and Trump on Growing the Economy of the Future
The Biden Administration has been making huge investments in the important components of the new economy such as semi-conductors, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd131v26dneo?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0icNgZyk__NXNTWfAJCzFLKQPUgvlhHjjzDrCgMCzn97S90zPNy99o5O4_aem_AXUQDEOPvf2BHmifkvfl0ojnPQ71L8JLcyeY7vLZuhNIdm4jUCXYLCnm-JF16_TDgcHxDc3-zL21P24EmQJDQjxH And it has been paying off.
Intel is now building three new semi-conductor advanced manufacturing plants in the Greater Phoenix area with the assistance of federal grants from the CHIPS Act. https://www.enr.com/articles/58334-intels-20b-arizona-chip-plant-project-poised-to-make-national-impact
TSMC (Taiwan Semi-Conductor Manufacturing Company) is building three new giant semi-conductor manufacturing plants outside Phoenix, Arizona, with the assistance of federal grants from the CHIPS Act, https://www.tsmc.com/static/abouttsmcaz/index.htm#:~:text=Then%20in%20April%202024%2C%20the,third%20fab%20at%20TSMC%20Arizona.
Phoenix is now the home base for US semi-conductor manufacturing. https://www.axios.com/local/phoenix/2023/03/02/phoenix-semiconductor-chips-tsmc-intel-asm
Georgia is becoming a major site for new production of electric vehicles and batteries using the federal grants and tax incentives in combination with private investments and state financial support for electric vehicle production. https://atlaspolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Issue-Brief-EV-Jobs-in-Georgia.pdf Electric vehicle manufacturing sites are surging throughout the Southeast and Southwest. https://www.thomasnet.com/insights/ev-manufacturing-plants/
Likewise, the Biden Administration is supporting and promoting domestic manufacture of solar panels. https://www.forbes.com/sites/kensilverstein/2024/01/24/can-solar-manufacturing-succeed-in-the-us-and-compete-against-china/?sh=384bd95441ec US solar companies are growing in Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina, Texas, New York, Washington, and California; however, US manufacturers of solar panels, which were originally designed and developed in the US, are growing from a weak place as they now comprise only 2% of the global market. https://www.marketwatch.com/guides/solar/american-solar-panel-manufacturers/#:~:text=If%20you%20are%20looking%20for,solar%20panels%20in%20the%20U.S., and https://www.energysage.com/solar/u-s-solar-panel-manufacturers-list-american-made-solar-panels/, and https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/largest-ever-us-solar-factory-shows-rapid-pivot-american-made-2023-05-11/
Biden Administration tax credits to consumers for installing domestically produced solar are expected to cut the costs of domestic solar manufacture considerably, and that has produced renewed interest in constructing solar manufacturing facilities in the US for sale to the large US market. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/largest-ever-us-solar-factory-shows-rapid-pivot-american-made-2023-05-11/ While the largest solar manufacture has been based in China and Southeast Asia, the Biden tax credits for domestic solar under the Inflation Reduction Act are sufficient to make US manufacturers cost competitive, and in response, they are now growing significantly . https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/04/23/1091665/canadian-solar-ira-manufacturing-us/
The challenge will be to sustain these important investments in the emerging economies of our future, as ex-President Trump has vowed to repeal them if elected. Trump wants to repeal the tax credits for electric vehicles. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/you-cant-just-go-to-electric-trump-sounds-off-on-ev-transition-as-automakers-warn-on-demand-161918940.html and https://www.taxnotes.com/featured-news/ill-scrap-ira-tax-credits-day-1-trump-says/2023/09/28/7hdjq Trump and GOP leaders want to eliminate the solar tax credits. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/15/solar-industry-tries-to-protect-itself-against-trump-2024-election-win.html#:~:text=The%20GOP%20unanimously%20opposed%20the,repeal%20is%20underestimated%20by%20investors .
Trump recently met with top oil and gas company executives and pledged to reverse the Biden Administration policies to develop renewable energy and electric vehicles and to slow climate change, if the executives would agree to raise $1 billion for his Presidential campaign. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-vows-target-electric-vehicles-meeting-with-oil-ceos-report-2024-05-09/ Trumpian policies are therefore to roll back and repeal the tax credits and policies supporting the growth of US manufacturing for the economy of the future (sunrise industries), while propping up the economies of the past, such as coal powered energy plants. This policy of supporting the “sunset” industries used to be referred to as “lemon socialism” and would cause great harm to the American economy which has been growing strongly under Biden’s leadership.