US to award Samsung up to $6.6 billion chip subsidy for Texas expansion, sources say

Xatolos@reddthat.com to Technology@lemmy.world – 154 points –
reuters.com
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Why would we subsidize putting something so "mission critical" in a state openly calling to secede?

Because if they actually try they'll be shot dead in the streets by hellfire drones. Texas doesn't win against America. Especially not a gaggle of hicks who can't even spell secede.

A lot of it has to do with Texas having the Gulf of Mexico ports all along the coast. It’s a big reason petrochemical refining is so big in Texas. Another plus for Texas is it’s abundance of land they can either buy or imminent domain. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not a Texas supporter, but it’s just one of those location based decisions I’m sure.

Not to mention if your a business in Texas you usually only get slaps on the wrist when you poison the environment. Worker safety? Mostly dependent on company policy with the main focus just barely making OSHA compliance. If the fine is cheaper than compliance, a lot of companies just pay the fine if it happens.

Because they've been grumbling about that forever and it will never happen unless the US government just up and loses its military.

There will never be the political and populace buy in for something like that to ever end as more than a compound of political extremists getting wiped out by the national guard.

The majority of the people in the military would be fighting with Texas. Our military is about as right wing as you can get.

This is patently false. Officers across all branches skew more liberal while Marines skew heavily conservative.

There isn't a snowball's chance in hell they'll be allowed to that's why. In the Texas panhandle is the Pantex plant, which services the military's nuclear warheads. You saw what Uncle Sam did to the people who touched his boats, now try touching his nukes.

Taxpayer investment in private firms needs to come with dividends for taxpayers.

Yeah it’s wild that the US government will fund private projects without getting the same bonds or shares that private investors would expect.

Growth in an industry drives tax growth, job growth, and wage growth. Furthermore initiatives like this one insulate the country from strategic holes. The US goverment and tax payers most certainly get dividends on investment.

Growth in an industry drives tax growth, job growth, and wage growth.

That's some bullshit. These places will pay no taxes, create the most minimal of jobs, and pay next to nothing. Then, when their tax breaks run out, they pack up and move to the next tax break.

Furthermore initiatives like this one insulate the country from strategic holes. The US goverment and tax payers most certainly get dividends on investment.

Someone is profiting from this, but isn't the taxpayers.

These places will pay no taxes, create the most minimal of jobs, and pay next to nothing.

You are talking about a clean room chip fab here. They employ highly skilled labor that is paid quite well.

Then, when their tax breaks run out, they pack up and move to the next tax break.

Chip fabs do not just 'pack up and move'. They are horrendously expensive to build and run for decades. The whole place is a clean room for an idea of how difficult these things are to build. Here is a video of a tour of one of Intel's chip fabs.

They'll make a new entity that extracts most of the profit while the production facility operates at cost or even a loss. Jurisdiction shopping is a thing even within the US.

would be good if it were any where but texas!

Texas has a bunch of advantages for manufacturing. Lawmakers are willing to work with firms, land is inexpensive and available while at the same time having lots of available workers, taxes are less, electricity is fairly inexpensive, and there is a ton of barrier island protected coastline for shipping ports. America's manufacturing rebuild cannot and will not happen in NY or CA, it is actively happening in places like TX due to such advantages.

If only they had reliable utilities. Samsung's fab in Austin got shut down for a few weeks from ice-mageddon. Messed them up enough that they threatened to leave if Texas didn't give them something to make up for it.

Your missing another big part and that's unions are hamstrung down there. A lot of places in the Midwest offer similar advantages, ports aren't as good but you can still ship a lot on the great lakes, but they won't go there because they're afraid of unions.

Except no water. Which last time I checked is pretty important for making fabs.

electricity is inexpensive as long as weather doesnt fuck up the plants causing peak usage price rockets*

Also, the land is stable. For something as precise as chip mfg, an area that won't earthquake is nice.

In oil country, the land may be getting less stable. Korean Samsung (and planet Earth) vs Texan oil barons, I wonder who Texas will protect.

Not to mention all of the slave labor from all of their incarcerated immigrants, and I'm sure the US will get a tax write off or something when they finally seceded.