One of the biggest concerns for a Chinese invasion of Taiwan is the loss of TSMC, a huge company that makes around 80% of the world’s advanced microprocessors and chipsets and 55% of chips overall. Think about that for just one second…55% of all chips in the entire world are made by one company. In your home alone, there are chips in your computer, cars, certain HVAC components, smartphones, your wifi router, TVs, and even things like refrigerators. 55% of these chips come from one company.
That’s pretty crazy when you think about it. TSMC has facilities around the world, although the majority are located in Taiwan. Why wouldn’t it open more facilities in the US? Well, because its expensive due to all the red tape involved in making facilities in the US and because there is not enough talent in the US to make chips. If we drop the nice language, TSMC has basically said it costs too much and Americans aren’t smart enough to make these advanced chips.
Ouch. So much for all that STEM money we keep throwing at education that gets misused. Since chips are key components of most weapon systems, Congress passed the CHIPS act to subsidize and incentivize chip manufacturers in America. But guess what came along with the money? A whole lot of strings, including DEI strings:
The law contains 19 sections aimed at helping minority groups, including one creating a Chief Diversity Officer at the National Science Foundation, and several prioritizing scientific cooperation with what it calls “minority-serving institutions.” A section called “Opportunity and Inclusion” instructs the Department of Commerce to work with minority-owned businesses and make sure chipmakers “increase the participation of economically disadvantaged individuals in the semiconductor workforce.”
– The Hill
This is exactly why China and other nations can beat us at these high-end games. Americans are known for working hard and figuring things out, and until recently the advanced nature of American colleges and other education institutions was known around the world. But we’ve allowed morons (and if you support DEI, you are a moron) to write our laws and corrupt our institutions. The steady rise in costs from these morons has driven everyone away, from chip manufacturers and oil and gas production to basic tools and batteries.
We did this to ourselves. We can undo it too. Imagine a world without stupid bureaucrats running everything into the dirt. Imagine the US unleashing its potential and the hard work and smarts actually paying off, not being stifled by people insisting on laws and incentives that make no sense in the real world. A far better world, and one within our reach, if we choose to make it so.
This post represents the views of the author and not those of the Department of Defense, Department of the Navy, or any other government agency.
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