4 ms·

Everyone talks about how the CHIPS, IRA, etc. purposely invested more in red states, but they don't talk about the mechanisms that made that happen. I would be

Everyone talks about how the CHIPS, IRA, etc. purposely invested more in red states, but they don't talk about the mechanisms that made that happen. I would be curious

favflam 1y ago
Voters in Red states destroyed any motivation by foreign companies to build factories there (tariffs) and Democrats to focus infrastructure spending there (CHIPS, IRA being worthless in getting votes). And now Republicans are ok with impounding Congressionally assigned funds. So I guess outside of facebook brain rot and doom-scrolling, there is no way to convince voters to vote with policy (requires attention span of more than 30 seconds and high school level reading skills).
- mikeyouse 1y ago
  In Michigan, there were several IRA-catalyzed investments worth many billions for battery facilities or various components — and the announcements were met with vehement protests because some of the companies involved were Korean or Chinese. It didnt matter that they were going to create many thousand good jobs and use tons of local construction, the weird conspiratorial bigotry was just too strong (fanned by the now-President and VP). Just no idea where to go from here. Feels really dire to be honest. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/power-switch/2024/09/13/chinese-battery-project-stirs-up-trouble-in-michigan-00179115 https://www.politico.com/newsletters/power-switch/2024/09/13...
  - selectodude 1y ago
    At some point we need to cut these people loose, understand they’re beyond saving, and move on with things.
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
    - dh2022 1y ago
      Oh how I wish we would be able to split the country and not have to deal with the deplorables any longer. Unfortunately we would also have to split with the deplorables the national debt and the nuclear arsenal. Imagine what would happen then…
    - nico_h 1y ago
      While that sounds like a solution it’s of the “simple but wrong” kind. Just like you, they are product of propaganda, though theirs is less based in reality than yours. If you don’t counteract the source strategy (like the lack of education, biased fox “news” and adjacent media), nothing prevents it from being repeated in the resulting halves of your solution, Zeno style.
      - selectodude 1y ago
        Honestly, no. That’s enlightened centerist nonsense. Being for things like freedom of speech, free and fair elections, a non-totalitarian form of government, and being against economic suicide, masked goon squads kidnapping people off the streets is not some sort of insane propaganda that I should be questioning.
edge17 1y ago
I don't know if it was on purpose or not, but I have heard it said more than once that Republican led states are able to greenlight projects faster, are more business-friendly environments, and generally have less red tape compared to Democrat led states. Love it or hate it, but greenlighting projects is a big component in allocating funds.
- vineyardmike 1y ago
  This might be true, it’s definitely repeated, but it’s generally not the real reason. The real answer is just politics. Blue states have (generally) healthy economies, with a variety of economic actors and many businesses. Businesses often will shop around various states to build a factory looking for tax cuts. The politician can be associated with new jobs, and the business gets a discount, so it appears to be a win-win (if you ignore the lack of tax revenue). No one needs a tax break to start a business in NYC, LA, nor Silicon Valley, so you don’t hear about all the businesses that open there. Nationally, policies like the IRA are big boosters for the economy, and democrats are focused on getting it done because it’s good for society and the national priorities. They won’t focus on where the money goes, and will allow the money to go to run down republican states as economic stimulus. But you’ll notice it’s usually capital intense factories that end up in these situations, not white collar jobs.
- nosianu 1y ago
  On the other hand, if they were so much better, shouldn't those "red states" be the ones with the much better economies? I'm looking at China and what environmental price in the form of polluted land they pay and will be paying for a very long time. The big problems in Western countries also all originated in times with less or no regulation of such things. Just because that's not in the headlines all the time does not mean the problem is any less while the public is not paying attention. When "it works" and overall success is the only criteria, the Vikings and Mongols surely count as extremely successful. Regulation is meant to take the price into account, in the cases of those two peoples millions of dead and a lot of pillaging and conquering. Regulation is definitely a burden, if you don't have to care about anything but the bottom line it's much easier.
- gamblor956 1y ago

Everyone talks about how the CHIPS, IRA, etc. purposely invested more in red states, but they don't talk about the mechanisms that made that happen. I would be curious

favflam 1y ago

Voters in Red states destroyed any motivation by foreign companies to build factories there (tariffs) and Democrats to focus infrastructure spending there (CHIPS, IRA being worthless in getting votes). And now Republicans are ok with impounding Congressionally assigned funds. So I guess outside of facebook brain rot and doom-scrolling, there is no way to convince voters to vote with policy (requires attention span of more than 30 seconds and high school level reading skills).

mikeyouse 1y ago
In Michigan, there were several IRA-catalyzed investments worth many billions for battery facilities or various components — and the announcements were met with vehement protests because some of the companies involved were Korean or Chinese. It didnt matter that they were going to create many thousand good jobs and use tons of local construction, the weird conspiratorial bigotry was just too strong (fanned by the now-President and VP). Just no idea where to go from here. Feels really dire to be honest. https://www.politico.com/newsletters/power-switch/2024/09/13/chinese-battery-project-stirs-up-trouble-in-michigan-00179115 https://www.politico.com/newsletters/power-switch/2024/09/13...
- selectodude 1y ago
  At some point we need to cut these people loose, understand they’re beyond saving, and move on with things.
  - deleted 1y ago
    [deleted]
  - dh2022 1y ago
    Oh how I wish we would be able to split the country and not have to deal with the deplorables any longer. Unfortunately we would also have to split with the deplorables the national debt and the nuclear arsenal. Imagine what would happen then…
  - nico_h 1y ago
    While that sounds like a solution it’s of the “simple but wrong” kind. Just like you, they are product of propaganda, though theirs is less based in reality than yours. If you don’t counteract the source strategy (like the lack of education, biased fox “news” and adjacent media), nothing prevents it from being repeated in the resulting halves of your solution, Zeno style.
    - selectodude 1y ago
      Honestly, no. That’s enlightened centerist nonsense. Being for things like freedom of speech, free and fair elections, a non-totalitarian form of government, and being against economic suicide, masked goon squads kidnapping people off the streets is not some sort of insane propaganda that I should be questioning.

edge17 1y ago

I don't know if it was on purpose or not, but I have heard it said more than once that Republican led states are able to greenlight projects faster, are more business-friendly environments, and generally have less red tape compared to Democrat led states. Love it or hate it, but greenlighting projects is a big component in allocating funds.

vineyardmike 1y ago
This might be true, it’s definitely repeated, but it’s generally not the real reason. The real answer is just politics. Blue states have (generally) healthy economies, with a variety of economic actors and many businesses. Businesses often will shop around various states to build a factory looking for tax cuts. The politician can be associated with new jobs, and the business gets a discount, so it appears to be a win-win (if you ignore the lack of tax revenue). No one needs a tax break to start a business in NYC, LA, nor Silicon Valley, so you don’t hear about all the businesses that open there. Nationally, policies like the IRA are big boosters for the economy, and democrats are focused on getting it done because it’s good for society and the national priorities. They won’t focus on where the money goes, and will allow the money to go to run down republican states as economic stimulus. But you’ll notice it’s usually capital intense factories that end up in these situations, not white collar jobs.
nosianu 1y ago
On the other hand, if they were so much better, shouldn't those "red states" be the ones with the much better economies? I'm looking at China and what environmental price in the form of polluted land they pay and will be paying for a very long time. The big problems in Western countries also all originated in times with less or no regulation of such things. Just because that's not in the headlines all the time does not mean the problem is any less while the public is not paying attention. When "it works" and overall success is the only criteria, the Vikings and Mongols surely count as extremely successful. Regulation is meant to take the price into account, in the cases of those two peoples millions of dead and a lot of pillaging and conquering. Regulation is definitely a burden, if you don't have to care about anything but the bottom line it's much easier.
gamblor956 1y ago