Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
Trump Wants to Nationalize Chip Makers
The pedophiles and criminals who form the Republican Party always like to call their enemies socialists. That sobriquet, however, seems to apply to them now. Their Fearful Leader has said that the US government should get an equity stake in chip makers who have accepted money under the Biden-era CHIPS Act. He has hit upon the idea that a grant is bad business and loans do not return enough. So, he wants stock. And that means the Federal government will own a chunk of these firms. That is nationalization. That is socialism.
While the idea probably originated in the tiny mind of the Mar-a-Lago Moron, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick exploring the idea of taking an equity stake in exchange for the grants. Reuters reported, "Now Lutnick wants to expand that plan to other companies, according to a White House official and a person familiar with the situation.
"The Trump administration has recently made unusual deals with U.S. companies, including allowing AI chip giant Nvidia (NVDA.O) to sell its H20 chips to China in exchange for the U.S. government receiving 15% of those sales. The Pentagon is slated to become the largest shareholder in a small mining company to boost output of rare earth magnets."
Now, the US government has intervened in business from time to time. Harry Truman stopped a steel strike during the Korean War, and Barack Obama gave American auto companies financial support in the wake of the 2008 economic meltdown. Laissez-faire economics is hypothetical only. This, however, is different. It is long term, even permanent.
This will require someone to keep an eye on the companies for the Federal government owners. Currently, the Commerce Department oversees the $57 billion the CHIPS Act put into the chip makers. As the portfolio grows, it will become harder and harder for the Commerce Secretary to keep up with this as he currently must. A longer-term solution is needed.
This journal has argued for years that a sovereign wealth fund is necessary for the financial future of the United States. For too long, America has let private sector actors take property that belongs to all for pennies on the dollar. Norway's sovereign wealth fund has over $100,000 per Norwegian. The American national debt per capita is $112,000. If the US had kept more of its own wealth, the debt would be much smaller, if it existed at all.
The various sovereign wealth funds of various countries have different structures to pursue their investment objectives. If the US created one, it would have unique goals and structures, but the experiences of others would be instructive.
In Norway, the parliament created the framework for the fund in the Government Pension Fund Act. The Ministry of Finance there has overall responsibility for the fund and gives management the guidelines for investment. Norges Bank is responsible for the management of the fund itself and has delegated the day-to-day operations to Norges Bank Investment Management. This keeps politicians out of daily management of the fund while keeping the fund focused on benefiting all Norwegians and future Norwegians.
Obviously, the stricture that the fund can only invest abroad could not really work in the US. The American economy is too big with too many opportunities to ignore. But a fund under an organization like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac or the now dying Corporation for Public Broadcasting could be a powerful source of economic development and political influence.
So if MAGA is determined to nationalize buisnesses and bring socialism to America, the country should set it up correctly so that it benefits people who are not in the Epstein Files.
© Copyright 2025 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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