Posted on 12/28/2021 7:21:31 PM PST by elpadre
The United States has lost two industries of critical strategic importance: semiconductors and communications-infrastructure equipment. Only about 9% of the world’s semiconductor devices are currently produced in the US and no significant telecom-equipment manufacturers remain in that country.
Different reasons are responsible for these losses, but government support will be required in both cases if the United States is to keep its industrial competitiveness.
Since these industries were largely pioneered in the US, we should examine how this happened, and ask further how valid are concerns about America’s apparent loss of technological leadership. The semiconductor industry
The invention of the transistor at AT&T Bell Labs in 1946 launched the digital age by replacing vacuum tubes with solid-state devices. Because the patents were broadly licensed, major vacuum-tube manufacturers like RCA and Sylvania became early transistor manufacturers. Others followed.
Manufacturing transistors required a new production technology, which each market entrant jealously guarded as a competitive asset. Early applications replaced vacuum tubes in radios and in computers that were emerging as mass-market products.
Building computers required assembling discrete transistors for specific computational requirements. This was a costly process that limited the number of commercial applications.
(Excerpt) Read more at asiatimes.com ...
Government isn’t the answer
and more:
“...It has become widely recognized that communications infrastructure is a key component of the economic system. It is noted that fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology is becoming a core enabler of new services, but is controlled outside the United States. US companies have no role in its evolution, nor in what will become 6G some years hence. It is recognized that rebuilding the industry is not practical. The technology is largely overseas....”
HAHAHA Government “help” is why tech goodies aren’t made in the US. Greenies locked up the soil so no mines. No more power plants allowed. Unionizing shops. Unrealistic EPA requirements. Get the government out of the way and watch companies build here.
Our technology was sold out to foreign interests because they could produce the product cheaper than we could in this country.
And the Big Guy didn't even get his 10% !
Much of our best farmland has also been sold to foreign interests, as has much of our meat production and sea fisheries.
There needs to be a "For Sale " sign in front of the Statue of Liberty !
JMA wireless is big where I live. 5G.
Semi companies moved manufacturing offshore to take advantage of cheap labor. Smart people in places like Taiwan saw the opportunity to move up the value chain and do more. Wat started out as noise turned into major competition.
Tariffs are the answer. Always has been, always will be.
We are getting a huge semi plant in Texas.
Tariffs on imports. After that more tariffs.
“Our technology was sold out to foreign interests because they could produce the product cheaper than we could in this country.”
Indeed. Somehow it became acceptable for a CEO to close a factory in America and reopen it in China. When it is a strategically essential product that CEO should be arrested for treason.
“...elpadreelpadre....”
el padre is only reporting on the article. I agree, we are our worst enemy with repressive regulations, and lopsided government expenditures favoring social welfare programs, and a Congress that can’t think beyond the beltway. Add to that incompetent leadership at the top. Wake up America!!!!
The words of a one-track gloBULList.
One of the few things the US government should be doing is promoting domestic industry. Especially since in places like China and Korea their governments are SUBSIDIZING industry. They are killing US industry unfairly and putting our very existence in jeopardy..
No nationalist I know wants direct government intervention but a really high import tariff will make domestic sources come on line quickly with no government meddling and they will compete with each other and not with subsidized foreign industry.
See, it is not that simple.
All true but the answer isn’t to kill the USA economically with offshoring. Tariffs now.
Everything falls into that category. Get the rope....
We need to promote domestic industry with a really high import tariff and then get out of way.
These are manufacturing jobs.
The semi design jobs are here and not going anywhere soon. Our industry already tried China and India. Salaries in India are now comparable to here. The Indian designers here might like to move back. But the price of housing is almost as high as here and is of poor quality. And the population density is now a turn off to them.
I’m not talking about IT.
We are getting a TSMC manufacturing plant here in Phoenix. That will create a lot of manufacturing jobs.
Are $1000 smartphones and pads strategically essential?
These two items require billions of chips per year.
Telecom infrastructure does not require near that a mount of production. Maybe that shoukd be classified as strategically essential.
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