Now All Biden Has to Do Is Build It

Economic Shift

President Joe Biden's legislative efforts, including the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, aim to reshape the American economy through significant public investment. Felicia Wong highlights how these bills are interconnected, focusing on sectors like clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing to drive economic transformation 1. She describes Bidenism as a shift towards a high care, low carbon economy, emphasizing public investment to improve the lives of working Americans 2. However, Wong notes the absence of care infrastructure in the current plans, which she views as a critical oversight.

   

Policy Hurdles

Implementing large-scale industrial policies presents significant challenges, as Ezra Klein and Felicia discuss. The CHIPS Act, in particular, is seen as an ambitious attempt to build a sophisticated semiconductor manufacturing sector in the U.S., despite critiques that government lacks the agility of markets 3. Wong argues that the goal is not to pick winners and losers but to foster a strong semiconductor sector through public and private collaboration. She acknowledges the complexity of balancing multiple objectives, such as geographic equality and decarbonization, which can complicate government-led industrial projects 4.