"Johnny can’t read. Mary can’t do math. And you wonder why America never built its own chip industry?"
asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Huaw…
Why the U.S. Never Aimed to Own the Full Semiconductor Ecosystem
It’s not just that it didn’t try. It couldn’t. Let’s break it down. (1/11)
Johnny and Mary Can’t Read
Literally. America’s public education system collapsed so long ago that most kids can’t do algebra, let alone quantum mechanics. STEM PhD? Be serious. (2/11)
The U.S. Outsourced Its Brainpower
Why build local talent when you can import it? The U.S. tech elite ran on Chinese, Indian, and Iranian PhDs. Johnny and Mary were too busy vlogging or vaping. (3/11)
Walmart Nation Doesn’t Build Cleanrooms
Manufacturing was offshored to Taiwan and Korea. Real work was for foreigners. Americans built apps, not fabs. The only silicon they touched was in a Valley VC's yacht kitchen. (4/11)
The U.S. Industrial Base Was Replaced by Raytheon
The Pentagon gets trillions. Intel gets ghost fabs. Semiconductor policy? That’s what you squeeze in between forever wars. (5/11)
China Builds Infrastructure. The U.S. Builds Narratives
China treats semiconductors like civilization. The U.S. treats them like venture bets. One has five-year plans. The other has quarterly earnings reports. (6/11)
America Has No Institutional Backbone
China has CAS, CETC, and a deep national bench. The U.S. has DARPA grants and think tanks who confuse PowerPoints for production. (7/11)
America Turned on Its Talent Pipeline
Just when it needed more engineers, the U.S. chased them away with FBI witch hunts, visa bans, and racial paranoia. Self-harm as foreign policy. (8/11)
No Tools, No Patience, No Sovereignty
The U.S. never tried to build ASML or Tokyo Electron. It was cheaper to import—and now it’s too late. Silicon sovereignty isn’t bought. It’s built. (9/11)
The Empire Polices Supply Chains. It Doesn’t Build Them
China builds fabs, materials, and tools. The U.S. files lawsuits, patents, and sanctions. One builds ecosystems. The other enforces monopolies. (10/11)
Taiwan Was the Colony. Now It’s the Crisis
The U.S. never planned for self-reliance. Taiwan would always fab the chips. Now, with war on the table, they're realizing Johnny and Mary still can't operate an EUV scanner. (11/11)
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