Why is the US government buying Intel stock (INTC) when we’re already $37 trillion in debt, and paying trillions more in interest annually?

Photo above - The White House announces it is buying a 10% stake in Intel. INTC stock shares soared 20% this month.

MAGA is losing their minds. They have declared Trump’s government stake in Intel as “socialist”. The BBC, which actually IS a socialist news organization owned by the UK government, calls the Intel purchase “a break with the American tradition” (see link below).

They’re both wrong. Everyone should bone up on history.

Acquiring Intel is "mercantilist", NOT socialist. Mercantilism is a term probably unfamiliar to people who keep lists of books to be burned, or obsess over Epstein. The difference between socialism and mercantilism? Socialism nationalizes important industries to ensure consumer demand can me fulfilled and prevent riots by people suffering shortage and inflation. Socialism gives control of the means of production to the proletariat. Well, not really . . . under socialism the means of production is controlled by unelected bureaucrats. Which is what’s been going on for years in America, with deep state regulatory controls to bypass congress and voters.

Mercantilism doesn’t even look like it belongs in the same family tree as socialism or communism. The goal of mercantilism is to grow exports, shrink imports, and accumulate sovereign wealth – typically national gold reserves. Well, Trump is partially getting the import/export theory right with his tariffs. But creating meme coins and unleashing crypto currencies is not in any way the same as building sovereign wealth. Bitcoin as a replacement for gold is scary-risky and is likely to drain money from banks as investors chase crypto for higher interest yield than they can get on CDs. Until crypto has one of its periodic “day of reckoning events” and loses 50% of its value in a week, as it has so often in the past.

There’s a link below defining the differences between socialism and mercantilism in detail, in case anyone thinks I’m making this up.

Okay, so MAGA is wrong about socialism. What about the BBC, claiming Trump is taking the USA into “uncharted territory”? I give the BBC a pass on being ignorant about American history, but they’re as wrong as MAGA is. Raise your hand if you remember the Obama administration “investing” $50 billion in GM stock. As part of TARP, and the housing crisis. Allegedly to rescue GM from foreign ownership. The GM shell game was actually a vote buying scheme, to bring the UAW factory workers into line. What happened to this $50 billion GM “investment”? American taxpayers lost $10 billion when Obama gave up on it after winning his second term as president.

If you think Obama’s TARP stock purchases ended with the GM misadventure, you couldn’t be more wrong. The gummint also bought Citibank, Chase, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo and a dozen other highly reviled financial institutions. This was to keep the banking regulators – FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – from being destroyed by trillions in risky mortgages which banks handed out. Banks loaned money hand over fist to people with crappy FICO scores, no down payments, and who fantasized they could get rich like reality TV home flippers. Corporate greed, say hello to US government bailouts.

Am I in favor of the US government purchasing Intel stock in 2025? I am not. Even if we DIDN’T have a $37 trillion national debt which could end American life as we know it, snapping up Intel shares would still be a terrible idea. It creates “winners and losers” in the marketplace and distorts corporate America’s behavior.

If you doubt THAT part, let me remind you of a more recent event: the years and years of tax rebates, subsidies and grants to Tesla. Which elevated Musk to mythical godlike status, until he was abandoned by both the left and the right. First a winner, then a loser.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

Trump's Intel deal gives US stake in business - and breaks with American tradition

Mercantilism Vs Communism: A Tale of Economic Rivalries - About Financials

SunshineGirl · 36-40, F

This is a fairly infertile debate over semantics. Whatever you wish to call it, this looks like a strange and unwise government over-reach in pursuit of one man's rather peculiar view of global economics.

The BBC is not owned by the government and is not a socialist news organisation. It is a broadly based media corporation (most people overseas only consume the news element) funded by public subscription. It is independently governed and stands arms length of the government of the day . . which is why six conservative governments between 2020 and 2024 mercifully failed to clip its wings.

ElwoodBlues · M

Raise your hand if you remember the Obama administration “investing” $50 billion in GM stock. As part of TARP, and the housing crisis.

TARP TARP TARP. That was a Bush program, signed into law on October 3, 2008, authorizing expenditures of $700 billion. Even if some money was spent under the Obama admin, it was authorized by Bush. And the first $13.4 billion to GM was delivered in Dec 2008, under Bush.

There’s a link below defining the differences between socialism and mercantilism in detail,

Susan Susan Susan. There's no link. There's only some boldfaced text. You know better than that!!

SusanInFlorida · 31-35, F

@ElwoodBlues everyone is entitled to his own opinions. but not his own theories. TARP was signed into law in october 28th by Bush. No money was disbursed until after Obama was inaugurated in Janauary 2009.

nice attempt to rewrite history, but still a fail.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubled_Asset_Relief_Program