In late September, we discussed the median voter theory’s influence on how elected officials form policy using the following quote: “Candidates formulate policies to win elections rather than win elections to formulate policies.” An example of such behavior is President Biden’s resumption of construction of the US-Mexico border wall. In forming policies that are not overly progressive (or in this case, align more clearly with conservative agendas), Biden hopes to capture the median voter, which will ultimately be the deciding voter in an election.
I observed another case of Biden’s tendency to continue the implementation of Trump’s policies. Over the weekend, this article was assigned as reading for another class. The article discusses the recently-passed CHIPS for America Act, which granted $52 billion to US semiconductor manufacturers. Industrial policy on this scale fit into Trump’s ant-China narrative as a protectionist policy, and now conveniently fits into Biden’s narrative of government intervention for innovation. Interestingly, history shows that industrial policy is most effective at helping new industries gain momentum within the US. However, the semiconductor industry is not new, and Asian nations like China, Taiwan, and South Korea already dominate the global market. So, is Biden’s motivation for passing the CHIPS Act truly to help the American people (as he claims so in this speech), or is taking advantage of the opportunity to reach the median voter? Or is it both?
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