> When these types of things are funded one always gets the sinking feeling that the money is just getting stolen and/or wasted by savvy insiders who know how to write grants or who know the right people.
That's definitely the feeling I get when I see the grants that get given out for Broadband to underserved areas. So much money gets spent on infrastructure for not much actual benefit.
Hopefully these fabs don't follow down that road. If nothing else, it'll be a lot easier to check and see if the objective were achieved, compared to broadband which is inherently much more decentralized.
It would be cool if there was a neighborhood watch but for projects and/or money. Like, a couple dozen people in the community who watch that specific money like a hawk, to make sure it benefits the community and moves along at a good pace and the actors don't take advantage.
One good thing with broadband is that the FCC is making companies publish service maps.
I've heard from multiple people that they've looked at the map and forced companies to make amendments when they claim to offer service in an area but don't actually.
That's definitely the feeling I get when I see the grants that get given out for Broadband to underserved areas. So much money gets spent on infrastructure for not much actual benefit.
Hopefully these fabs don't follow down that road. If nothing else, it'll be a lot easier to check and see if the objective were achieved, compared to broadband which is inherently much more decentralized.