Both Parties Are Buying Factories (And Lying About It)
Political debates in America seem to devolve with every cycle, but nothing beats the screaming match over “socialism.” The average voter hears the word and instantly thinks of welfare checks or universal healthcare. The New Deal or the Great Society Act comes to mind.
But this is not what we are talking about; welfare and socialism are over-conflated, likely due to “social program” phrasing. We need to start examining who owns our factories and supply chains; then we will see that neither party is forthright in their fight against socialism.
Ludwig von Mises had an excellent command and understanding of these terms, and spelled it out a century ago: Capitalism is characterized by private actors owning and controlling production, responding to real consumer demand, and utilizing entrepreneurial judgment. Socialism isn’t a safety net or a handout—it’s what happens when Government steps in and owns the means of production directly, forcing political calculation to replace real market signals. Communism would be the ultimate goal of socialism—property collectively owned, private enterprise abolished, and the state eventually fading away into a promised utopia. Welfare programs differ and can be described as a redistribution mechanism added to a capitalist system, rather than a Government takeover. Politicians knowingly blur these lines, and they’re counting on voters not knowing the difference.
Here’s where the hypocrisy really hits home. While each party points and decries socialism when they’re out of power, both sides have supported and planned the Government buying up pieces of key industries the moment it’s convenient, often under a guise of protection or as a savior. Obama’s administration seized control during the auto bailouts, making every taxpayer a partial owner of General Motors and Chrysler for years—oversight, board seats, the works. It was billed as saving the economy, but make no bones about it: it was real-deal Government ownership of private business, with Washington in charge until the stocks were sold off.
This wasn’t a one-off. Trump’s White House emphasized industrial policy and “national security” rhetoric, laying the groundwork for the semiconductor boom—his blueprint got the ball rolling with executive pushes for domestic chips and minerals. That set the stage for the CHIPS Act, which poured billions into chipmakers with built-in hooks for equity stakes if needed. Behind the scenes, his team negotiated deals with rare earth and critical mineral producers, signaling the Pentagon’s readiness to invest directly and blunt China’s leverage.
When Biden took office, he accelerated it all, expanding CHIPS grants for semiconductors and ramping up steel and rare-earth support. Then in 2025, the federal Government bought a 9.9% stake in Intel, the actual company itself, and locked in warrants for even more if Intel spins off its foundry business. This included Government profit-sharing and new powers to manage key decisions. The ‘anti-socialists’ in the White House wrote checks for huge stakes in MP Materials—making DoD the largest shareholder—and Lithium Americas, both critical mineral suppliers, with deals that included veto rights and boardroom power for the Government. US Steel? As a condition of Trump’s approval (flipping Biden’s block), the Government now holds a coveted ‘golden share,’ giving it a permanent veto over offshoring, closures, or any move that might make alarming headlines or threaten union jobs
None of this is tied to welfare. It’s about actual Government ownership and management—at times temporary, and others permanent—of the physical assets and companies that keep the country running. This is worse than subsidies and “strategic partnerships”; this is the Government stepping in with our money and taking absolute control.
Sources
Obama Auto Bailouts (GM/Chrysler Ownership): The Truth about the GM and Chrysler Bailouts (Cato Institute, Sep 6, 2012). Also: The Auto Bailout and the Rule of Law (National Affairs).
CHIPS Act History (Trump/Biden Groundwork): CHIPS and Science Act (Wikipedia, updated 2025). Also: The ‘Chip War’ under Trump (POLITICO, Jun 10, 2025).
Intel Stake (Aug 2025): US to take 10% equity stake in Intel, in Trump’s latest corporate move (Reuters, Aug 22, 2025). Also: U.S. takes 10% stake in Intel (CNBC, Aug 22, 2025).
MP Materials Stake (Jul 2025): Pentagon to become largest shareholder in rare earth miner MP Materials (CNBC, Jul 10, 2025). Also: MP Materials Announces Transformational Public-Private Partnership (MP Materials, Jul 10, 2025).
Lithium Americas Loan Restructure (Sep/Oct 2025): Department of Energy Restructures Lithium Americas Deal (DOE, Sep 30, 2025). Also: Analysis: DOE takes equity stake in Lithium Americas deal (Resource Recycling, Oct 8, 2025).
US Steel Golden Share (Jun 2025): Nippon Steel Completes Acquisition of US Steel Under National Security Agreement (Hunton Andrews Kurth, Jun 20, 2025). Also: The Nippon-U.S. Steel Deal, a Golden Share, and Magic Beans (Council on Foreign Relations, Jul 16, 2025).