The past year or so as we drive up to the Louisville area to visit our kids and our grandson Shan and I have noticed the huge twin factory battery park being built off I-65 outside Glendale, Kentucky. The first time we noticed I was astounded at how large the facility will be. It will sit on more than 1,500 acres (2.34 square miles) of land and it will be the largest facility of its type in the world. I found out that it represents a near six billion dollar investment by Ford/SK Innovation that will make batteries for the next generation of electric vehicles. Initially it is expected to hire 5,000 workers when the first factory goes on line in 2025. Pay is initially expected to be between $21 and $29 per hour and the local community colleges are working with Ford to provide the training for the workers. The second factory will open in 2026.
We also drive by Bowling Green, Kentucky and I found out that another company, Envision AESC will begin construction on another factory in Bowling Green that will provide battery cells and modules for the next generation electric cars and trucks. This is a two billion dollar investment which will initially generate 2,000 jobs. These factory campuses in Glendale and Bowling Green will generate even more upstream and downstream jobs (supply chain, parts, etc.) in Kentucky and the region. Similar factories are being built in Tennessee and Michigan. Just the other day, seven major automobile manufacturers committed to a multi-billion dollar project creating a North American network of fast charging stations for all electric vehicles providing even more manufacturing jobs.
I have closely watched my neighboring state of Georgia become the solar energy capital of the US with expansions of existing factories and new factories to make solar panels and solar energy components. I note that site preparation is underway for a new semiconductor chip factory near Syracuse, NY. This represents an initial investment of 20 billion dollars by Micron with more to follow. The facility is expected to create 45,000 new jobs. Semiconductor factories like this are being built in other states including Ohio (Intel) and Texas (Samsung).
These and hundreds of other manufacturing/industrial developments across the country represent a resurgence in US manufacturing and industrial growth created and incentivized by federal government investments and grants found in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the Chips and Science Act passed by the Biden administration. This resurgence represents what the media now calls “Bidenomics.” For those of you who had my international political economy class this is an example of an industrial policy form of economic development that is common in East Asian countries such as South Korea.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act is making a difference that people can see. My former hometown of New Albany, Indiana received more than $300 thousand to complete the Mt.Tabor Road project (near where I used to live) from Klerner Lane to Charlestown Road. $3.1 million is going to repair the Sherman Minton Bridge. I note that it is the only major bridge that is not tolled between southern Indiana and Louisville. I grew up in Wayne County, WV where there will be more than $1.4 million for improvements to the Tri-State Airport. Tallahassee and Leon County, Florida where I live now have received millions of dollars for airport improvements, road improvements, energy saving busses, and several other major projects. If you wish to see what money your county has received for infrastructure improvements please see https://d2d.gsa.gov/report/bipartisan-infrastructure-law-bil-maps-dashboard .
People that live in the communities where these dramatic changes are taking place are certainly aware of them. They do not need to look at economic statistics. People often ignore or scoff at these statistics unless they can see real change taking place. Many of the dramatic changes brought by the Biden administration are just now taking effect. You can see the changes. So I urge you to look around and give credit where credit is due. Just a side note…many Republican members of Congress are taking credit for these projects when they didn't vote for them…
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