Comment by thisisit
Government shouldn't bail out anyone. Period. It should enact preferential policies like grants, tax cuts, subsidies etc. for industries they want to promote. It is done all the time. That is what happened with the CHIPS Act.
The moment 10% stake was announced this became political. While the stated reason might be national security etc, in reality something else might be at play.
One, this government and its supporters have been talking about government "wasteful" spending. So, a stake shows that they got something in return for that public money. The money is now "well spent".
Second, it helps boost the political "dealmaker" image of POTUS and we all know how much he cares about his image.
Except if Intel goes there’s no leading chip manufacturer left. You can’t just (easily) tax cut your way to having that concentrated knowledge and market position.