Chip Manufacturing, 529 Plans, Solar Panels, Cryptocurrency, Canned Beverages, Tort Litigation System & The Semiconductor Bill

<p>Chip Manufacturing I for one am glad to see positive news from the Senate regarding a bill designed to boost US semiconductor competition. After a key procedural vote that passed 64-34, the stage is now set for final passage in the chamber either late this week or early next week. It would then head to the house for passage and finally to Joe Biden to sign the bill into law. The bill would provide about $50 B in subsidies to aid chip manufacturing. Some chip companies like Nvidia, AMD, and Qualcomm aren't as pleased with the bill as they say the bill does not do enough to support them and it favors manufacturers like Intel. Personally, I do not believe we need a bill to help chip design as that has been a highly profitable business many chip companies have focused on. The manufacturing side is not as profitable and is much more capital intensive. Manufacturing is where the major issues are as we have seen 48% of chip sales come from US companies, but just 12% of the manufacturing takes place in the US. This is down from 37% in 1990. I was also glad to see the new bill was stripped down from other versions that included other areas of focus like taxes and climate policy. I hate when politicians try and bundle a bunch of crap into one bill, especially when a particular area has bipartisan support. 529 Plans I have been getting a lot of questions about 529 plans lately and I must say for the most part I don't believe they are worth it. Looking at the tax benefits I do not think they are worth the potential risk. To begin some states, allow for a deduction on state income taxes, but here in CA there is no deduction for a contribution. The other benefit is the funds grow tax free and withdrawals are tax free if used for qualifying expenses. The downsides here are that if the funds are not used for qualifying expenses there is a 10% federal penalty, CA imposes a 2.5% penalty, and the gains are subject to income tax. Also, the investment options are limited to whichever plan you decide to pursue and if you go with a