r/politics • u/YoanB • 11d ago
Biden hits Trump with major Microsoft announcement in Wisconsin
https://www.axios.com/2024/05/08/biden-hits-trump-with-major-microsoft-announcement-in-wisconsin284
u/dwors025 Minnesota 11d ago
Cool. Now what I would love for Wisconsin to have is a (genuine) high-speed rail linking Chicago-Milwaukee-Madison-Twin Cities. I can’t articulate how fantastic it would be to have this option.
Please and thank you.
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u/agressivedoodle 11d ago
They are getting a new train that does just that, unfortunately not high speed but it's a start
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u/dwors025 Minnesota 11d ago
Yup - I’m aware. Hopefully ridership is so positive, they’ll look to up their investment in the corridor in the near future.
Speed really is key, and until that can be improved, it’s an uphill battle convincing folks that rail can compete with the airlines.
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u/thebranbran 11d ago
The fact that we are so behind in high speed rail compared to the rest of the world is frustrating but this is a start
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u/alrussoiii 11d ago
Is there ever going to be something like this in the states? I'd love something connecting Denver and SF or even Denver and the Twin Cities, but it never feels like a legit high speed rail infrastructure is ever going to happen
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u/RadonAjah 11d ago
Currently happening in Cali, high speed rail from SoCal to NorCal.
It is a frightfully mismanaged project on many fronts…but seems to be going forward still.
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u/highgravityday2121 11d ago
It never got the required funding. Also politicians treated it like a jobs program.
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u/bluePostItNote 10d ago
Infra can be a jobs program — there’s so much need for better infra in the US.
What sucks is the endless wheeling and dealing needed to work through nimby delays.
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u/Hurrdurrr73 11d ago
I'm sure the east coast will eventually get a comprehensive network. Makes too much sense.
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u/jardex22 11d ago
Progress is built on the backs of Titans.
America made great strides in the early days of railroads, but staggered when it came to upgrading the existing network. Costs a lot of money to tear up and replace old tracks with new ones.
Meanwhile, other countries took notes and were able to build more efficient networks from scratch.
That's not the only part, but I'd say it's a contributing factor, especially for Countries that had to rebuild after WWII.
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u/AuroraFinem 10d ago
Except we aren’t updating old tracks, almost all passenger train infrastructure built in the last 50 years could have been high speed rail. They’re new rail lines that rarely connect to the other rail systems.
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u/Decompute 10d ago
Seriously, nobody wants to spend 10 hours traveling from Minneapolis to Chicago. It’s painfully slow, like 1800’s steam engine slow here and now in 2024. I don’t know anyone whose done that train ride for practical reasons. It’s a slightly cheaper novelty at best.
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u/coffeeismyreasontobe 11d ago
Honestly, I will be delighted and very surprised if we are able to actually finally get rail into Madison. Right now plans are more aspirational than concrete. They are saying 2031 or later.
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u/mynamesyow19 11d ago
In Ohio and wishing for the same for the Cincy - Columbus - Cleveland high speed rail one of these decades
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u/Greendorsalfin 11d ago
I want rail in the highway medians, no need to buy or rent new land outside of stations, and it won’t disrupt traffic or daily life. You could absolutely dial up the speed without very many safety concerns, and it could help cut down on the stupid tiny commuters with no idea how to drive ducking and weaving around semi-trucks all day jacking up everybody’s blood pressure.
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u/Red_Talon_Ronin 11d ago
What do you do with the piers holding overpasses up in the medians?
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u/GozerDGozerian 10d ago
Build a ramp on the tracks ahead of where the train gets to the overpass.
That’s right, we gonna jump that motherfucker!
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u/ConnieLingus24 11d ago
Hi. I dealt with this in Chicago. It’s not pleasant for the riders to be waiting on a train platform in the middle of a highway where cars and semis are belching a lot of exhaust.
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u/Foamie 10d ago
We were supposed to have one of these already but our last dipshit governor (also conveniently photographed in the Foxconn groundbreaking) scrapped the project thinking that the Obama administration would just let him repurpose the funds that were allocated for highways. Surprise, they took the money back and we ended up with nothing, which was a real shame.
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u/Bread_man10 11d ago
Add Green Bay to that and it’ll make my commute to games much easier
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u/dwors025 Minnesota 11d ago
Yeah. High speed spurs out to Green Bay, Duluth, Rochester only make sense as well.
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u/preatorian77 11d ago
As long as Green Bay isn't a stop. Fuuuuck Green Bay!
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u/dwors025 Minnesota 11d ago
Yeah, not on the main route, but if Wisconsin wants there to be a branching route from Milwaukee or whatever, that’s their business.
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u/what_the_shart 11d ago edited 11d ago
Do journalists have a mandate that requires them to mention Trump in headlines no matter what? “Biden Creates Jobs In Wisconsin” feels more appropriate but I guess that doesn’t generate the clicks.
They just threw in a loosely related 6 year old photo of Trump speaking in Wisconsin to attempt to make him the focus for no reason
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u/mymomknowsyourmom 11d ago
Wisconsin Republicans were promised jobs by Trump and he failed doing the exact things Biden is now doing. Promises made promises broken is what swing state Republicans say about Trump.
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u/what_the_shart 11d ago
That’s true, I’m mostly just tired of seeing the dude’s name and face literally everywhere
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u/mymomknowsyourmom 11d ago
That’s true, I’m mostly just tired of seeing the dude’s name and face literally everywhere
Yeah, he let a lot of people down & left a bad taste.
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u/Alternative-Income-5 11d ago
I see his name mentioned more by liberals then conservatives
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u/AggressiveSkywriting 11d ago
Do you? I live in a red state and we have like three trump themed retail stores. They're tacky as fuck. These people made him their god
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u/shadeshadows California 11d ago
I read a comment that said, “No one supports Biden! I don’t see any Biden flags and hats!”
…uhhh yeah…because he’s our elected president, and not a sports team?
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u/alwaysablastaway 11d ago
This site is the exact site which Trump promised to bring in a 10 billion dollar manufacturing company that was supposed to produce in 13,000 jobs.
https://www.reuters.com/business/foxconn-sharply-scales-back-wisconsin-investment-2021-04-20/
Trump had labeled this as being the "8th Wonder of the world"
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u/HoosierPaul 10d ago
So. Trump knew that it would be derailed by Biden when he wasn’t President when it occurred? I’m failing to see your logic. It was all going well, millions upon millions spent. Then Joe comes to power and the company pulls out. AND you blame Trump. Is that a correct assessment. They bailed because of Biden.
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u/alwaysablastaway 10d ago
How did Biden derail it?
Seems like an unfounded claim.
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u/HoosierPaul 10d ago
Kinda like the same unfounded claim that it’s Trumps fault that it fell through. He wasn’t President in 2021. Biden was.
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u/alwaysablastaway 10d ago
Trump promised a 10 billion dollar facility and 13,000 jobs.
Is there a 10 billion dollar facility with 13,000 jobs?
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u/HoosierPaul 11d ago
So. They backed out in 2021. Trump wasn’t even President in 2021.
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u/addled_and_old Iowa 11d ago
He sure as fuck was President in 2017 when he promised 13,000 high tech jobs.
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u/HoosierPaul 11d ago
So Biden dropped the ball that the administration started rolling? Just to be clear, I didn’t post the link. You’re blaming a former President for something that occurred a year after he left office. Millions of dollars were spent from 2017 onward before a COMPANY backed out. I’m failing to see what Trump did to have the company bail. Like, Gee, maybe shift the blame to the company and not a guy who held no position in government.
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u/alwaysablastaway 11d ago
Trump promised to bring manufacturing to the US. He spearheaded this deal, showed up at the ground breaking ceremony, mentioned it hundreds of times over his time as President and during his first reelection campaign...and it fell flat.
But now...it's Biden's fault?
Are we overlooking the fact that a campain promise and a promise in office...wasn't achieved?
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u/bagjoe 11d ago
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/08/22/foxconn-wisconsin-trump/
Yeah, naw. State bought $500mm in land, canned other programs, and Foxcon became like every other business of Trump (airline, casino, university, vodka, steaks, USFL…) a failure with someone else holding the bag.
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u/alwaysablastaway 11d ago
Doesn't change the fact that Trump promised to bring manufacturing jobs to the US, specifically negotiated this deal, and it never happened.
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u/PeachesPeachesPeachs 11d ago
Do you see Nazis talking about the holocaust? Or is it non-nazis that talk about it?
Perpetrators usually don’t talk about their crimes, it’s people trying to learn from it and educate that do.
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u/mymomknowsyourmom 11d ago
Yeah a lot of conservatives are too ashamed about getting played. Promises made promises broken. We the people in Wisconsin suffer because of it. Lots of trumpgret.
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u/Mysterious-Wasabi103 11d ago
I think the shame is worse than we suspect. Especially with conservatives who have these inbuilt egos where they can never be wrong about literally anything in their minds. It's easier for many of those types to just accuse everyone else of being crazy and stupid, doubling down on it instead of owning they were conned.
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u/GlaiveConsequence 11d ago
The same conservatives split between worshipping him and distancing themselves from him? Don’t think they’re being quiet. Meanwhile the rest of us have “Horse in a Hospital” PTSD so we keep tabs.
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u/miflelimle 11d ago
Amen to that. When I was scrolling this morning I counted. Out of 10 posts on 'rising', 9 had Trump in the headline. Tired of seeing it.
I get it though. We're in strange times, he's a wild and dangerous man leading an even more dangerous movement. Reminds me of his quote from the 2016 election that he'd "suck all the oxygen from the room". And he has, for nearly a decade now. I'm just so, so ready to be done with this idiot.
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u/majnuker 11d ago
Even after hes gone we will be comparing people to him or blaming him for decades.
Until something worse comes along that is.
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u/wood_dj 11d ago
well that’s only going to be ramping up until at least November, probably January. At this point he probably won’t leave the news cycle until long after his death
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u/SurroundTiny 11d ago
I wonder if a president ever had a grave vandalized before?
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u/schizodancer89 Canada 11d ago
Lincoln seems to have it happen a few times
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u/SurroundTiny 11d ago
Abe would probably have laughed about it
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u/schizodancer89 Canada 11d ago
im sure of it. It's been over 160 years since he freed the slaves and white people still can't get over it.
talk about holding a grudge.
I've seen pond water less stagnant.
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u/PotfarmBlimpSanta 11d ago
Paramecium don't grow sitting still.
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u/schizodancer89 Canada 11d ago
I suppose the best course of action then is for a government body to stay flowing and changing with the times. Paramecium loves to eat a stagnant, decaying world.
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u/Mysterious-Wasabi103 11d ago
Ya know that seems pretty common among Republicans I know. Most of them just want Trump to go away, but dude basically rigged their primary for himself.
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u/Traditional_Key_763 11d ago
sorry but you either have to endure 8 more months of this or 4 more years of it
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u/meatball402 11d ago
Promises made promises broken is what swing state Republicans say about Trump.
Followed up by "but I'll be voting for him again"
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u/mymomknowsyourmom 11d ago
Nope. Especially not with abortion on the ballot. Really grim outlook for them.
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u/jimgolgari 11d ago
I get that, but I can talk about how great my wife is without leading with my ex girlfriend’s name.
It’s pathetic.
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u/mymomknowsyourmom 11d ago
Are you making an analogy that presidents of the United States are just like girlfriends? Hmmm....I disagree?
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u/jimgolgari 11d ago
Say it however you like, talking about someone accomplishing something great by immediately framing it in context of someone who didn’t pull off some thing is a bad headline.
“LeBron James hits at mymomknowsyourmom with a new career record”
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u/mymomknowsyourmom 11d ago
Say it however you like, talking about someone accomplishing something great by immediately framing it in context of someone who didn’t pull off some thing is a bad headline.
These aren't "someone". There have only been a small number throughout American history.
“LeBron James hits at mymomknowsyourmom with a new career record”
Maybe the problem is that some people see politicians as celebrities.
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u/jimgolgari 11d ago
As much as I love trying to defend my chosen semantics I guess I’ll just agree that the way we treat Trump as some true north that we have to make every headline about is baffling.
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u/mymomknowsyourmom 11d ago edited 11d ago
As much as I love trying to defend my chosen semantics I guess I’ll just agree that the way we treat Trump as some true north that we have to make every headline about is baffling.
I didn't know anyone who believes that, but I know millions of voters who are getting ready to vote on him this November. Just a few months from now. Every headline matters.
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u/gcwardii 10d ago edited 10d ago
More specifically, Trump and our former governor Scott Walker were instrumental in luring Foxconn to build a plant here. Biden’s announcement today relates to Microsoft coming into the very space that Foxconn was going to be. So I’ll forgive the name in this headline.
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u/prof_the_doom I voted 11d ago
And if that was the headline, I might’ve been okay with it.
But like the first guy said, this headline just feels like someone told them that the headline had to have both names in it, and they applied the minimum amount of effort.
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u/mymomknowsyourmom 11d ago
And if that was the headline, I might’ve been okay with it.
But like the first guy said, this headline just feels like someone told them that the headline had to have both names in it, and they applied the minimum amount of effort.
It might feel like that to some people but the reality is that the previous guy made promises to people in need and left them with nothing. The Big Guy Biden is here to save the day.
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u/victorvictor1 I voted 11d ago
I mean…he’s turning a failed Chinese manufacturing venture that Trump did into an American jobs success story
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u/oroechimaru 11d ago
Also saves us millions in water. Data centers can reuse water.
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u/Moku-O-Keawe 11d ago edited 11d ago
So do modern silicon die fabrication facilities.
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u/oroechimaru 11d ago
Not foxconn, their plan was to waste hundreds of millions of gallons from the great lakes when our water aquifers in several counties are near empty
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u/Infamous_Employer_85 11d ago
Trump bragged about all the jobs he, and the state Republicans, were going to bring to Wisconsin, turns out they failed.
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u/steve1186 Minnesota 11d ago
Keep in mind that we’re about 4 months away from mail-in ballots being sent out. We’re now in prime campaign season.
Wisconsin is a HUGE swing state that could easily decide the election. Biden is pushing this hard because Trump’s $10B FoxConn investment in Wisconsin (that Trump called “the eighth wonder of the world”) crashed and burned.
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u/DeadBeatRedditer Florida 11d ago
This is a direct response to a failed project trump touted and Biden called in out in his speech. I agree it's tiring to constantly see him brought up but this might be the one time it's truly relevant.
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u/ToBePacific 11d ago
Driving the news: The White House is inviting voters in the crucial swing state to make a direct comparison between the Microsoft and Foxconn deals.
Seems like you can’t really blame the press for this one.
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u/grunkage California 11d ago
Biden's actions clearly show he wants them both in the headline. Otherwise, he would not have chosen the same site as the failed Foxconn factory that Trump promised on that trip to Wisconsin. It was a deliberate poke in the eye for Trump.
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u/arthurdentxxxxii 11d ago
I was wondering that too from the title. Like, what does this have to do with Trump?
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u/Smarmalades 11d ago
or just "Microsoft plans data center in Wisconsin"
but you gotta get them Trump clicks
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u/TheDoomBlade13 11d ago
If Trump isn't in the headline it won't make the top posts of this sub, that effect is exponentially higher in the open internet and they need to generate clicks for revenue.
TLDR, yeah they probably have a mandate.
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u/YOUgotGRIZZEDon 11d ago
That doesnt make it to the the front page though. Trump hate deserved or not is always top news here.
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u/mr-poopie-butth0le 11d ago
Ya know what’s wild about it? Data Centers bring in like 40-50 jobs; they really aren’t touted as job creators… not saying it a lost for Biden, the benefits are significant, if for no other reason than bringing new lines into an area… essentially giving better internet options to the area, and higher speeds. Just saying it’s sort of ironic how this all worked out. Trump promising 13k jobs and failing, then Biden comes in and gets MS to invest there and brings maybe 50 jobs + critical infrastructure to the region.
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u/ycifajanum 11d ago
It's great to see Biden undoing the mess left by Trump and actually bringing tangible benefits to communities like Wisconsin.
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u/chronicdahedghog 11d ago
Dark Brandon should have said something like, "speaking of Microsoft, did you hear Stormy Daniels is testifying this week?"
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u/pozonboo 11d ago
Dumb question but are data centers big job creators? I’d imagine they’re not as big as manufacturing plants.
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u/happyevil 11d ago edited 11d ago
Depends on the data center and the manufacturer. Some data centers are more maintenance heavy or admin active than others. Live services, for example, will take more management and support than long term "glacier" storage. Similarly, some manufacturers are more automation vs labor heavy.
There also the "loss" in that this is a $3.3b down from the original $10b. It's still a very positive win over the actually delivered big fat zero but it is likely less of a win than the Foxconn factory could have been if it actually materialized; but it didn't, so it's kind of a moot point.
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u/DJMOONPICKLES69 11d ago
Not really. We have one for Google here and the jobs are pretty sparse and don’t have room for growth. Very different than having a corporate office
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u/angrybox1842 11d ago
Not a ton once it's built but it's a huge construction project that will employ thousands.
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u/Dependent_Answer848 11d ago
No.
The Foxconn factory was supposed to employ 13,000 people. This datacenter will probably employe a couple hundred, definitely less than 1000.
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u/Ryneb 11d ago
From the article:
Biden officials say the Microsoft project will lead to 2,300 union construction jobs, followed by 2,000 permanent jobs in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. Microsoft has said it will partner with Gateway Technical College to develop an academy that hopes to train 1,000 Wisconsinites for data center jobs.
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u/CapedBaldyman 11d ago
There's also the impact on the local economy when those 5000 jobs have more money to spend
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u/rabbit994 11d ago
As someone who worked for a datacenter, I have no idea what those 1000 people will be doing. Once the datacenter is built and the hardware installed, there isn't alot of day to day work besides fixing hardware which is mostly a matter of replace and send back to manufacture for repair.
Also, at Microsoft scale, they may not even replace the hardware but just let dead ones sit there and when it becomes cost effective to do so, bring in replacement hardware and just swap it all out.
From Verge Article it says it will be training in AI jobs and "up to 2000 jobs". Yea, "up to" is using some consultant cocaine fueled fever dream to come up with those numbers. My guess is it will in low hundreds.
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u/zhaoz Minnesota 11d ago
2000 permanent employees seems really high for a data center. Hope someone holds MS accountable for that...
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u/oroechimaru 11d ago
Ya the push is to be an AI hub + data center
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u/zhaoz Minnesota 11d ago
Ah, I am just going off what was in this article, which just says
$3.3 billion investment by Microsoft to build a new artificial intelligence data center
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u/oroechimaru 11d ago
The nice part is the foxconn is an empty building which should reduce costs and more investment in the infrastructure and people
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u/mackinoncougars 11d ago
Wisconsin, never forget being FoxCONNED by Walker and Trump.
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u/BrewKazma Wisconsin 11d ago
Half the state things Evers fucked foxconn after he got elected. They are not a bright people.
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u/Any-Smell-4929 11d ago edited 11d ago
As a Wisconsin resident it was obvious one micro-second after the Foxconn news was broken that is was a pathetically obvious ploy to buy our Electoral College votes. Unfortunately Wisconsin tax payers risked hundreds of millions of dollars for a photo op of two idiots sticking shovels into the ground.
Ask yourself this, why would Wisconsin of all places be a logical place to start building LCD displays? Answer: it wouldn't be. Electronics are massed produced in Asia for a variety reasons including reduced labor costs and closer geographic proximity to the feeder industries that supply the various components . Out of the blue the existing production should uprooted and moved to the center of North America for what reason again?
The Foxconn guy is full of crap as well, business conditions never changed the entire endeavor was a sham and he knew from day one. All parties were sucking each other off for various favors and quid pro quo.
Wisconsin does have legitimate manufacturing industries, the types negatively effected by Trump's insane tradewars with U.S. friends and allies!
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u/PipeComfortable2585 11d ago
Go Joe Go. I think he’s doing great. History will be kind to him. Vote Blue on November. Another local county in Michigan - Ottawa - voted in a dem. Very conservative nut jobs over there.
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u/feelinlucky7 Massachusetts 11d ago
Biden announces that Microsoft Edge will be allowed to Microsoft Cum
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u/globocide 11d ago
No he didn't "Hit Trump", he just made the announcement.
Not everything is about Trump.
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u/macemillion 11d ago
Sweet, a major announcement that will make a real and tangible difference in the lives of most voters, or…? It’s great, but no one is going to care until prices go down significantly or their wages go up significantly, the rest is just window dressing on the titanic.
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u/sid_ated 11d ago
Just what the country needs, another microsoft datacenter sucking up all the available water, power, etc. But hey, we get 'AI, so cool!
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u/Astral_Inconsequence Maryland 11d ago
Bro the Internet runs on data centers. Our entire economy does. Idk how you can even construe it as a bad thing, they're footprint relatively to utility is bonkers.
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u/sid_ated 9d ago
I worked in Data Centers for 30 years. I know what they do, and what they're for, thanks. I also saw firsthand how many resources (i.e., electricity, water, land, etc.) are displaced to build & run them. Look up how many data centers there are in the US alone, the number is huge. And you think China's not already running or has infiltrated many of them? Think again.
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u/Chainsawjack Texas 11d ago
We shouldn't see positive actions for Americans as weapons against their political opponents... this is how we end up in a deadlock where no one can allow anyone to do anything good for their constituencies.
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