Prevailing

Much of that investment is being targeted to certain areas of the country. Some see a “battery belt” that stretches through Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, down through Kentucky, and across Tennessee, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

These projects also bring high-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year college degree, potentially rebuilding the middle class and helping to narrow wealth and income gaps. But it could also boost inflation in the near term, as finding skilled labor poses one of the biggest challenges to industrial policy. The IRA, for example, requires workers and subcontractors hired on projects to be paid the prevailing wages and benefits in that area for a specific position. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing has delayed production in its Arizona chip plant to 2025 because of difficulty finding skilled workers.
–Barron’s