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Current Issue Which of the two presidential candidates would be better for the technolo gy economy? On the one hand, President Bush seems to have a more holistic view of a w orld in which technology is an integral part. When he talked about healt h care Wednesday night, for instance, he noted that we can achieve major improvements if we leverage IT.
compared to other industries in America," he said, correctly and with apparent passion. Bush has also talked in the d ebates about the use of technology in warfare as one of the reasons he t hinks we can avoid the need for another draft. It's true that people are being replaced with machines, and in general, that's good, though I, fo r one, am not in the camp that says a war is OK so long as American troo ps aren't dying. But President Bush also made one of the most egregiously revealing verbal errors of the three debates when he spoke in the second one, again refe rring to the draft, about "talk on the Internets" that a draft was comin g Does this guy even use the web? Speaking of "Internets" shows, if not hing else, that Bush is not in touch with the realities of today's techn ology usage. It does not bode well for his ability to formulate subtle a nd appropriate policies relevant to this burgeoning sector of our econom y "Saturday Night Live" made great hay out of this mistake, having Bush continue by saying the real problem may be that we have so many Interne ts. If Kerry believes technology is a key issue for the US economy and cult ure, on the other hand, you sure wouldn't know it from the debates. Asid e from a couple of vague references, he didn't address the topic. But hi s campaign website includes a platform page devoted to science and techn ology. It promises "funding for K-12 math and science education and long -term research" and says, referring to broadband, that since the US is 10th worldwide in penetration, "John Kerry and John Edwards will wire e very corner of America." President Bush's online platform has no section specifically devoted to t echnology. The whole website is much more oriented toward exhortation an d cheerleading and promotes policy matters significantly less than does Kerry's site. But there is a list of tech leaders who have endorsed Bush . They include Michael Dell, Meg Whitman, Craig McCaw, John Chambers, Ji m Barksdale, and Carol Bartz. But in a press release, Dell talks about B ush's "optimism," and Chambers praises his "steady leadership." The release does note that the Presi dent "cares about... Kerry has not assembled a comparably stellar group of technology-executive support ers, though he was endorsed by 48 Nobel Prize-winning scientists. But the fact is they don't play up any of the tech-related stuff, becau se neither of them really seems to care or know much about it. Last week at the Vortex enterprise technology conference in Santa Barbara , one entire session was devoted to a discussion of the campaign and tec hnology policy. While the group seemed to tilt strongly toward Kerry, th e reasons seemed to have little to do with tech. The business technologi sts and investors in the audience seemed to like Kerry mostly for his ea gerness to work with other countries around the world and improve the im age of the US This matters in our very global industry. But like many Kerry supporters, what motivated many was more a distaste for Bush than an enthusiasm for Kerry. Many object to the administration's policies on global warming and stem cell research, seeing them as indicating a fund amentally anti-science stance. Many also seemed outraged over what they see as Bush's ineffective policies and actions in Iraq. But the best anybody could come up with directly related to tech was that Kerry would push to build out broadband. He's proposed tax incentives f or companies that invest in next-generation broadband, and promises gove rnment funds to extend access to underserved rural and inner city areas. Some at Vortex also believed Kerry would appoint an FCC chairman who wo uld work to restrain regional telecom monopolies better than Chairman Mi chael Powell has under Bush. Others, even some who support Kerry, counte red that Powell has shown a tremendous openness to new technologies, and that his belief that technological change will likely ease the strangle hold of the telcos seems reasonable with all the new developments in Wi- Fi, power line delivery of broadband, etc. Kerry's "Benedict Arnold CEOs" line hurt him with this crowd. A number of wealthy tech-industry Democrats have supported Kerry only tepidly becau se of what they see as his pandering on the issue of offshoring. In tech the general view is that acquiring resources, including talent and labo r, where they are most affordable is both inevitable and beneficial for the ability of companies, particularly startup companies, to grow quickl y One Bush supporter at Vortex stood up to say he thought his man was a big ger free-trader than Kerry. Neither Bush nor Kerry is really strong on free trade, even though Bush mouths more words about it. Nobody at Vortex made a convincing argument that either candidate would r eally make a big difference for tech. But this industry has shown it can do pretty well without much government help or guidance. Maybe the fact that neither man is much engaged is, in the end, a good thing.
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When you press the "Post My Message" butto n, you are agreeing to accept and follow the terms of the agreement. com 10/15 17:40 John Kerry seems to be more "conventional", more focused on tax managemen t regarding the working class. Bush is more focussed on fighting terror and pumping oil. I'd say Bush would have an impact on energy technologies, prefering oil t echnologies. I don't think any of Bush or Kerry will have a major impact.
DSTER 10/15 17:46 When our children are out in Iraq dying for Weapons of Mass Destruction t hat do not exist, I wonder if we will be worried about e-mailing our fri ends?
John 10/15 18:12 I believe if George Bush had done his job for the people he would not hav e to be traveling constantly to make his record known. His record would be known to all the Americans if it was one of substance , but "Hello" what is his record?
Elizabeth Matarese 10/15 19:52 Probably in assessing the presidential candidates it would be noteworthy to look at their academic records. Bush has touted his C- standing and s mirked about having made it all the way to the white house anyway. just from the rema rks we have heard him make about stem cell research, about broad band, a nd about other types of research. Bush's popularity among the populace is attributable to the vast number o f C- students we have in the States.
We should not roll bact the Tax breaks on this group s ince a majority of marriage households find it nescessary to maiintain t heir Mortgages,Health Care, Transportation, Childcare, Local Taxes and f ees, Food, Church, and Vacation.
Brian 10/15 21:48 I think although neither candidate goes into much detail on the subject; technology and science are inherently at odds with religion. Bush's admi nistration has invoked the name of god in many of their policies, includ ing Bush himself saying that the administration was guided by god. This to me is directly at odds with technology and scientific advancements. Bush has limited the lines to those that ar e contaminated; not to mention he claims he is the first president to al low stem-cell research, well albeit that is true, it shows how out of to uch he is with technology. Stem-cell research wasn't available till Clin ton was a lame-duck president, and really couldn't have done anything ab out it anyways.
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