Presidential Thoughts on Innovation and Technology

Gordon Synder of Gordon's Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) Blog has a great post titled Obama on Technology and Innovation where Gordon summarizes Obama's policy. I have reproduced some of it here but check out the entire post.

1. Ensure the full and free exchange of information among Americans through an open Internet and diverse media outlets:

- Protect the Openness of the Internet.
- Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership
- Protect Our Children While Preserving the First Amendment
- Safeguard our Right to Privacy

2. Create a transparent and connected democracy:

- Open Up Government to its Citizens
- Bring Government into the 21st Century

3. Encourage the deployment of a modern communications infrastructure:

- Deploy Next-Generation Broadband

4. Employ technology and innovation to solve our nation’s most pressing problems, including reducing the costs of health care, encouraging the development of new clean energy sources, and improving public safety:

- Lower Health Care Costs by Investing in Electronic Information Technology Systems
- Invest in Climate-Friendly Energy Development and Deployment
- Upgrade Education to Meet the Needs of the 21st Century
( I like this one!)
- Create New Jobs
- Modernize Public Safety Networks

5. Improve America’s competitiveness.

- Invest in the Sciences
- Make the R&D Tax Credit Permanent
- Reform Immigration
- Promote American Businesses Abroad
- Ensure Competitive Markets
- Protect American Intellectual Property Abroad
- Protect Intellectual Property at Home
- Reform the Patent System

In the spirit of fairness and to help out Gordon, here is my summary of McCain's policy. If you don't like my summary, you can read the whole thing at John McCain's Technology page at his web site.

To maintain American leadership in the world, John McCain believes we must nurture the conditions under which entrepreneurs can prosper and the American people can reap the rewards.

1. Encourage investment in innovation by:

- Support Risk Capital For Investment In American Innovation
- Not Tax Innovation By Keeping Capital Gains Taxes Low
- Reform And Make Permanent The R&D Tax Credit
- Lower the Corporate Tax Rate To 25% To Retain Investment In U.S. Technologies
- Allow First-Year Expensing Of New Equipment And Technology
- Ensure Technology And Innovation Is Not Hampered By Taxes On Internet Users
- Opposes Higher Taxes On Wireless Services

2. Develop a skilled work force

- America Must Educate Its Workforce For The Innovation Age. He goes on to write that "America’s ability to compete in the global market is dependent on the availability of a skilled workforce. Less than 20 percent of our undergraduate students obtained degrees in math or science, and the number of computer science majors has fallen by half over the last eight years." (yeah, this does have to change).
-Fill Critical Shortages Of Skilled Workers To Remain Competitive

3. Champion open and fair trade:

- Supports Fair And Open World Trade
- Believes Competition Has Been A Great Strength For America — Offering Opportunity, Low Prices, And Increased Choice For Our Citizens
- Protect The Creative Industries From Piracy

4. Reform intellectual property protection (yes we don't want to end up like our friends up north) See Stephen' Downes Web Site for details on the issue of Bill C-61 which will lead to one of the most restrictive copyright laws for the digital environment in the world.

5. Protect Inventors Intellectual Property:

- Push For Greater Resources For The Patent Office
- Pursue Protection Of Intellectual Property Around The Globe
- Provide Alternative Approaches To Resolving Patent Challenges (so we can avoid another issue like some companies trying to patent e-learning...see Patent Office Rejects Blackboard's E-Learning Patent in Preliminary Ruling

6. Keep the Internet and entrepreneurs free of unnecessary regulation:

- Preserve Consumer Freedoms
- John McCain does not believe in prescriptive regulation like “net-neutrality" instead he believes when regulation is Warranted it should be enacted

7. Ensure that America is a Connected Nation:

- Pursue High-Speed Internet Access For All Americans
- Would Place A Priority On Science And Technology Experience
- Ensure That The Federal Government Led By Example (I am working with some Federal agencies in technology...not currently leading by example)
- Support The Federal Government As An Innovator with renewed emphasis on innovation through Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADAs)...CRADAs can be a good thing, I've seen them work with Kaplan-EduNeering.
- Make Sure that All Citizens Can Participate In The Technology Revolution.

Ok, enough for me if you want to learn more about John McCain's policies on ensuring the personal security and privacy of Americans in the digital age. Then Click Here.

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