During this most historic election season which has finally come to a close, technology issues had taken a back seat in the 2008 presidential election, since so much has been at stake in the direction of the U.S. economy, health care system, and energy policies.

There is no doubt that given the fact that the Obama campaign embraced and utilized technology to the most effective level that has ever been seen in American politics, he has more than demonstrated his interest and respect in technology, and how it can assist culture and economics.

In addition, he has expressed plans to appoint the nation’s very first Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Obama has indicated that he and his team desire to apply what they have learned about technology, to government, in terms of electronic communications.

There is still a host of critical technology concerns at play in Washington, and Barack Obama will have the opportunity to significantly influence the direction and development of U.S. technology, as well as all of the major implications. Below is a list of some of the more challenging aspects of the technology sector, that President Obama and the U.S. government will be facing in the years ahead.

1. Green technology. One of the cornerstones of Barack Obama’s platform was the intention to invest capital into alternative energy sources. While the current economic downturn may limit private donors and venture capitalists on a certain level, most are hopeful that this will change, so that tax and federal government funds will be not be relied upon too heavily, to stimulate growth in this direction.

Before the severe economic downturn, Obama repeatedly stated that energy independence would be the top priority of his administration. His plans included the creation of five million new “green collar” jobs in a new alternative energy industry to be funded with a $150 billion investment over 10 years. That investment would in turn stimulate private investment in a future powered by clean energy. He also planned to make energy efficiency and conservation a national priority.

The Obama administration will hopefully recognize the current market opportunities and determine that the U.S. should innovate and invest for the future of energy conservation and the development of alternative energy sources to oil. This will better push the U.S. toward a global leadership position.

2. Net Neutrality. As a hotbed of controversy, the ideal of net neutrality was the cause issue celeb for quite some time during 2006-2007. After initial legislation lost, the issue of Net Neutrality managed to fade from the forefront, as more pressing issues came into focus. President Elect Obama has been an unwavering supporter of Net Neutrality, his campaign having remarked, ‘’A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.’’

Not only did Obama visit the Google campus to emphasize his position, but based on the above, Obama is very unlikely to change his stance. In addition, his first sponsored bill that became law was “Google for Government.”

3. Health Care System. Another of the cornerstones of the Obama campaign was the revamping of the United States’ failed heath care system. Instituting electronic medical records as a key part of the health care plan – predominantly as a way to drive efficiency, further demonstrates how his administration will enable technology toward positive uses.

4. Research and Development. The U.S. research and development tax credit expired in December 2007 for the 13th time since 1981. Congress extended the basic R and D tax credit through 2009. However, lawmakers are resistant to making it permanent. It is imperative that companies such as Apple, Microsoft, Google and all other tech innovators that are relied upon to export American technologies throughout the world, are supported, so that the U.S. can remain a primary source of technology innovation.

To that end, Obama's campaign material states, “Barack Obama wants investments in a skilled research and development workforce and technology infrastructure to be supported here in America so that American workers and communities will benefit. Obama and Biden want to make the Research and Development tax credit permanent so that firms can rely on it when making decisions to invest in domestic R&D over multi-year timeframes.”

5. H1B Visas. The K-12 education system in the U.S. continues to struggle to keep up with the rest of the world. However, the U.S. higher education systems remain competitive enough to attract many of the world’s most talented scholars. The H1B Visa program continues to help keep many of those students in the U.S. after graduation, by providing them with Visas if they take jobs in the country.

While Obama did not emphasize an H1B Visa policy, he has stated that ‘’I will support a temporary increase in the H-1B visa program as a stopgap measure until we can reform our immigration system comprehensively. I support comprehensive immigration reform that includes improvement in our visa programs, including our legal permanent resident visa programs and temporary programs including the H-1B program, to attract some of the world’s most talented people to America. We should allow immigrants who earn their degrees in the U.S. to stay, work, and become Americans over time.’’

6. Broadband. The affordability of high-speed broadband has continued to elude the U.S., due to complications such as its widespread geography, as well as policies and regulations. Because Broadband Internet is a major economic enabler, it could find more serious and proactive policies from Washington in the near future.

Obama’s official statement is “As a country, we have ensured that every American has access to telephone service and electricity, regardless of economic status, and I will do likewise for broadband Internet access. Full broadband penetration can enrich democratic discourse, enhance competition, provide economic growth, and bring significant consumer benefits. Moreover, improving our infrastructure will foster competitive markets for Internet access and services that ride on that infrastructure. Market forces will drive the deployment of broadband in many parts of the country, but not all. To get true broadband deployed in every community in America, we need to reform the Universal Service Fund, make better use of the nation’s wireless spectrum, promote next-generation facilities, technologies, and applications, and provide new tax and loan incentives.”

With all that the U.S. faces, it will be interesting to see how the Obama presidency ultimately deals with each issue, and how it affects important technical issues that are facing the nation, and the world.

What do you think? How will the Obama presidency and administration, effect the technological trends as to the future development of legislative, regulatory, and investment issues that will affect, in the years ahead, affect the technology sector?

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Published on: 2008-11-05 (4902 reads)