Barack Obama is courting Silicon Valley today, and paying a visit to Google. So what better time to release his technology platform? Some highlights:
Supports Net Neutrality (Google will like this plank. But Obama also argues for it on the grounds of protecting free speech. Interesting.)
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. Users must be free to access content, to use applications, and to attach personal devices. . . . Because most Americans only have a choice of only one or two broadband carriers, carriers are tempted to impose a toll charge on content and services, discriminating against websites that are unwilling to pay for equal treatment. . . . Such a result would threaten innovation, . . .. It would also threaten the equality of speech through which the Internet has begun to transform American political and cultural discourse.
Wants to Beef Up Digital Privacy Protections (watch out advertisers and government surveillance agencies):
As president, Barack Obama will strengthen privacy protections for the digital age and will harness the power of technology to hold government and business accountable for violations of personal privacy.
Wants to Push Electronic Health Records (Smart):
Barack Obama will invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based electronic health information systems, including electronic health records.
Pour Money Into Clean Energy (John Doerr will like the sound of this):
Barack Obama will invest $150 billion over the next ten years to enable American engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs to advance the next generation of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid. This investment will transform the economy and create millions of new jobs. Obama will:
o Double federal science and research funding for clean energy projects, relying on the resources and ability of our national laboratories, universities and land grant colleges.
o Invest in the development of the next generation of biofuels, including cellulosic ethanol.
o Increase the resources devoted to the commercialization and deployment of low-carbon coal technologies.
o Create a Clean Technologies Deployment Venture Capital Fund, funded by an annual $10 billion investment for five years, to ensure that promising technologies move beyond the lab and are commercialized in the U.S.
o Use innovative measures to dramatically improve the energy efficiency and stability of our economy and improve our national energy intensity 50 percent by 2030.
o Invest in a digital smart energy grid.
Calling for Open Government (open data, open access, open participation):
Technology-enabled citizen participation . . . can help connect government to its citizens and engage citizens in a democracy. Barack Obama will use the most current technological tools available to make government less beholden to special interest groups and lobbyists and promote citizen participation in government decision-making. Obama will integrate citizens into the actual business of government by:
—Establishing pilot programs to open up government decision-making and involve the public in the work of agencies, not simply by soliciting opinions, but by tapping into the vast and distributed expertise of the American citizenry to help government make more informed decisions.
—Lifting the veil from secret deals in Washington with a web site, a search engine, and other web tools that enable citizens easily to track online federal grants, contracts, earmarks, and lobbyist contacts with government officials.
—Giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days before signing any non-emergency legislation.
Immigration Reform (hints at expanding the number of H1-B visas the U.S. gives out, but can’t quite bring himself to say it, weak):
We should allow immigrants who earn their degrees in the U.S. to stay, work, and become Americans over time. And we should examine our ability to increase the number of permanent visas we issue to foreign skilled workers.
Patent Reform (promises more money for the Patent Office and citizen reviews—we need this):
Giving the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) the resources to improve patent quality and opening up the patent process to citizen review will reduce the uncertainty and wasteful litigation that is currently a significant drag on innovation.
Wants to “Appoint the Nation’s First Chief Technology Officer (CTO)”—Not clear if this would be a new cabinet position.
Make the R&D Tax Credit Permanent (good for startups).
And Broadband For All:
As a country, we have ensured that every American has access to telephone service and electricity, regardless of economic status, and Obama will do likewise for broadband Internet access.
This includes looking at how the government allocates wireless spectrum:
Obama will demand a review of existing uses of our wireless spectrum. He will create incentives for smarter, more efficient and more imaginative use of government spectrum and new standards for commercial spectrum to bring affordable broadband to rural communities that previously lacked it. He will ensure that we have enough spectrum for police, ambulances and other public safety purposes.
That last plank meshes with Google’s interests as well vis-a-vis its proposals for the upcoming wireless spectrum auctions.
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So, when is Techcrunch going to interview Obama about technology issues?
i love the “Barak Obama will invest…..” Obama’s not investing anything. He’s “investing” our money in something and the quotes around investing are intentional. It makes him sound so generous with other people’s money. Something like, “Obama will waste $150 billion of coerced funds on………” would be more honest and appropriate.
Whats Ron Paul’s Stance?
I didn’t know it was a waste to research alternatives to oil. Thanks for clearing that up Mark.
what’d a I tell you! Obama understands the need for universal broadband access. John Edwards laughed off the idea a year ago.
and
“Obama’s proposal a few days ago for a clean technology venture capital fund, to be backed by a whopping $50 billion in federal funding for five years”
Holy hell, this man should be getting all of our support.
Don’t you all wish George Bush could just stay on for another 4 years?
I for one make money off his stupidness
@3…if you want to see Ron Paul’s stance go on Youtube and find his interview at Google.
The guy interviewing him says that he generated the most excitement among Google staff
Hey AhmedF, if it’s such a sure bet, you’re certainly welcome to invest your own money, as is anyone else. But when someone decides to spend your money on something you wouldn’t rationally spend it on yourself, that’s not investing. That’s nowhere near investing.
There are people researching oil alternatives all the time, with their own money. I would be willing to guess, spending their own money as opposed to ‘investing’ someone else’s, that they may be more efficient at it than government.
But hey, yeah, maybe you’re right, government certainly wouldn’t waste any money. They have such built-in incentives to save and all, it’s not like they’ll just get the money again next year.
@Shane
Explain more about how you know universal broadband access is a ‘need’. What ‘need’ does it fulfill for my Mom, or for the other hundreds of millions of people you don’t know in this country?
And calling anything a government ‘venture capital’ fund is a disgusting distortion. There’s nothing ‘ventured’ at all. Venture capital works because it is real money, owned by real people, that don’t want to lose it. What incentive is there for government to make good investments as opposed to investments that get them voters? Why is this not more accurately just called pork?
Holy hell, this man can have your support. I prefer to make decisions for myself.
So when dose Google have to pay “windfall profits tax”?
“If elected high school president I will invest in free soda for all!”
Ventures are acccountable by government transparency and competing bids. What a surprise, that’s part of his plan too.
Just curious, who do you support Morgan. Ron Paul?
@Morgan
and the need is for youths growing up in rural areas that only get access to the internet at school (if that). No offense, but we need to aim for the youth and full connectivity, not your mom being able to sign onto AOL.
trying to appeal to youth huh.
George Bush is the best gift for America
Ah right Morgan - I forgot the government is evil. Except when it suits your purposes?
Part of my taxes will be going into that $50 billion. I don’t mind that - in fact I like it. I’d rather it go there than in the many other ways money can be wasted.
I am an undecided voter at this point, but I have to say, going down that list, I like every point. I think the renewable money should be doubled, but I won’t quibble.
I think the plus side here is the transparency. Your tax dollars are going to get spent, and you do not really have much of a choice if they are “rationally” spent or not (outside of the democratic process). Would you “rationally” spend your money building a bridge 1500 miles from your house? Probably not, but if you are a U.S. citizen, you did anyway. At the very least, making this sort of thing transparent will inform your participation in the democratic process.
The other plus side here is the very fact that there is a platform, and it at least appears to empower U.S. citizens long-term in addition to addressing serious short-term concerns.
@AhmedF
Part of your taxes? What if it’s more of your taxes? There’s a need to keep government in check because there’s a need to prioritize what’s a necessity and what’s not.
On another point, the President is not in anyway authorized to spend money. Every penny he spends has to be approved by Congress. So even if Obama says he wants to, (much like how Paul wants to get rid of the IRS), there’ll be heavy resistance along the way.
Barack ill certainly lose this primary, but I do think he’s a breath of fresh air. Just a realist, Hillary without competition.
http://www.whatshottoday.com
Obama is hands down the most lucid, honest, forward thinking candidate out here and has the potential to be the greatest leader of this generation. It is incredibly frustrating that there is so much debate about this.
If he can bring broadband to rural areas like mine. I’ll vote.
Tax reform first and foremost.
Then all these handouts he proposes will have to come from somewhere instead of the nebulous like how it works now.
Fred Thompson for me…
* Fundamental tax reform built on the principles of simplicity, fairness, and growth.
* A new tax code that gets the government out of our citizens’ pocketbooks, while enhancing U.S. competitiveness abroad.
* Dissolution of the IRS as we know it.
Yes Alaska I’m well aware that an entity called ‘Congress’ exists. Thank you for the quick lesson on Politics 101.
Yes the government needs to be kept in check. Yes I believe there is a lot of wasteful spending. But at the same time, government R&D has yielded huge returns. From NASA to the good ol ARPANET, those were government-funded (ie ‘your’ dollars) programs that have resulted in huge technological advancements.
So in that same way - is spending money for R&D into energy solutions a good usage? Yes. And thus it works for me.
If you do want to complain about wasteful tax, I would suggest going after the amazing farm bill
@Morgan
Morgan meet Dawson.
great this is interresting !
Erick, is TechCrunch going to officially endorse a candidate? If not, you all should consider it, even if it’s just personal endorsements.
He gets my vote because of the “standards” approach to health care info. That is hopefully a start to 1/3rd of the solution. NO politician gets it (or really cares). Health care is not an issue of lack of insurance, but of extreme market inefficiencies, and stupefying manufacturing process inefficiencies (it really is a manufacturing process). Three steps needed to start to fix it: 1) One published price for service for all buyser (MRP for insurers and cash buyers), 2) One form for reimbursement (do we need 1500+ forms for one standard function), and 3) Some measure of quality of service. The latter is harder, so maybe just the first two initially. If Obama’s push for standardization of info means we get #2, then we take one small step toward 1/3rd of the solution. I know it is not much to go on, but it is a lot more than any other candidate has offered other than “throw more money into the pit” via universal coverage, etc.
Did you really use the phrase “vis-a-vis”?
Obama in 2008!!! The true definition of a ‘game-changer’…
@anon
“Health care is not an issue of lack of insurance, but of extreme market inefficiencies”
i would hardly call health care a “market.”
@Erick Schonfeld (fake)
I support Obama and agree he has the most value as one of the presidential front-runners. I disagree with comment about frustration with debate. This is one of the leading reasons I support Obama, he encourages open conversation.
@All the Ron Paul Supporters,
Get over this guy, his policies work in theory, but we will never have a purely free market. Furthermore, his hands off approach is the reason for the great disparities between the rich and powerless. That said, if Ron Paul runs under the republican ticket, go for it! Stacked up against all other candidates, he’s the most viable republican. Thats not saying much…
@mark
Anytime there are servies bought and sold its a market…
Obama does seem to understand that more than most
Unbelievable, once again a rebuttal in the form of name defacing. Very mature…
Story has also been covered at Valley Virgin: http://valleyvirgin.blogspot.com/
Excellent post!
Could you please post this video too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFNt_pV2RNk
I think it’s a profound speech
I like the idea of a national CTO, but making it a cabinet position is overkill.
Priorities for the first 100 days of the national CTO:
- Complete Visio diagram of all U.S. computers connected to “The Internet”. Includes inventory of all computers with static IP addresses
- Produce whitepaper on U.S Government’s FaceBook strategy, including which apps they are planning to develop
- Revamp whitehouse.gov site, including:
- Finally build that Flash home page that Marketing has been wanting since
Clinton administration.
- Debate with Secretary of Treasury over plan to save Social Security by
including Google AdSense on new site
- Drop support for IE 3.0 and Netscape 2.0
- Take approximately 100 calls from Oracle sales rep
- Re-install Windows on that idiot Secretary of the Interior’s laptop
The longer Obama remains in the running, the longer European documentaries like Panorama can show us interviews with ordinary Americans saying “Obahma? I danno, sounds like Osahma to me, hur hur hur” (that is an exact quote from one such interview shown a few weeks ago) and we can all continue spewing tea into our croissants at the thought that these people have votes.
My favourite statistic from the campaign so far is that 85% of Americans would consider voting for a woman. The newspaper reporting this thought this represented progress. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look so great if you flip it on its head and realise that if you’re in a room with 20 Americans, 3 of them will be raving morons who somehow fell out of their cave in 10000 BC through a timewarp into the electorate of the most powerful nation on Earth.
P.S. Vis-a-vis is a perfectly acceptable word. It’s several characters shorter than “in regard to”.
America needs to get onboard with forward thinking leaders if our country plans to compete in the growing globalization market. Yes, the Internet has a lot of useless information; however, it can be powerful teaching tool and a source of liberation for many. Let’s remember, the point here is Technology and how it can be used to our advantage for the sharing and dissemination of information.
From the Local, State, and Federal level Government has always had some sort of disconnect with the people. We are the people and maybe it’s time for a different approach. I’m not advocating that Google & Obama have a monopoly for personal gains, but it would be great having access to what’s important to me 24/7. For example, true real-time feedback using secure online voting systems; remote monitoring of assisted living communities to prevent elder abuse; electronic mortgage applications to reduce the amount of wasted paper; discounted or free online learning courses for rural communities; etc.
If the end result can help humanity, then I would say Obama’s plan has potentially a good ROI.
I think the word “invest” needs to be clearly defined. When a politician takes from A to give to B, that is not an investment.
I think the best policy a politician can have toward technology is the one that has taken our great industry this far: “Leave it alone.”
You have a point Chris.
Most politicians don’t understand that the Internet is not a thing. It’s basically a holistic network of computing devices, applications, data stretched across LANS, VLANS, and WANS…
trying to appeal to youth huh
fuck this website!
Obama win!
Obama and Google win? 
charley is so racist