In a time when other political candidates are polishing their golf clubs in Scotland – or rather have other people polish them, and describe Brexit as a “great thing”, Hillary Clinton announced her tech agenda. Friendly for the commercial technology sector – with better incentives for startups, improved tech education, and upgraded tech infrastructure, the agenda also focuses on continuing the Obama administration’s tech plans.
Focus points of the tech plan
High profile tech jobs – Clinton’s plan will leverage technology to create good-paying jobs on Main Street—through new commitments in computer science and STEM education, support for entrepreneurial ecosystems, and other policies to build the human capital pipeline.
High-speed broadband for everybody – Delivering high-speed broadband to everyone seems to be on most agendas these days and for good reason. Hillary Clinton’s plan aims to deliver this service to all Americans, hook up public places like airports and stations—and enable them to offer free WiFi—and lay the groundwork for the next generation of the mobile internet and the Internet of Things. Sounds ambitious, and it is.
Global leadership in technology – US is the global leader in technology for some time now, and the plan is to keep it this way by promoting more high-tech exports and ensuring the free flow of data.
Support for innovation – Rules that foster healthy competition, reduce barriers to entry, and effectively protect intellectual property—while safeguarding privacy and security.
Smarter government – It’s no secret that the US government needs to become more efficient, and more responsive, using new technologies to deliver real results for the American people. Too many times have others proven just how fragile the tech infrastructure is because it still uses ancient systems.
The tech economy
Entrepreneurship and innovation are fundamental to our future economic growth—not just in the information technology (IT) industry, but in energy, manufacturing, transportation, health, retail, services, and countless other sectors. New technologies are already transforming our economy, and they have the power to generate trillions in economic output. In her tech plan, Hillary Clinton says we must harness these forces so that they create higher-paying jobs across the country, bring more people into the workforce, and reduce inequality.
“To do this, we need to educate our people and train our workforce; support entrepreneurship and promote inclusion in the digital economy; attract and retain talented people from all over the world; and invest in research and development, as well as in getting ideas to market,” shows the initiative.
This part is practically music to Silicon Valley’s ears, but it doesn’t stop here. If the US is to keep the global tech leader spot, an important focus has to be on the technology exports. At the moment, the US leads the world in technology exports, including in information technology hardware, software, and services. Hillary Clinton’s plan is to continue to fight for American exports abroad—as she did during her tenure as Secretary of State—to support jobs and innovation here at home.
To prevent foreign countries from abusing the rules and taking advantage of American workers and businesses, she plans to advance the Export Control Reform, pursue policies to protect U.S. trade secrets and IP, and resist calls for forced tech transfer or localization of data. She will also build on the Obama Administration’s efforts to stop China’s cyber-enabled economic espionage and ensure that China adheres to its international commitments. And she will oppose trade agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, unless they meet her high test of creating good-paying American jobs, raising incomes, and enhancing our national security.
At the moment, the immigration system is plagued by visa backlogs and other barriers that prevent high-skilled workers and entrepreneurs from coming to, staying in, and creating jobs in America. The US still attracts top talent from around the world, but far too often, the authoritie require talented persons from other countries who are trained in U.S. universities to return home, rather than stay and continue to contribute to the US economy. As part of a comprehensive immigration solution, Hillary Clinton wants to “staple” a green card to STEM masters and PhDs from accredited institutions—enabling international students who complete degrees in these fields to move to green card status. Hillary also shows support in the tech plan to “start-up” visas that allow top entrepreneurs from abroad to come to the United States, build companies in technology-oriented globally traded sectors, and create more jobs and opportunities for American workers. Immigrant entrepreneurs would have to obtain a commitment of financial support from U.S. investors before obtaining the visa, and would have to create a certain number of jobs and reach performance benchmarks in order to pursue a green card.
Hillary Clinton’s tech agenda has been described as a love letter to Silicon Valley, and that’s exactly what it looks like. The tech support has just taken an important shift in the presidential race.
