Obama and Tech: Four More Chronological Years, 500 tech years - Shelly Palmer

The peaceful transition of power is an enduring unique and wondrous attribute of American Democracy Students of history know that back in 1796 when President George Washington decided to decline running for a third term he wrote a letter to America entitled quotThe Address of General Washington To The People of The United States on his declining of the Presidency of the United Statesquot President Washington39s retirement paved the way for a vicious political battle between the Federalists who favored John Adams and the Jeffersonians who were eponymously named for their candidateBack then the Constitution specified that the candidate with the most Electoral College votes should become President and the candidate with the second highest number of votes become VicePresident So Adams the Federalist with 71 Electoral votes became the 2nd President of the United States and Thomas Jefferson his ideological opponent became VicePresidentOn March 4 1797 Adams and Jefferson were inaugurated at Congress Hall in Philadelphia Two opposing parties two opposing points of view united to democratically govern it was the first of many peaceful transitions of power in America Peaceful transitions that have continued to demonstrate that Government of the people by the people and for the people can in fact endureThose of us who exercised our right to vote just participated in another peaceful transition of power and President Obama will lead our nation for the next four years While the Electoral College was not close the popular vote was amp8211 so I thought it might be a good idea to have a nonpartisan nonpolitical look at the impact that this election may have through the lens of technology during our ongoing transition from the Industrial Age to the Information AgeIn truth there are no areas of our lives that are not impacted by technology We live in a connected world and we are becoming more connected to more people and more devices every day This trend will never reverse So let39s look at some of the Obama Administration Policy Highlights through our technological lens First here39s what the Administration says it39s going to do in its own wordsEducationobamacom says quotEducation is the surest path to the middle class President Obama is making historic investments in education to create opportunity for all Americans To help students better afford a college education President Obama ended billions in subsidies wasted on banks and used the savings to double investments in Pell Grants He established a college tax credit for students and their families worth up to 10000 over four years of college He set a goal to lead the world in college graduates by 2020 and cut the growth of college tuition and fees in half over the next 10 years a goal that will save the typical student thousands of dollars a year and proposed bringing together community colleges and businesses to train 2 million Americans for good jobs that actually exist now and are waiting to be filled There is no substitute for a great teacher President Obama is fighting to help state and local governments save the jobs of hundreds of thousands of teachers and to provide states with resources to reward and attract great teachers while taking strides to improve teacher effectiveness And he has set a goal to recruit and prepare 100000 math and science teachers so we can outcompete countries in fields like science technology engineering and math STEMquotInnovationAccording to obamacom quotPresident Obama is investing in education research and technology to grow the economy for the long term Manufacturing is an essential building block of our economy because it sparks innovation generates higherwage jobs and strengthens entire communities After declining for over a decade the manufacturing sector has rebounded amp8211 led by President Obama39s rescue of the auto industryamp8211 and created 479000 manufacturing jobs since January 2010 To build on this recovery President Obama set a goal to create 1 million new manufacturing jobs by the end of 2016 and is working to double American exports over the next five years by promoting US goods and removing trade barriers expanding access to credit and promoting strong growthquotEnergyAgain according to obamacom quotBy ending government subsidies for oil companies and investing in cleaner sources we can become a global leader in clean energy creating American jobs and businesses while improving our environment and national security An unprecedented boom in domestic production has led to cheaper natural gas and President Obama will take every possible action to safely develop this abundant source of American energy to support more than 600000 jobs by the end of the decade US oil production is at a 14year high and President Obama has charted a course to cut net oil imports in half between 2008 and 2020 lowering imports by 55 million barrels per day and reducing our reliance on foreign oil to its lowest level in almost three decadesquotNow let39s look at the Administration39s track record on some more specific tech issuesCybersecurityNot much was said by either side during the campaign but in October 2012 Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned of the dire threat of cyber attack on the US This is a big issue The President may be in favor of signing an executive order implementing a few of the provisions from the failed Cybersecurity Act of 2012 This is a big mess with too many cooks and not enough demonstrated leadership Let39s hope it becomes job one It is not a question of quotifquot we are going to be the victims of a massive cyberattack it39s just a question of quotwhenquot Under the subtitle quotCountering Emerging Threatsquot The Democratic Platform says quotAs we have taken decisive steps to address today39s dangers from terrorism and to prevent future nuclear proliferation we have also sought to bolster homeland security and head off emerging challenges ranging from cyber and biological threats to climate change and transnational crime Cybersecurity Cybersecurity threats represent one of the most serious potential national security public safety and economic challenges we face The very technologies that empower us to lead and create also empower individual criminal hackers organized criminal groups terrorist networks and other advanced nations to disrupt the critical infrastructure that is vital to our economy commerce public safety and military Defending against cyber threats requires networks that are secure trustworthy and resilient The President and the administration have taken unprecedented steps to defend America from cyber attacks including creating the first military command dedicated to cybersecurity and conducting a full review of the federal government39s efforts to protect our information and our infrastructure We will continue to take steps to deter prevent detect and defend against cyber intrusions by investing in cuttingedge research and development promoting cybersecurity awareness and digital literacy and strengthening private sector and international partnerships President Obama has supported comprehensive cybersecurity legislation that would help business and government protect against risks of cyber attacks while also safeguarding the privacy rights of our citizens And going forward the President will continue to take executive action to strengthen and update our cyber defensesquot Net NeutralityNetwork neutrality is a misunderstood term that used to describe a quotfree and open Internetquot This sounds great but it comes will all sorts of subtle complexity You can learn more about it from an article I wrote a while back entitled quot The Information Super Toll Road An Intended Consequence of Net Neutrality quot In his first term the President and the FCC both took the position that the Internet should be free and open Hactivists were thrilled Big carriers and ISPs were not pleased We must find a happy mediumNational Broadband PolicyWe do have a national broadband plan you can learn about it at httpwwwbroadbandgov Does it matter Is it good You be the judge The speed of information is directly equated to economic success Is the United States appropriately positioned to lead the world in Information Technology According to the Democratic Party Platform quotDemocrats know that the United States must preserve our leadership in the Internet economy We will ensure that America has a 21st century digital infrastructure amp8211 robust wired and wireless broadband capability a smarter electrical grid and upgraded information technology infrastructure in key sectors such as health care and education President Obama has committed to ensuring that 98 percent of the country has access to highspeed wireless broadband Internet accessquotOf course there is much more technology to discuss and this presents both an opportunity and a challenge for each of us The electorate has spoken Now it39s time to get behind our Administration and help them govern How we deal with technological issues will pave the way for our economic success or failure amp8211 now it39s up to usShelly Palmer is Fox 5 New York39s Onair Tech Expert WNYWTV and the host of Fox Television39s monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Living He also hosts United Stations Radio Network39s Shelly Palmer Digital Living Daily a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology media and entertainment He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC an industryleading advisory and business development firm and a member of the Executive Committee of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences the organization that bestows the coveted Emmyamp174 Awards Palmer is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2nd Edition York House Press 2008 the seminal book about the technological economic and sociological forces that are changing everything and Overcoming The Digital Divide How to use Social Media and Digital Tools to Reinvent Yourself and Your Career York House Press 2011 For more information visit shellypalmercomRead all Shelly39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer ReportCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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Obama and Tech: Four More Chronological Years, 500 tech years - Shelly Palmer

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