Hey, maybe we should think about how the tech industry could work the political system to protect its interests. Just like the NRA does, according to this Washington Post article.
For instance, my brother-in-law told me why so many semiconductor companies moved fabs up to Portland, Oregon: water. That means lots of jobs for Portland. Politics decides on who gets the cheap water.
Google moved nearby for both water and good access to low-cost power (a nearby trainline brings coal, and Columbia river brings hydro-electric power). We’re worried that network neutrality is going to be thrown out the window.
In America lots of high tech types are worried that jobs are going overseas.
Note how the NRA gets its way: they pick one political party to back. They make noise even when there’s no reason to make noise. They raise lots of money and hand it out to the right folks who’ll vote their way. And even when they lose they look for a way to get their way.
Who is looking out for US in Washington D.C.? Microsoft? Google? Yahoo? I know Microsoft and other big tech companies have political action committees and lobbyists, but really, are they thinking about the industry at large? I doubt it.
Is there a good place for a geek to get politically involved?
Podesta,
Well said. I was trying to say that….
You’re right. Techies, like some other workers, see themselves above the everyday man, as somehow NOT blue collar. We’re all humans in the end, just some of us THINK we are smarter because we have a degree. Educated, usually. Smarter, no.
Unionization is what will save IT.
I loved the comment “the natural home for techies is the Democrtatic party”… Yeah, really? What makes anyone think that? High taxes are the enemy of capitalist companies, and that is just what Democrats are good at — high taxes. Look around you — companies are worried about the new Democrats in office and really worried about a possible Democrat president AND congress. That bids ill for big business.
Unionize IT and it matters not who’s in power. The power of unions goes a long way if implemented correctly.
Podesta,
Well said. I was trying to say that….
You’re right. Techies, like some other workers, see themselves above the everyday man, as somehow NOT blue collar. We’re all humans in the end, just some of us THINK we are smarter because we have a degree. Educated, usually. Smarter, no.
Unionization is what will save IT.
I loved the comment “the natural home for techies is the Democrtatic party”… Yeah, really? What makes anyone think that? High taxes are the enemy of capitalist companies, and that is just what Democrats are good at — high taxes. Look around you — companies are worried about the new Democrats in office and really worried about a possible Democrat president AND congress. That bids ill for big business.
Unionize IT and it matters not who’s in power. The power of unions goes a long way if implemented correctly.
“The natural home for techies is the Democratic Party. …The RIAA and MPAA work through both parties, but you’ll see them move to the GOP in the next five years.”
Huh?
This doesn’t jive with reality, and is the type of thinking that will DOOM tech political lobbying. DOOM.
“The natural home for techies is the Democratic Party. …The RIAA and MPAA work through both parties, but you’ll see them move to the GOP in the next five years.”
Huh?
This doesn’t jive with reality, and is the type of thinking that will DOOM tech political lobbying. DOOM.
A few responses to previous comments:
• The ‘progressive’ blogosphere is often a bastion of hypocrites. To depend on those people guarantees failure. (And, yes, my opinion of the conservative blogosphere is even lower.)
• I don’t think most college educated people have gotten over the belief that unions are for lesser beings, ie. blue collar folks. A former reporter, I have watched newspaper strikes fail because the editorial employees did not feel much solidarity with the longshoremen and truckers who provided most of the protesters. (The Newspaper Guild is part of the AFL-CIO.) In addition, many of them felt that walking a picket line was beneath them. I suspect the same class issue exists with IT employees.
• The EFF is more about finding issues it can somehow exploit for legal fees than serving the tech community or consumers. Its leadership is also out of touch with reality as proven by their anti-DRM stance.
As for the current crop of presidential wannabes, their grasp of tech issues is shallow at best. I really don’t think tech has arrived in that sense.
A few responses to previous comments:
• The ‘progressive’ blogosphere is often a bastion of hypocrites. To depend on those people guarantees failure. (And, yes, my opinion of the conservative blogosphere is even lower.)
• I don’t think most college educated people have gotten over the belief that unions are for lesser beings, ie. blue collar folks. A former reporter, I have watched newspaper strikes fail because the editorial employees did not feel much solidarity with the longshoremen and truckers who provided most of the protesters. (The Newspaper Guild is part of the AFL-CIO.) In addition, many of them felt that walking a picket line was beneath them. I suspect the same class issue exists with IT employees.
• The EFF is more about finding issues it can somehow exploit for legal fees than serving the tech community or consumers. Its leadership is also out of touch with reality as proven by their anti-DRM stance.
As for the current crop of presidential wannabes, their grasp of tech issues is shallow at best. I really don’t think tech has arrived in that sense.
What we need in this country is IT unions. Unions would prevent people from ignoring the tech industry. Unions could be used as leverage to prevent jobs from going overseas. Yes, there are problems with unions, but they could be ironed out.
If enough people pushed it, there could be tech unions with socialized medicine, family benefits like free education, etc. It could be done if people wanted it.
I miss the populist ideals this country used to hold. Americans have largely sold themselves out to foreign ideals and products and look where it has gotten us. We are largely surrounding now by populist nations. South America is completely populist with one exception. Mexico, while being led by a so-called righty, is actually very left in operation.
The US is the only country of its size and economic clout that does NOT offer socialized medicine and some form of free higher education.
This country doesn’t even take care of its own people. What makes anyone think anyone cares about tech industry. I have no respect for the vast majority of companies out there that would possibly make up some kind of tech industry leadership or whatever else you may want to call it. People just want to think about profits without taking into account anything else. What about the workers and their families that make these ultra-successful companies ultra-successful?
What we need in this country is IT unions. Unions would prevent people from ignoring the tech industry. Unions could be used as leverage to prevent jobs from going overseas. Yes, there are problems with unions, but they could be ironed out.
If enough people pushed it, there could be tech unions with socialized medicine, family benefits like free education, etc. It could be done if people wanted it.
I miss the populist ideals this country used to hold. Americans have largely sold themselves out to foreign ideals and products and look where it has gotten us. We are largely surrounding now by populist nations. South America is completely populist with one exception. Mexico, while being led by a so-called righty, is actually very left in operation.
The US is the only country of its size and economic clout that does NOT offer socialized medicine and some form of free higher education.
This country doesn’t even take care of its own people. What makes anyone think anyone cares about tech industry. I have no respect for the vast majority of companies out there that would possibly make up some kind of tech industry leadership or whatever else you may want to call it. People just want to think about profits without taking into account anything else. What about the workers and their families that make these ultra-successful companies ultra-successful?
Andrew,
IP is a very difficult problem because there is almost no organization going on with regards to our side. I helped found IPac before going on to strict progressive politics, and the situation is bad. It’s not however hopeless and it can be turned around with smart organizing. A primary challenge to Howard Berman would be one model, for instance.
The natural home for techies is the Democratic Party. But politics isn’t soft, you have to go in and grab the power you want, and make the Democrats the party of your policies. Guns were going to be eliminated in the 1970s, or at least that was the conventional wisdom, until the NRA began to organize through the GOP.
The RIAA and MPAA work through both parties, but you’ll see them move to the GOP in the next five years.
Andrew,
IP is a very difficult problem because there is almost no organization going on with regards to our side. I helped found IPac before going on to strict progressive politics, and the situation is bad. It’s not however hopeless and it can be turned around with smart organizing. A primary challenge to Howard Berman would be one model, for instance.
The natural home for techies is the Democratic Party. But politics isn’t soft, you have to go in and grab the power you want, and make the Democrats the party of your policies. Guns were going to be eliminated in the 1970s, or at least that was the conventional wisdom, until the NRA began to organize through the GOP.
The RIAA and MPAA work through both parties, but you’ll see them move to the GOP in the next five years.
Industry support is essential but it takes
something else in order to secure future
access to resources… Right now, there is
a water war beginning to develop along the
Utah Nevada Border over access to water.
Las Vegas with it desperate water shortages
is wanting to deprive ranchers, farmers,
environmentalists and sportsmen of their
future water needs in order to support
the massively expanding Southern Nevada
population.
There is also in Utah a very minor party
that is in a position to speed along the
process of finding a functional solution
to the problem, if that party should have
some money available and was able to hire
some good negotiators it might be that a
very useful precedent can be established
that would be instrumental in finding
solutions for future resource conflicts.
Industry support is essential but it takes
something else in order to secure future
access to resources… Right now, there is
a water war beginning to develop along the
Utah Nevada Border over access to water.
Las Vegas with it desperate water shortages
is wanting to deprive ranchers, farmers,
environmentalists and sportsmen of their
future water needs in order to support
the massively expanding Southern Nevada
population.
There is also in Utah a very minor party
that is in a position to speed along the
process of finding a functional solution
to the problem, if that party should have
some money available and was able to hire
some good negotiators it might be that a
very useful precedent can be established
that would be instrumental in finding
solutions for future resource conflicts.
How many fabs are in Portland, do you know? I think I do. I can only think of one company that currently has active fabs in the greater Portland area. The main drivers for them were economic, due to inexpensive power, water, and tax breaks.
How many fabs are in Portland, do you know? I think I do. I can only think of one company that currently has active fabs in the greater Portland area. The main drivers for them were economic, due to inexpensive power, water, and tax breaks.
And ‘progressive’ John Conyers, chairman of the Judiciary committee, and a Democrat (for those wondering about parties) is bought and paid for by the recording industry as their main shill.
The effectiveness of the RIAA and MPAA is that they haven’t gone one party or the other-they’ve made progress under both, they have friends in both and they will continue to be effective no matter who is control. MPAA President-former Congressman Glickman (D-KS). RIAA Chairman, former Republican operative in the Reagan White House and on Capitol Hill. Their assistants come from both sides of the aisle, and you can be sure they don’t argue about silly things like “which party is better for us’ but instead work on “which votes can we get, regardless of party.”
And ‘progressive’ John Conyers, chairman of the Judiciary committee, and a Democrat (for those wondering about parties) is bought and paid for by the recording industry as their main shill.
The effectiveness of the RIAA and MPAA is that they haven’t gone one party or the other-they’ve made progress under both, they have friends in both and they will continue to be effective no matter who is control. MPAA President-former Congressman Glickman (D-KS). RIAA Chairman, former Republican operative in the Reagan White House and on Capitol Hill. Their assistants come from both sides of the aisle, and you can be sure they don’t argue about silly things like “which party is better for us’ but instead work on “which votes can we get, regardless of party.”
I agree with issue over party. First, there are just as many conservative conversations that could be quashed by anti-neutrality legislation. Secondly, former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry is out there shilling for the big phone companies!!
Jim, conservatives are just not particularly interested in protecting net neutrality. That’s why they all voted against it. And McCurry was attacked and discredited by progressives in this argument.