Tech Policy Poll

Quick poll: If you could suggest one tech policy proposal for the Presidential candidates to adopt, what would it be?

Later today, I am speaking on a panel at the Personal Democracy Forum about national tech policy. In the poll below, I’ve listed some general policy proposals that are important to the tech community dealing with Net neutrality, patent reform, H1B Visas, copyright, renewable energy, open-source adoption, and appointments to the FCC.

What Tech Policy Would Have The Biggest Economic Impact?
( polls)

Please vote and let me know which one you care about the most.

I’ve already started asking some people in the tech community for their ideas, some of which are reflected in the poll. Marc Andreessen says:

I would advocate unlimited H1B’s for anyone college educated (”brain drain the world”) and eliminating software and business method patents.

Also a huge government push to use free and open source software.

Dave Burstein, the editor of DSL Prime has a suggestion for the candidates:

Make sure some of your appointments to the FCC and other agencies have technical competence.

Not one of the 5 FCC Commissioners has a technical background, nor do most of their aides and bureau chiefs. Nearly every rumored candidate for these jobs is a lawyer. One of the best possible choices tells me he has no chance, because he “isn’t a politician.” Far too often decisions simply don’t make sense, possibly because no one senior realizes when the lobbyists are lying. Lawyers and history professors can also have a place, but some of the people at the top should also know the subject in depth

Suggest your own national tech policy proposal in comments. (This is quick and dirty, but we’ll be refining our thinking on this over time with your feedback. A good place to bone up on these and other tech policy issues, and where Barack Obama and John McCain stand on them is at our Tech Primaries site).

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