John McCain is allegedly
learning how to use a computer, but it will take more than
Ctrl-Alt-Delete to keep the government's information technology on
track.
Information technology (IT), if managed correctly, can deliver great benefits—IT was the largest contributor to U.S. economic growth in the late 1990's. Unfortunately, the government wastes millions, if not billions on a failed enterprise IT projects
every year. And the Executive Branch doesn't even know how much it
spends to maintain its 24,000+ websites, including one Army site dedicated to herding cats.
These problems have occurred, because there was no leadership of
government IT at the highest level. Congress is now considering a law to institute proper oversight of large IT projects,
because the President could not manage his own Executive Branch. So
when a presidential candidate has no information technology agenda, it
is cause for concern.
A quick look at McCain's IT agenda underscores this exact concern.
Of all McCain's in-depth issue statements online, he discusses
information technology in only one paragraph. The paragraph is in the health care issue section
and reads, "We should promote the rapid deployment of 21st century
information systems and technology that allows doctors to practice
across state lines." (I assume this would be in addition to automobiles and telephones.)
In stark contrast, Obama has an entire technology and innovation agenda that contains many excellent proposals, including:
- Appointing the nation's first Chief Technology Officer to ensure agencies have the right infrastructure, policies, and services.
- Using information technology to more efficiently and effectively include citizens in government decisions.
- Involving staff who have technology industry experience in economic policy-making.
- Lowering healthcare costs by investing in health information technology.
These and Obama's many other proposals would result in
government IT that is better managed and more valuable. They would also
increase IT's contribution to the American economy.
Information technology receives little attention as a campaign issue,
but it can have a large impact on the U.S. economy and government
efficiency. Hopefully John McCain will realize this and do more to
boost his IT "credit" than learn to use a computer.