Assignment 7: a speech of google's CEO

(this video is more than one hour, so I didn't post it on the blog, if you want to watch the video, you can go to this website.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-cBQl1IS5c&feature=PlayList&p=50653251EDB4E764&index=0&playnext=1

Google CEO Eric Schmidt Talks Policy; What Will 2009 Bring?
Nov 18, 2008
As chairman and CEO of Google, a company that's got a stake in everything from online advertising and video to mobile spectrum and cleantech, Eric Schmidt has many reasons to take an interest in tech policy.

Add to that the fact that he was named to President-elect Barack Obama's economic advisory transition team and that he's the newest chairman of the New America Foundation think tank, and you can understand why he has a lot to say about what happens in Washington, D.C.
And say he did.

At a D.C. event hosted by the New America Foundation earlier today, Schmidt spoke candidly about what he thinks the Obama administration and Congress need to do in order to improve the economy and spur greater innovation (here is Google's booklet of priorities). He has been involved with the think tank since its founding a decade ago, and took over as its chair last June -- stepping in for friend and fellow board member Jim Fallows.**

His message to the people assembled, and those like me who participated via Webcast, was a mixture of optimism and urgency. Silicon Valley-style. Which is to say that he didn't hold back his criticism for the status quo in D.C. or shy away from detailing exactly what he thought needed to happen. He touched upon a litany of tech policy issues, from patent reform and the education system to immigration and wireless spectrum (New America was one of the driving forces behind advocating for opening up of the white spaces). And he made it a priority to focus on "infrastructure" goals like promoting America's energy independence and delivering universal broadband.

Schmidt emphasized the need to act quickly in those areas, saying "it's time to move forward now" and pointing out that the country already has "the people in the room" that it needs to solve the economy's problems. As an engineer-turned-executive, he's used to focusing on solutions and trying to react quickly to implement them, and it was clear that he hoped to see D.C. take a similiar approach to economic and policy challenges.

While he credited the current Federal Communications Commission with what he called "an act of remarkable courage" for taking steps to open up spectrum and allow use of the white spaces, he noted a number of other policy areas where he felt change was sorely needed.

For instance, he described the lack of support for increasing visas and taking other steps to attract and retain foreign students to enter the U.S. workforce as "bizarre" and "disgusting." On patent reform, he said it had to be on the agenda for the next administration and Congress, calling the current system "dysfunctional." He also found it unbelievable that the federal government hadn't yet made the R&D tax credit permanent, despite yearly attempts to do so.

All in all, he echoed many of the frustrations that I've heard from Silicon Valley execs who would like to take D.C. by its collective collar and shake it into action. The question I have is will 2009 be different? Will the next Administration and Congress, with its connections and advisors, approach the

issues we're all aware of in a new way?

I look forward to the answer, with a mixture of optimism and urgency.

**Disclosure: New America Foundation has no involvement in the Tech Policy Central site. However, the organization is a Research Sponsor of our Tech Policy Summit conference, and its former chairman and current board member Jim Fallows volunteered as part of our advisory board for two years.

http://www.techpolicycentral.com/2008/11/google-ceo-eric-schmidt-talks.php