Copyright 2000 The Tribune Co. Publishes The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune
August 20, 2000, Sunday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: COMMENTARY, Pg. 3
LENGTH: 754 words
HEADLINE:
New economy depends on fiscal discipline;
BYLINE:
ROB ATKINSON;
BODY:
I want to commend The
Tampa Tribune for the Aug. 6 editorial discussing the Progressive Policy
Institute's new economy task force report, "Making the New Economy Grow:
An Action Agenda" (www.ppionline.org). The task force was chaired by
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle and Gateway Computer
Chairman Ted Waitt, and made up of leading high-tech entrepreneurs and elected
officials, including Rep. Jim Davis of Tampa.
As the director of
that task force, I don't agree with all the observations the editorial made.
But I do appreciate the thoughtful comments and the fostering of a
discussion about the appropriate role of government in keeping the new
economy boom going. While the editorial supported many of the ideas
proposed by the task force, such as updating tax depreciation
schedules on technology equipment, not overregulating e-commerce and
establishing e-commerce assistance centers, it questioned others. For
example, the editorial questioned the wisdom of helping businesses train workers
in basic skills and argued that the focus should be on fixing our K-12
schools. We agree that much more should be done to reform our public
school system, but that's not to say we shouldn't also work to help the
millions of workers already in the work force gain the education and skills they
need to prosper in the new economy. Evidence is clear that employer-based
training is the most effective way to provide workers with the basic
skills they may lack, and public policies (e.g., training tax credits,
industry led skills alliances) can encourage employers to provide this training.
The editorial also took exception to the task force's recommendation to
create a chief information officer for the federal government to oversee
the creation of e-government efforts, such as filing taxes, renewing
passports and applying for Social Security benefits online. It noted that
local governments are getting online without a "high-tech czar." At least at the
state level, however, more than 35 states, including Florida, have chief
information officers precisely because they have recognized that without a
person to take the lead, e-government is slow to emerge and often
replicates existing bureaucracies. In the task force's view, creating a CIO for
the federal government would accelerate the creation of a digital,
customer-centered federal government.
Perhaps the most serious criticism
the editorial made was that the task force's legislative agenda was an
attempt to engage in a "bidding war on high-tech welfare" and that Republicans
would be better off avoiding this.
If advocating steps like
reversing the Republican-led decline in federal support for scientific
research, supporting training efforts to ensure American workers have the
skills to fill new economy jobs, and helping community organizations take
advantage of the Internet is a high-tech bidding war, then we plead guilty
as charged. As the task force stated: "Achieving the full promise of the
new economy and increasing the rate of growth in per-capita incomes requires not
just private sector innovation and entrepreneurial drive, but also
concerted and strategic public policies to overcome key challenges." The
task force understands the key role that targeted public investments,
particularly in research, education and skills, play in boosting growth in this
knowledge-based economy. We shouldn't forget that the technology
underlying the Internet and the human genome project all came from early
investments by the federal government in scientific research.
It's
important to know, though, that the Progressive Policy Institute is committed
first and foremost to fiscal discipline and paying off the national debt.
Altogether the task force proposals account for less than 5 percent of the
proposed budget surplus by 2010. We not only can afford these limited and
targeted investments, but if we are to ensure that the boom continues and
extends to all Americans, we need to make them.
Instead of
resurrecting the failed supply-side policies that conservatives advocate, a true
new economy policy agenda is grounded on fiscal discipline, fostering the
digital economy and making investments in knowledge, research and skills.
And that's what the Task Force and its members, including Congressman Jim
Davis, propose. Rob Atkinson is the director of Technology and New Economy
at the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.
NOTES: GUEST COLUMN LETTERS
LOAD-DATE: August 24, 2000 
