http://news.com.com/2010-1028-5432950.html Empty promises and tech's future November 1, 2004, 4:00 AM PT By Declan McCullagh In his first campaign for president, Bill Clinton assured Americans that he would boost government's involvement in science and technology. A Clinton administration was going to create a new "civilian advanced technology agency" modeled on the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), double federal spending on research, make the research and development tax credit permanent, nearly double the average car's fuel efficiency to about 45 miles per gallon and link U.S. cities with 300mph "bullet trains." Not one of those campaign promises came true. Clinton and the gang from Arkansas soon had to face a bitter political reality: Making promises about technology is far easier than making them happen. The White House's first major tech initiative after the 1993 inauguration turned out to be the reviled, and eventually abandoned, phone-encryption technology known as the Clipper Chip. A few years later, a reluctant Clinton signed into law a bill eliminating the Office of Technology Assessment. [...remainder snipped...] _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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