Should America have a bipartisan technology agenda? It certainly seems like a good idea. And Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey argued for one emphatically at the closing session of the Techonomy Policy conference in Washington in early June. What made the session remarkable, at least to those of us whose expectations are dulled by the deluge of punditry proclaiming partisan deadlock in Washington, is that Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska agreed with him. Fischer of course is a Republican, and Booker a Democrat. Booker says we are now too often choking innovation rather than allowing it to flourish. Meanwhile, Sean Parker, the tech entrepreneur and investor, who joined the two onstage, spoke passionately about his own bipartisan approach to policy advocacy. He says his friends call him crazy for not just supporting politicians of one party, but he says he thinks “it’s actually quite sane.”
This video highlights some of the best moments in the session, entitled Technology, Innovation, and American Progress. Its themes were the very ones that led Techonomy to host the conference in the first place: automation and jobs, innovation in transportation, drones, health care, and the challenges of inappropriate regulation and bureaucracy. And happily, the conversation left us a tad more optimistic that Washington might eventually improve its approach to these questions.
This video is presented in partnership with AT&T, which was a Techonomy Policy partner
Towards a Bipartisan Tech Strategy in D.C.
Should America have a bipartisan technology agenda? It certainly seems like a good idea. And Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey argued for one emphatically at the closing session of the Techonomy Policy conference in Washington in early June. What made the session remarkable, at least to those of us whose expectations are dulled by the deluge of punditry proclaiming partisan deadlock in Washington, is that Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska agreed with him. Fischer of course is a Republican, and Booker a Democrat. Booker says we are now too often choking innovation rather than allowing it to flourish. Meanwhile, Sean Parker, the tech entrepreneur and investor, who joined the two onstage, spoke passionately about his own bipartisan approach to policy advocacy. He says his friends call him crazy for not just supporting politicians of one party, but he says he thinks "it's actually quite sane."
