i3 - September/October 2016 - 2

From the CEO

Who Should be President?

any i3 readers have asked me to share my views
on the U.S. election. In prior elections I have
publicly embraced Republican presidential
candidates. I have also supported different
candidates from both parties for Senate and governor.
I will later publish an opinion piece on candidates running for
election to Congress who are great for the tech
industry. This column shares my view on how
the top three presidential candidates could impact
our industry.

Donald Trump

So many
have died
on the
battlefield
for our
freedoms -
your vote
will honor
their
memory.

Republican candidate Donald Trump has a diverse
business background. He could help business and
our industry by lowering the corporate income tax
rate, doing a deal on repatriation of funds overseas
and funneling some of the returning money into
infrastructure and helping stimulate our economy
with capital investments which will benefit future
generations. He understands business and would
likely restrict the runaway federal bureaucracy
from continuing to impose new burdens on business. More, he would likely appoint Supreme
Court nominees who are sympathetic to the need
for consistent, predictable and reasonable laws
affecting businesses. But he has no technology
policy platform, opposes the free trade deals we
worked so hard to pass and has expressed inconsistent views on highly skilled immigration. His
August proposal to impose huge tariffs on products from China, if implemented, would disrupt
most technology manufactorers and retailers.
The Tax Foundation estimates that Trump's
August economic plan would cut federal revenue
almost $12 trillion over the next decade.

Hillary Clinton
Democratic candidate Secretary Hillary Clinton
has strong government experience and would hit
the ground running. She understands Washington and would likely continue the direction of the
Obama Administration, which has generally been
hostile to business but favorable to technology.
Indeed, she has a highly developed and favorable
technology platform. She says she supports highly
skilled immigration but, like President Obama
since his first year in office, dooms any legislative
prospects by insisting that highly skilled immigration reforms be part of a more controversial
2

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016

overall immigration package. She has generally
supported free trade proposals but her positions
became muddy once she began campaigning for
president. She has promised to oppose the TransPacific Partnership even though it eliminates tariffs
with most major Asian countries other than
China. She proposes higher taxes and increased
government expenditures. Her August economic
plan would boost taxes to pay for new programs.
The Tax Foundation estimates that Clinton's
economic plan overall would increase federal
revenue on a static basis by $498 billion over the
next 10 years.

Gary Johnson
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, the former
governor of New Mexico, does not have a dedicated technology platform but he does support
free trade, highly skilled immigration, reduced
burdens on business, lower taxes, lower government spending and balancing the budget. His
positions almost totally match those of CTA,
although his isolationist approach internationally
could be destabilizing and have uncertain impacts
on the world economy.

So What to Do?
If you are an American voter and part of the tech
industry, I hope you consider these positions when
you vote. I also hope and expect you will consider
other important factors such as fitness to be commander in chief and control of our nuclear arsenal,
and whether the person will provide moral and
empathetic leadership and be an appropriate role
model for our children. And of course you will consider how your views on social issues, foreign policy
and other issues align with the various candidates.
But in any case, despite the difficult choices we
all face, I hope you vote. So many have died on the
battlefield for our freedoms - your vote will honor
their memory.

Gary Shapiro,
President and CEO

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

i3 - September/October 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i3 - September/October 2016