Can America Stay in the Game?

Gadgets and gizmos, widgets and watchamacallits are making most of the people I know a little bit wacko. When we go to the store and purchase the latest technology that promises to enrich our lives, it’s usually an exhilarating event. We rush home, open the package, and spend an hour or so trying to turn it on. Then after we read the directions that come in four languages, none of which are proper English, we break down and call the technical help line, only to hear in broken English that our brand new technical wizardry has become obsolete.

Technological breakthroughs are occurring throughout the world at alarmingly rapid rates. They promise to change our lives in ways most of us can’t even imagine.

Is that change going to be what allows the people of the world to reach out into the future with grace and dignity, or will it be a catalyst that facilitates global unrest and ultimate degradation of humanity as we know it? The answer may depend on how wisely this technology is used by world leaders to ease the transition of many nations into a global community. One way to predict how gracefully the various nations of the world will fare in the future’s blueprint is to see what they are doing now to use technology to improve lives and rectify social problems. Unfortunately, 52 percent of the United States of America just elected to continue a trend of leadership that hasn’t exactly embraced the technological implements available to us.

The United States government has been dragging its feet as far as integrating technology into the way it governs. In a Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) article, Robert D. Atkinson writes that since the Bush Administration took over the White House in 2001, the United States has lost its claim as the global leader in e-government to Canada, and is now tied for second place with Singapore. Furthermore, out of 18 countries ranked, 13 of them are making the transition faster and many are poised to pass the U.S. within the year. Japan has already passed the U.S. in the deployment and adoption of high-speed broadband telecommunications systems, providing the Japanese with considerably faster service at about the same price Americans pay.

Sadly, there’s no good reason for this backward trend. Some might say that the war in Iraq has kept the government too busy to focus on new technology, but even that wouldn’t explain why the administration hasn’t even used information technology more aggressively in the development of the top priority Department of Homeland Security or to create a system wide network regarding terrorists and their activities. According to Atkinson’s article, information technology has been used most efficiently by the Bush administration as campaign rhetoric.

E-government has a lot to offer in ways to benefit this country. It could reduce government spending and improve the quality of services available to citizens. It will facilitate the flow of information between federal agencies and reduce interagency red tape. Social reform programs would benefit by easing the demands of investigating claims. Society as a whole would benefit from the technology available if government will make the commitment to transform itself. Yasu Taniwaki, Economic Counselor and Telecommunications Attaché for the Japanese Embassy says that while Japan’s density plays a modest role in information technology development, government policy is very important in implementing systems to provide access to the networks to the population.

The Bush administration’s hesitancy to develop this technology is embarrassing and dangerously irresponsible. They’ve even admitted dismal performance. According to the Office of Management and Budget, only five out of 26 agencies have reached established criteria for success in e-government, while nine have failed and 12 have gotten mixed results. Would a 32 percent success rate be acceptable performance in the careers of most Americans? That is not evidence of a strong commitment to the future growth and prosperity that we should demand of our elected officials. Hopefully, during the next four years the Bush camp will realize the importance of traveling on the information superhighway. Since most American’s don’t spend thousands of dollars on computers just to play solitaire, it’s surprising that they chose a person who does as their leader.