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Upward Spiral of High-tech Industry Creates More Jobs, Less Home Space
The high-tech industry's rapid growth has created mixed societal effects in the new economy. While the Department of Housing and Urban Development reports housing costs have surpassed the inflation rate by about 1.5 percent, a House Appropriations Committee recently denied HUD funds that the agency says are needed to help close the gap technology is widening in America’s cities and suburbs. As the rich become richer in the high-tech industry, the poor are becoming poorer, thus widening the standard of living gap and the digital divide between those with Internet access and those without, according to a recent report. As job availability increases, so do salaries for skilled workers, making those people able to afford new housing, which contributes to sprawl.
But some tech industry executives say there must be short-term pitfalls in order for the long-term benefits to kick in.
"We don’t see it as a problem, per se," said Telecommunications Industry Association President Matthew Flanigan. "The communications boom that is taking place is definitely raising the quality of life for all Americans and we think that’s very positive. In the interim, because of the shortage of high-tech people involved in the business, salaries have skyrocketed."
Flanigan noted that long-term solutions include education and providing incentives to colleges to encourage students to secure degrees in high-tech fields. In the meantime, he said, companies like TIA have been asked to lobby Congress in support of legislation such as the H-1B visa bill, which would eliminate the cap on the number of immigrant workers allowed to work in the United States.
As a provider of home mortgages, HUD was fuming last month when a House subcommittee made $2.5 billion in cuts to housing, community development and economic development in HUD's fiscal year 2001 budget.
"Ironically, President Clinton and Speaker Hastert reached bipartisan agreement on a bold, innovative new program to help those places in American our booming economy has left behind," said HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo. "This budget, however, will only leave those places even further behind."
HUD’s State of the Cities report stated that 2 million high-tech jobs were created in the United States between 1992 and 1997. Of the 114 major metro areas studied, 1.5 million high-tech jobs were created — 600,000 in cities and 900,000 in suburbs.
But 5.4 million Americans still suffer from "worst-case" housing needs. And with the committee cuts of Clinton’s requested 120,000 Section 8 rental assistance vouchers, those tech cities with inflating rent and mortgage payment costs are seeing more and more people living below the poverty level.
NC, ND and NY to Offer Interactive Online State Services
North Carolina, North Dakota and New York are three of the latest states moving toward the next generation of state Web portals to customize their sites for users.
DiscoverND is designed to offer North Dakotans state agency search engines, news, weather and road reports, as well as employment listings. With a tag price of $15,000 paid for by the chief information officer's department, state officials said they preferred the department to manage the site instead of collecting transaction fees through a contractual agreement with an outside management source.
'My NC' will be available to North Carolina citizens at the end of July. The site will offer users stock quotes, music releases, weather information and other information.
The launching of the state's interactive portal is the latest move by North Carolina to become more conscious of electronic government. In April, Gov. Jim Hunt, D, announced a deal between the state's three major communications companies to work with the state government in bringing high-speed Internet access to all residents within three years, and closing the digital divide.
"This partnership between the state's three largest communications companies and the state of North Carolina will help rural families and businesses get the Internet access they need to be competitive in the economy of the 21st century," Hunt said. "By brokering this agreement, North Carolina is leading the nation in bridging the digital divide."
On June 12, Gov. George E. Pataki, R-NY, formally announced the official start of New York's NYeNet, a statewide e-commerce/e-government initiative designed to provide online access to critical state services in a user-friendly environment. Pataki also declared June 12 as the official commencement of his "E-Commerce Initiative" in the creation of a digital "government without walls." Pataki signed this proclamation electronically using a digital signature, thanks to the passage of the Electronic Signature and Records Act which passed last year.
Idaho Gov. Names Two to IT Council
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, R, announced the appointments of two representatives to the state's Information Technology Resource Management Council last week.
By state law, the governor must appoint eight of the 16-member council. One must be an IT executive from the private industry, and one must represent rural interests.
Roger Parks of Boise is the industry representative and is the vice president of information technology at J.R. Simplot Company of Boise. He handles global technology issues, management of information technology, all technological and communications systems, and has extensive experience as an information officer in the private sector.
Filer resident Mary Liz Jones is the rural interest representative. An employee of the College of Southern Idaho in Twin Falls, Jones teaches in the small business center and agriculture department, has experience as a Web master and teaches teamwork in business organizations and career planning. She also works with small businesses, farmers and ranchers on advertising techniques. With a background in public relations and marketing, Jones has also worked with the Twin Falls Area Chamber of Commerce.
NGA Reports on How to Create More High-Tech Meccas
With the success stories of technological areas like Silicon Valley under the country's belt and two new reports released by the National Governors' Association, state policy makers have a clearer idea of what path they need to follow to cultivate similar regions in their own states.
The Using Research and Development to Grow State Economies and Building States Economies By Promoting University-Industry Transfer reports identify research and development as a vital building block in the new economy. The call is out for states to invest in universities and the private sector as ways to ensure that they have strong R&D bases. The report notes that states that have made long-term investments in top-notch universities have produced the most high-tech centers, including Stanford University's proximity to Silicon Valley and Duke University, North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina's involvement in Research Triangle Park.
"We must continue to address the increasing role that technology plays not only in our everyday lives, but also in our economy," said Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, R-NJ. "These reports stress that you can’t just wish your way into the new economy. We must look at ways to build our research and development base and we must make a long-term investment."
- by Liza Porteus
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