McCain Tech Plan to Continue Hands-Off Approach to Regulation

[babylonsister]

McCain Tech Plan to Continue Hands-Off Approach to Regulation
By ELIZABETH HOLMES and AMY SCHATZ
August 14, 2008; Page A4


Under fire for being a technophobe, John McCain will unveil a technology agenda that bundles previously announced pro-business proposals with continued support for a hands-off approach to regulation.

The plan, dubbed "John McCain and American Innovation," is set to be released Thursday on the Republican presidential candidate's campaign Web site. It will call for a 10% tax credit on wages paid to all research-and-development employees. At the same time, it will reiterate Sen. McCain's opposition to Internet taxes and new laws guaranteeing net neutrality, the idea that Internet providers must treat all legal Internet traffic equally.

The goal of the plan, said McCain spokesman Taylor Griffin, is to create "good, high-paying, innovation-oriented 21st-century jobs."

Technology policy has not been a front-burner issue for either Sen. McCain or his Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama. However, it has become more critical for the McCain campaign in recent weeks, as perceptions grow -- encouraged by Democrats -- that Sen. McCain is less than tech-savvy.

The Arizona senator's age -- 71 -- hasn't helped. In June, he made an offhand comment about using "a Google" to research vice-presidential nominees. Later, he told reporters that he doesn't use the Internet as much as his wife and children.

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