ine months after Barack Obama, John McCain has unveiled his own technology plan for America. At last, both candidates can be graded for their long-term friendliness to the tech sector.

John McCain focuses on “a broad and cohesive vision for the future of American innovation” whereas Barack Obama wants to be the “generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age.”

So, we have one candidate who wants to promote innovation and another who wants to change the way the economy looks.

Internet Tax, Piracy, Broadband
Obama’s inclination to increase taxes may have further detrimental effects down the road as the Internet tax issue is not yet put to bed.

Those of us who have been following technology policy know that, beginning in 1998, McCain fought for a permanent ban on multiple or discriminatory state and local taxes on Internet access and e-commerce transactions.

Obama, on the other hand, would probably be willing to sign legislation that state governments require to start charging sales taxes on Internet commerce.

On piracy, McCain is clear that he “supports efforts to crack down on piracy, both on the Internet and off.”

Obama is not so clear. While he says he “will work to ensure intellectual property is protected in foreign markets” he also says, as Declan McCullagh has noted, “we need to update and reform our copyright system.” Does Obama think that domestic protections for intellectual property have to change, given new technologies? That would seem to be the case and is consistent with his opening statement.

H-1B Visas, Transparency
On labor, the tech sector has been begging for more work visas, given that America is not producing enough homegrown experts. McCain says he will “expand the number of H-1B visas.” Such a policy would increase human capital and spur growth and innovation.

Obama has not made such a commitment and instead says he would “support pilot programs that provide incentives for businesses to grow their information technology workforce in inner-cities and rural communities.” Such a change might help, but would be slower and less effective than hiring capable people immediately. Obama also offers to “allow immigrants who earn their degrees in the U.S. to stay, work and become Americans over time.”

Finally, there is the issue of transparency in government, the only tech area where Obama outshines McCain. He pledges to require “executive branch departments and rulemaking agencies to conduct the significant business of the agency in public, so that any citizen can watch a live feed on the Internet” and to enable citizens to “easily track online federal grants, contracts, earmarks and lobbyist contacts with government officials.” That would be a change in the right direction.

McCain says that government “can better serve the American people by operating more efficiently through the use of technology, including videoconferencing and collaborative networks.” His use of “can” rather than “will” makes his statement seem noncommittal.

McCain’s greatest weakness is the transparency issue, but overall he looks better positioned than Obama on issues that matter most to innovators in the tech community.

Obama, on the other hand, has multiple weaknesses, particularly when it comes to taxes, property rights, labor and government waste that harms America’s tech sector.

Sonia Arrison, a TechNewsWorld columnist, is a senior fellow in technology studies at the California-based Pacific Research Institute.