President Obama - My IT Wish List
Now that Obama is officially President, I would like to create an IT wish list for him.
First...
1. BRING BACK THE 90s!!!!!!
For anyone who was working back then remember them as the good ole days. These were the days where tech IPOs were coming out daily. A dot com would go up 100% in one day. IT jobs were very easy to come by. Consultants were paid and treated like consultants and not contractors.
In the 90s I was working for a consulting firm and we would be flying all over the place going from one Fortune 100 company to another. Staying at luxury hotels and eating steak dinners. It was awesome! These were the days where innovation was at its peak and you have to be on the bleeding edge of technology to make money.
Those days are long gone now and I wish President Obama would bring them back!
2. Please fix the education system.
I have kids and sometimes they really hate school because its just too demanding for them. Teachers are cramming months worth of learning into 9 weeks of schools and some kids just find it hard to keep up. It's hard to make it fun when you have to be fast with it and have 25 kids to teach. Personally I rather for the summer to be 4 weeks, then to have my kids struggling to keep up with the pace of the SOL test. No child left behind was a joke because I think its leaving every child behind. Most advance educational countries go to school all year around. Also in relationship to IT, incorporate IT in the classroom more. I'm not saying make it like the Jetsons but my kids are computer experts for their age and absorb every on it they learn on it. STEM! STEM! STEM!
3. Keep on marketing technology - We need it
I had to laugh when I heard the story that President Obama did not want to give up his blackberry. I thought to myself "Now how many people (young and old) are going to go out and get a Blackberry now?" RIMM should have gave him some money and ask him could he do a commercial.
4. Encourage Innovation
I think we have gotten away from this the last 8 years. Look at NASA, does anyone watch the Shuttle take-offs anymore. NASA is almost non-existant. Does anyone dream about inventing the next big thing or discovering the next big thing. But in the last 8 years I think the focus has been on the stock market and housing market and how to get rich in them. I remember everytime you used to turn on the TV after a certain time Carlton Sheets would be on. Jim Cramer is like a movie star on CNBC now. I'm not against the stock and housing market but when you think of old rich guys, what are the two ways you think they made their money? It sure is not starting an e-commerce website.
5. Last but not least - Discourage Outsourcing
I'm not against outsourcing. I know why companies do it, to save money to meet corporate profit expectations so their shareholders are rewarding. Their we go again the stock market. I'm not against the countries that take advantage of it either, I would to. But it sure can be encouraged to hire people here first. All I hear is that their is a shortage of IT workers in the US. I REALLY DO NOT BELIEVE THAT. All these college students that graduate every year from universities around the US that come out and end up doing helpdesk for a law firm. It's hard to believe it's a shortage. The problem is that these companies want experienced people but are not willing to pay a decent salary along with all the administrative cost like healthcare insurance. So they end up hiring a consulting firm here or in India to do the work. The stock market is setup to reward a company for laying-off people and/or cutting costs now instead of rewarding them for expanding or being innovative. Ever since the dot com bubble of the 90s popped, Investors have been closely watching for the negatives of a company.
Until next time...
First...
1. BRING BACK THE 90s!!!!!!
For anyone who was working back then remember them as the good ole days. These were the days where tech IPOs were coming out daily. A dot com would go up 100% in one day. IT jobs were very easy to come by. Consultants were paid and treated like consultants and not contractors.
In the 90s I was working for a consulting firm and we would be flying all over the place going from one Fortune 100 company to another. Staying at luxury hotels and eating steak dinners. It was awesome! These were the days where innovation was at its peak and you have to be on the bleeding edge of technology to make money.
Those days are long gone now and I wish President Obama would bring them back!
2. Please fix the education system.
I have kids and sometimes they really hate school because its just too demanding for them. Teachers are cramming months worth of learning into 9 weeks of schools and some kids just find it hard to keep up. It's hard to make it fun when you have to be fast with it and have 25 kids to teach. Personally I rather for the summer to be 4 weeks, then to have my kids struggling to keep up with the pace of the SOL test. No child left behind was a joke because I think its leaving every child behind. Most advance educational countries go to school all year around. Also in relationship to IT, incorporate IT in the classroom more. I'm not saying make it like the Jetsons but my kids are computer experts for their age and absorb every on it they learn on it. STEM! STEM! STEM!
3. Keep on marketing technology - We need it
I had to laugh when I heard the story that President Obama did not want to give up his blackberry. I thought to myself "Now how many people (young and old) are going to go out and get a Blackberry now?" RIMM should have gave him some money and ask him could he do a commercial.
4. Encourage Innovation
I think we have gotten away from this the last 8 years. Look at NASA, does anyone watch the Shuttle take-offs anymore. NASA is almost non-existant. Does anyone dream about inventing the next big thing or discovering the next big thing. But in the last 8 years I think the focus has been on the stock market and housing market and how to get rich in them. I remember everytime you used to turn on the TV after a certain time Carlton Sheets would be on. Jim Cramer is like a movie star on CNBC now. I'm not against the stock and housing market but when you think of old rich guys, what are the two ways you think they made their money? It sure is not starting an e-commerce website.
5. Last but not least - Discourage Outsourcing
I'm not against outsourcing. I know why companies do it, to save money to meet corporate profit expectations so their shareholders are rewarding. Their we go again the stock market. I'm not against the countries that take advantage of it either, I would to. But it sure can be encouraged to hire people here first. All I hear is that their is a shortage of IT workers in the US. I REALLY DO NOT BELIEVE THAT. All these college students that graduate every year from universities around the US that come out and end up doing helpdesk for a law firm. It's hard to believe it's a shortage. The problem is that these companies want experienced people but are not willing to pay a decent salary along with all the administrative cost like healthcare insurance. So they end up hiring a consulting firm here or in India to do the work. The stock market is setup to reward a company for laying-off people and/or cutting costs now instead of rewarding them for expanding or being innovative. Ever since the dot com bubble of the 90s popped, Investors have been closely watching for the negatives of a company.
Until next time...
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