Yesterday we got to take a look at some of Barack Obama’s opinions towards the world of technology. Now, we get to see John McCain’s views on technology, and how it should be governed.

It’s kind of funny but the more I read McCain’s technology page on his campaign site, the more it’s eerily similar to Obama’s. Just like Obama, McCain has a large portion of his site dedicated to the R&D Tax Credit. Unlike Obama, John McCain puts a number on what he believes should be credited for Research and Development. “President, John McCain will establish a permanent Research and Development (R&D) tax credit equal to 10 percent of wages spent on R&D.”

One of the large policy notes I found on his technology campaign site is his views towards the internet and wireless services. Here are some excerpts from said page:

“Ten years ago, Senator McCain led the bipartisan fight for legislation to keep the Internet free of taxation. From its inception, John McCain has seen the Internet as an engine of growth for the next generation of American innovation. Burdening that engine of growth with heavy taxes only harms American competitiveness in this vital sector.”

“John McCain has opposed new state and local discriminatory taxes and fees on wireless services, which are relied upon by over 250 million Americans. Taxes account for over 20 percent of many mobile phone users’ bills. Such excessive taxation dampens innovation and hits vulnerable Americans.”

John McCain refers alot to taxes in his talks about technology. I counted 17 times, for all the usage of “taxes” on his technology page. On the other side, Obama uses it zero times on his tech page. McCain using it to say he will lower taxes like in this Corporate tax mention: “Currently, the United States has the second highest corporate tax rate in the world, and it is the American worker who suffers the consequences. When corporations put their money and investment into countries with lower tax rates, those companies invest less in American facilities, new hires, worker training, and employee compensation. A 2006 study by the Congressional Budget Office found that 70 percent of the corporate tax burden falls on the American workers. John McCain will help our nation compete more aggressively against the likes of China, South Korea, Singapore, and Ireland by bringing taxes to a competitive level that encourages entrepreneurs to reinvest their earnings in American workers.”

Barring a few original ideas from each candidate, their technology policy information pages looked really similar. They both mention the R&D Tax Credit as something to strengthen, with McCain being different by offering a number to his view. They both mention how broadband internet should be a right to all Americans. They both talk about net-neutrality, although McCain mentions he doesn’t believe in total net neutrality. He says that there should be a balance between protecting the openness of the internet, while at the same time making it a safe tool to use specifically for children. Both candidates also have a large paragraph dedicated to the advancement of technology in our schools; none go into specifics.

To be honest I’m kind of disappointed with the technology policies of both candidates. I’m not disappointed because I agree or disagree with them, but because they both are pretty similar on the subject. Most of their pages offer the ’safe’ issues, with neither going into detail on any of the subjects except for a few. Here’s hoping we’ll be getting more of those details as the campaign rolls on; but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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