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Mitt Romney on Technology
Former Republican Governor (MA)
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A road project isn’t going to stimulate the economy now
There’s no question but that investment in infrastructure makes enormous sense for our country. It’s good for business, it’s good for the economy, and as the governor that watched almost the completion of the big dig, I don’t know how many governors
watched that $15 billion project. They do create a lot of good jobs and they help our economy. They’re great things. But, unfortunately, a road project isn’t going to stimulate the economy to the timeframe we have right now at the tipping point.
Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley
Jan 30, 2008
The Big Dig solved a problem, but cost way too much to do
Q: Was the big dig good? A: As someone once said, at least badly, of course. So someone has remarked that it’s the biggest car was in the US and most expensive, too. It’s solved a problem, but it cost way too much money to do. It was very badly managed.
Building a road project, you have to get designs, you have eminent domain, you get the engineers to approve it. It takes years and years and years to get a road project. So it’s a wonderful idea, but it’s not related to the short-term economic stimulus.
Source: 2008 Republican debate at Reagan Library in Simi Valley
Jan 30, 2008
AdWatch: More change in next 10 years than in 10 centuries
Romney TV ad in NH:
ROMNEY: No one votes for yesterday. We vote for tomorrow. Every election is about the future. Many are pessimistic. I’m not.
In the next 10 years, we’ll see more progress, more change than the world has seen in the last
10 centuries.
Our next president must unleash the promise and innovation of the American people.
I’m ready for that challenge. The future begins now.
I’m Mitt Romney and I not only approve this message, I’m asking for your vote
Source: FactCheck.org: AdWatch of 2008 campaign ad, “Tomorrow”
Jan 2, 2008
FactCheck: Ludicrous exaggeration to compare 10 centuries
Romney says in a TV ad that the US will see more change in the next 10 years “than in the last 10 centuries.” More than since the Dark Ages? More changes than the advent of the printing press, railroads, constitutional democracy, penicillin, electricity,
telecommunications and the Internet all put together? We don’t think so.The ad features Romney talking straight to the camera, exuding confidence and optimism and saying “I’m ready” to “unleash the promise and innovation of the American people.”
We have no quarrel with that; any candidate is entitled to lay out goals.
A Romney spokesman said he didn’t mean what he said as fact, calling the statement “a metaphor.” We call it a ludicrous exaggeration.
Lacking a crystal ball or time machine, we can’t predict the future. But based on available evidence we judge Romney’s claim to be so far beyond the usual bounds of campaign exaggeration as to be worthy of ridicule.
Source: FactCheck.org: AdWatch of 2008 campaign ad, “Tomorrow”
Jan 2, 2008
To compete globally, invest in education and technology
“We have to keep our markets open or we go the way of Russia and the Soviet Union, which is a collapse.
And I recognize there are some people who will argue for protectionism because the short-term benefits sound pretty good, but long term you kill your economy, you kill the future.
What you have to do in order to compete on a global basis long term is invest in education, invest in technology, reform our immigration laws to bring in more of the brains from around the world, eliminate the waste in our government.
We have to use a lot less oil. These are the kinds of features you have to invest in; you have to change in order to make ourselves competitive long term.“
Source: The Man, His Values, & His Vision, p.114
Aug 31, 2007
Invest in nanotech and materials science
- On investing in technology: “Our national investment in technology comes from both the private and public sector. However, corporations today spend more on tort liability than they do on research and development.
While the government already invests heavily in defense, space, and health technologies related to power generation, nanotechnology, and materials science.”
- On the rate of profit on technology investment: “In technology we as a country already invest
an enormous amount--for instance, in defense technology, space technology, health--but we also need to invest in some of the emerging technologies that are important at a basic science level, such as fuel cell technology, power generation,
materials science, automotive technology. We have to recognize that where we invest as a nation, both from a government standpoint but also from a private standpoint, those are the areas we’ve been most successful.“
Source: The Man, His Values, & His Vision, p.114-115
Aug 31, 2007
Invest in infrastructure from growing economy by lower taxes
Q: Do you want to raise taxes to fix more bridges? Or can we cut taxes to fix more bridges? A: There’s no question--if you really want to make some money in this country, really get some money so we can repair our infrastructure and build for the
future, the biggest source of that is a growing American economy. If the economy is growing slowly, when tax revenues hardly move at all, and, boy, you better raise taxes to get more money for all the things you want to do. But if the economy is growing
quickly, then we generate all sorts of new revenue. And the best way to keep the economy rolling is to keep our taxes down. Our bridges--let me tell you what we did in our state. We found that we had 500 bridges, roughly, that were deemed structurally
deficient. And so we changed how we focused our money. Instead of spending it to build new projects--the bridge to nowhere, new trophies for congressmen--we instead said, “Fix it first.” We have to reorient how we spend our money.
Source: 2007 GOP Iowa Straw Poll debate
Aug 5, 2007
Page last updated: Feb 08, 2010