Why Washington matters in the silicon valley

Even though many US technological achievements are born elsewhere, decisions that affect the future viability of all types of engineering are made regularly on Capitol Hill (Washington, DC). In fact, public policy has an enormous impact on the direction of the careers of engineers. From the impact of research and development allocations to global competitiveness stemming from our national industrial policy, to the management of information-age resources, such as the radio spectrum, engineers often operate in an environment that is the cumulative product of years of political manipulation. The article looks at how political decisions can affect engineering and technology from innovation to manufacture. Currently, controversial legislative proposals have the potential to disrupt, misdirect, and channel the hard work of engineers towards more limited innovation. Rather than dream large, some engineers are more than willing to work within the confines of a given system. However, paying attention to the dynamics of public policy is important. Otherwise, engineers may find their lush rainforest of innovation shrinking at the edges until it just dots the horizon.