Invest $30 billion in America’s information technology (IT) infrastructure, and you may create as many as 949,000 jobs. That’s the bottom line number for a new economic stimulus package proposed last week by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). ITIF researchers argue that the economic stimulus package should not be used only to build and upgrade traditional infrastructure. Investments in new IT infrastructure are also needed. They propose three primary categories of new investments:

• Broadband Infrastructure: Invest $10 billion to expand broadband networks and increase the speed of existing networks.
• Health IT: Invest $10 billion to expand use of health IT, especially in the use of electronic health records.
• Smart Grid: Invest $10 billion to improve transmission lines and to create tax incentives for smart grid investments by utilities, businesses, and consumers.

Download the January 2009 Information Technology and Innovation Foundation report, “The Digital Road to Recovery: A Stimulus Plan to Create Jobs, Boost Productivity, and Revitalize America,” by Robert D. Atkinson, Daniel Castro, and Stephen J. Ezell.

Provided by: National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship