Though he's not talking about the same kind of bailout the U.S. auto and finance industries have gotten, IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has told members of the Barack Obama transition team that a $30 billion government investment in the IT industry could lead to the creation of more than 900,000 jobs in areas such as broadband access, health care IT and upgrading the electrical grid.The Wall Street Journal reported that IBM
CEO Sam Palmisano has advised the Obama team
that a government investment of $30 billion could create more than 900,000 jobs
for U.S.
workers.
Palmisano addressed Barack Obama's transition team in December in response to
a request from the president-elect's advisers on the job-creating capabilities
of the IT industry. In response, IBM's
Palmisano delivered a presentation to the transition team stating that a $30
billion investment in expanding broadband access, computerizing health care
records and improving the electrical grid could create more than 900,000 U.S.
jobs, the Journal report said.
The Wall Street Journal reported that IBM
worked with a Washington think
tank known as the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation to evaluate
potential job development possibilities in three areas: broadband, health care
IT and "smart grid" technologies.
According to the Journal, the IBM/Information
Technology and Innovation Foundation research said that investing $10 billion
in broadband networks to provide high-speed Internet access to areas that lack
it would create 498,000 new jobs in a year, while a $10 billion investment in
health care IT could create 212,000 jobs. In addition, IBM
said a $10 billion investment in upgrading the electrical grid would lead to
the creation of 239,000 additional jobs.
Moreover, IBM officials said Palmisano
recommended the use of green data centers by the government, including
converting existing data centers to green ones.
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