A “Tech Czar”? No Thanks.

Congress Daily reports that an Obama administration “would likely create a national technology czar with broad authority to develop policy, elevating high‐​tech issues to the cabinet level in a major recalibration of the government’s approach to regulating the communications sector.”


No thanks.


Technology, telecommunications, and information policy are important areas, but not everything that is important needs a lot of attention from the government. And as federal priorities go, tech is not even in the same league as national defense and fiscal order — issues that deserve a cabinet‐​level officer.


Creating a cabinet‐​level “tech czar” would be an odd joke and it would stand out as a queer sop to some political constituencies. It’s an unserious idea.


If you’re on the fence, consider the results that have come from raising other fields to “cabinet‐​level” importance. Education ascended to these heights in 1979 with the establishment of the Department of Education under the Carter administration. Nearly 30 years later, education in America is no better for it, and arguably even more awash in bureaucracy and inefficiency.


Yes, technology is important. No, a federal “tech czar” is not a good idea.