Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/734838
24 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL www.datacenterjournal.com iMMigration Perhaps the signature issue of this election owing in part to Trump's empha- sis on building a wall between Mexico and the U.S., immigration is of moderate importance to the data center industry. In particular, the H-1B visa system is a topic of considerable contention. A briefing on Clinton's website says, "Our immigration system is plagued by visa backlogs and other barriers that prevent high-skilled workers and entrepreneurs from coming to, staying in, and creating jobs in Ameri- ca." Trump's website says, "Too many visas, like the H-1B, have no [requirement to hire Americans first]....[W]e need com- panies to hire from the domestic pool of unemployed." e difference between the candidates here is fairly stark, but neither is likely to make much headway on this controversial issue. e data center indus- try should expect neither a renewed flood of highly skilled immigrants if Clinton is elected nor a dearth of them if Trump is elected; the composition of the talent pool will likely remain the same. e next four years, however, may clarify the country's direction on this matter. Monetary policy A somewhat arcane issue that garners little attention from either major candidate (at least for public consump- tion), monetary policy through the Federal Reserve system is nevertheless a critical matter for the economy as a whole and the data center industry in particu- lar. Interest rates began their terminal descent following the dot-com bust and then bottomed out near zero during the Great Recession. A subsequent eight years of a near-zero rate has produced a weak recovery, as metrics such as the labor-force participation rate and M2 money velocity indicate. But if rates rise to "normal" levels (e.g., 5–6%), the federal debt will balloon with interest payments alone, raising the specter of sovereign default. Moreover, eq- uity markets may fall sharply as the money printing slows. Neither candidate offers any realistic plan to address this twofold problem. Insofar as they speak about the debt, they do so in platitudes (make the wealthy pair their "fair share" for Clinton, or simply re- duce taxes and regulations for Trump) that fail to address the bureaucratic monstros- ity that is the federal government—and the numerous militant parties that live off the public dole. Count on the debt continuing to grow out of control, with the eventual economic results being painful at best. Although the data center industry may weather the storm better than some oth- ers, it will still face its share of difficulty, as in the Great Recession. technology On the technology front, Trump's website offers little with regard to specific policy proposals. Clinton's website char- acteristically lists numerous promises, including a fair number of "freebies." Specific points of interest include her ap- proval of so-called net neutrality as well as a vow to "[improve] the patent system to reward innovators" and "[protect] online privacy and security." Apart from the matter of net neutrality, which Trump doesn't address on his site, the differences between the candidates are likely to be minor. Trump, however, noted the huge portion of U.S. residents with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) degrees who aren't employed in a STEM occupation (nearly three-quarters, accord- ing to the U.S. Census Bureau); Clinton, however, wants to "[invest] in computer science and STEM education." is dif- ference echoes the debate of recent years regarding the existence (or absence) of a STEM talent shortage, as well as its effects on labor costs. Overall, however, the cat- egory of "technology" is too broad and too malleable to identify and real differences between the major candidates. edUcation No candidate will say that the government-controlled education system is a failure and should be disbanded, regardless of the facts. Presidential contenders typically vary by degrees with regard to their perennial promises to "fix" education. Clinton, for instance, promises to "launch a national campaign to modernize and elevate the profes- sion of teaching" and "rebuild America's schools," largely through more debt: "[she] will build on the highly successful Build America Bonds program to provide cities and towns the capital they need to rebuild their schools." She also promises to "make preschool universal for every 4-year-old in America" and make college virtually free for everyone: "every student from a family making $85,000 a year or less will be able to go to an in-state four-year public college or university without paying tuition." In a video discussing education, Trump fails to disappoint: "I'm a tremen- dous believer in education." He indicates, however, that he is against centralization on this issue, and he notes the country's lagging performance relative to other na- tions, as well as the relatively high expen- ditures. Despite saying education will be "an absolute priority," however, he offered few details. For the data center industry, the expectation should be that no matter who wins, things will largely remain the same: credential inflation (degrees increas- ingly mean less), high costs (someone has to pay for sprawling universities) and few fundamental improvements in outcomes. Internships, apprenticeships or something similar—promoted and funded by the industry—may be a better means of de- veloping a skilled workforce than trusting government promises, regardless of the candidate. taxes and regUlations History indicates that neither party is a stranger to higher taxes and more regu- lations. One party tends to promise lower taxes and fewer regulations, whereas the other tends to promise higher taxes (on the so-called rich, however that's defined) and more regulations (usually in the name of safety, security and so on). e general trend for decades, however, has almost invariably been government growth, so this election is unlikely to produce any changes. If Clinton wins the presidency, her agenda may fall flat in the face of a Congress controlled by the Republi- cans, avoiding drastically higher taxes or more-onerous regulations (compared with Trump). But a Trump presidency is