IBM's Stimulus Grab

The previous arguments MADE SENSE:

Isn't that better than 3 million going to illegal aliens pouring concrete?

IBM is a world class company with the technological expertise to assess a need and devise a solution. Have already done many innovations that keep US in the forefront benefiting all of us.

Create new systems that could modernize America's infrastructure, unclog our highways, or create new curriculum learning systems for education at the K-12 level

IBM has become a great company that does some very innovative(and not in the MS sense) so I believe they could pull this off, but for many companies it could be a disaster.

Why giving to defunct Banks, and some companies especially w/out being in control where the money go, & keeping high paid wall streeters & others multimillion $ bonuses

Perry of IL 8:00PM January 16, 2009

Rick,

if I may offer some clarifications from IBM. First, it's important to note that our estimates of job creation are all US-based jobs (responding to the poster above). Also, yes, it's true that IBM has something to gain here. We don't want to hide that fact by any means. But, that doesn't mean this isn't the right place for investment. We believe strongly that it is.

Also, our estimates are that the majority of jobs created from this will be in the small business sector - not at IBM. Take a look at this blog post from IBM's Chris Caine (vp of government affairs) http://www.asmarterplanet.com/blog/2009/01/investing-in-smarter-infrastructure-will-create-more-than-949000-in-2009.html. Look at the graph in the middle of the post to get an idea of our estimates for job creation. Of the 949K jobs we estimate could be created, 524K would be small business jobs.

Finally, about your point that $10 billion isn't enough to completely rebuild our power grids to make them smart grids - we agree. The numbers we outlined are annual investment recommendations and, we believe, are enough to kick start the program and create 140K new jobs in the first year alone.

Adam Christensen of NY 12:14PM January 15, 2009

IBM is a world class company with the technological expertise to assess a need and devise a solution. Creating well paying jobs and creating a partnership between government and the private sector would boost the American economy. Maybe it's time to think out of the box and create new systems that could modernize America's infrastructure, unclog our highways, or create new curriculum learning systems for education at the K-12 level

Obama should create a new technology innovation cabinet post that would deal specifically with issues that would enhance the use of computers and the internet in the 21th century. Creating innovative partnerships between business, government, and educational institutions would bring a wealth of new ideas and possibilities for a better tomorrow.

Roy Goldstein of NY 11:17PM January 14, 2009