it points to a big shift in society and the economy.<p>software is now a cornerstone of the world economy. modern life runs through the internet. even if you personally avoid the internet, you depend on it.<p>but the baby boomer generation, represented by these politicians has not understood it. they know engineers as the guys building houses, bridges, aeroplanes, rockets. but software? it is an invisible world to them. child's play. how hard can it be to build the internet vs. the hoover dam.<p>i don't think this will change soon nor can it be actively changed. we need to wait till this generation simply dies out and gets replaced by the ones who grew up with computers. for a larger part of society in the western hemisphere, that means birthdates in the 1970s. yes, gates, jobs were born earlier, but the majority of their <i>users</i> were born later. they were visionaries, outliers.<p>and the circle will begin again, facebook generation vs. privacy defenders. and who knows whats after that...genetics?