For Obama, a Towering Economic To-Do List

The dismal state of the economy helped decide Tuesday's presidential election. And it almost certainly will dominate the early days of the Obama administration. Technology is among some of the crucial issues that economists say will test the new administration, and how it might address them. President-elect Obama has endorsed the industry's call for raising the number of H-1B temporary work visas, but even with a sympathetic ear in the White House, getting Congress to agree to more visas could present a major challenge given the probability that, in a recession, public sentiment will be heightened that foreigners are taking Americans' jobs. In the meantime, the tech industry — which has grown much more politically active in recent years — will greet the new president with a list of other wishes. One is that he push policies to spread high-speed Internet access, which provides a conduit for e-commerce, online advertising and other Web-centric business models. The industry also hopes Mr. Obama will stand behind his stated support of "Network Neutrality," which is a government requirement that telecommunications companies provide Internet content providers equal access to delivery lines. Such tech policy could fall to a chief technology officer, a cabinet position the president-elect has pledged to create.