"I hate Republicans."
"Democrats are scum."
"Republicans are a lower life form!"
"Democrats are irresponsible."
"I have been laid off twice, both times during Republican administrations. My highest income growth periods have all occurred during Democratic administrations."
"Democrats are neo-Luddites. Progress scares them."
"Republicans would outsource their own mother."
These are your fellow engineers talking, in response to Electronic Design's 2004 online Reader Profile Survey. The industry remains in a huge state of flux, with the rapid shift to offshore outsourcing and a growing number of U.S. companies locating design centers offshore, coupled with rapid changes in technology.
Eventually, the engineering community bears the brunt of this upheaval. Jobs have been lost, competition has heated up globally, and it's not clear to many people where federal funding is going for defense and aerospace programs—especially with a national election looming in November. As our survey indicates, all of this affects how EEs perceive their role in the national economy, the country's political leadership, and their careers.
There were also more thoughtful (and slightly less angry), but anonymous, comments than those already expressed that came with the about 2700 survey returns. Can politics make a difference in the lives of working engineers? There's little doubt that they do. But is it a good thing?
Several survey respondents suggested that neither political party has done enough to stop the flow of jobs and technology to other countries. For instance:
"Government is about power and embedded self-interest, not performance."
"I am a capitalist. I think the role of the government in business should be strictly limited to prosecuting crime, defending contracts, and defending the country. It should not be setting or controlling business policy."
"Democrats appear to be more concerned about the outsourcing of jobs, but offer no solutions."
Although engineers are generally thought of as a conservative bunch, even in their own ranks, the survey revealed that isn't necessarily true (though they did tend to give higher marks to Republicans as the "business party"). Most survey respondents (46.2%) characterized their social politics as moderate, while only 38.6% declared themselves conservative. Just 5.2% identified themselves as liberal.
When asked to identify their political party affiliation, most (42.2%) declared themselves as Republicans. Independents tallied in at 30.7%, higher than the national average according to most recent national polls. Only 18% indicated that they're Democrats. Another 9.1% said they support "other" parties, or political organizations, ranging from the Green to Libertarian parties to unaffiliated. More often, though, the answer was "none of the above," while a handful replied "none of your business." A few even identified themselves as Socialists.
But when it came to the question "Which political party best represents the interests of the engineering community?" 52.2% of the respondents gave the nod to Republicans. Only 24.6% said Democrats. Another 23.2% checked off "other," which meant that they either didn't have an opinion, or that neither party represents engineers very well, or that "it depends."
RANDOM RESPONSES
Why does the disparity in political-party affiliation and sense of industry or personal support exist? Responses seemed to represent a mix of personal ideologies and concerns for specific industry-related issues.
Republicans won points as being more "pro business" and "business friendly," while spending more on defense and national security. For example, Stan Gaglione, a project engineer with Northrop Grumman, is very clear in his belief that the Republican Party is best for engineers.
"I have been an engineer for over 40 years and have always been more secure when the Republicans are in control," he says. "The most critical issues today, he believes, are economic stability and the optimum use of the nation's engineering prowess to prevent terrorists attacks and rid the world of terrorists in general.
Of course, there were also those who believe Republicans are harming the economy, blaming the GOP for the loss of American prestige abroad.
"Everything else being equal," wrote another anonymous survey respondent, "this translates into less demand for our products and services."
"I think that in the long run, the Democrats will be the most beneficial to the engineering community," says Carl Damm, a CAD designer for LeCroy Corp. "Generally, I would say Republicans, but this administration with Bush and Cheney are an economic train wreck waiting to happen."
One retired EE, Allan H. Kaplan, noted that conventional wisdom states that the Republican Party represents the interests of business. But he says that means "Big Business," not individual engineers (as distinguished, he says, from some engineering managers and executives). "Most of the engineers I have known in my 40-year career have been political conservatives and Republicans. I believe that Democrats have the better interests of the country at heart," he says.
On the other hand, Don Hiller, an R&D engineer for Agilent Technologies, thinks the Republican Party is doing more to keep the nation's economy healthy. "Ultimately," he says, "I think this is the most important issue for the engineering community, since the economy rests so heavily on the technical industry."
Hiller was among the engineers expressing concern about the trend toward offshore outsourcing. "I'm pretty sure that changes in this area are inevitable," he says. "Legislation to block these changes will have a stifling influence and the changes will happen anyhow, as ways are found around the laws, and the results would probably be worse. Or, we may strangle our employers and lose our jobs anyhow." He suggests trying to determine how the engineering workforce can contribute as these changes occur, which may mean a shift to working for engineering houses that compete with foreign engineering houses. "We may have to notch down our standard of living," he adds.
Greg Wilterdink, a senior power engineer for Credence Systems Corp., thinks there's little difference between the two parties as far as engineers are concerned. "I am responsible for my own destiny, not whoever happens to be sitting in the Oval Office," he says. "Frankly, all I really want them to do is leave me alone and stay out of my wallet."
Wilterdink says that as far as he's concerned, the federal government should only be charged with securing his liberty and national security. "That's it. The states and local government should take care of everything else without any intervention from Washington whatsoever," he says.
Like Wilterdink, Fred Timm, a principal design engineer for Fairchild Semiconductor, doesn't believe either major political party does a very good job of representing the industry or those in it. "They both rely too much on government regulation, ignoring the reality that engineering has become a commodity similar to the way manufacturing became a commodity in the 1970s," he notes. The difference today, he says, is that the U.S. is producing a better quality product than most of the world. "But that difference is becoming smaller every day."
Are you more concerned about politics than you were four years ago? Dave Felt, an engineer with the California Institute of Technology's Plasma Physics Lab, is concerned. When it comes down to which political party is more pro-business, Felt views Republicans as the "most obvious" choice today. "But then we see the CEOs of so many companies outsourcing design and technical support positions overseas, as well as laying off their older workers," he says. "As an older worker who has been laid off because of reductions in federal funding, I feel that rather personally."
As a result, Felt now believes the Democratic Party is doing a better job of supporting the engineering community. "I think the critical issues for EEs today are training, outsourcing, job satisfaction, and the reduction of company benefit packages," he says. "I would not urge young people to go into engineering, unless they are prepared to follow that up with business administration degrees."