Newt Gingrich

Gingrich: I think it will be like the rise of the telephone. At first, those who have more will have the technology, but presently everybody will have it. It will become universal - and I think that every American has to realize that we are now inevitably part of this world information system. That’s why when Indonesia has a financial problem we pay attention. That’s why when Iran starts to get a weapon we pay attention. There is a total difference in the way in which information flows worldwide, and it's going to accelerate and bring us even closer together, which will then mean we sometimes will rub each other the wrong way because we are a very diverse planet.

Gingrich: I think there is a very grave concern, a legitimate concern, that every person has to become part of the information age. We are working now with Oracle for a way of getting poor children to have a network computer at home. So they can literally be a part of the information age from childhood because we think to break out of poverty in the information age you've got to have access to information systems. You've got to be in the habit of thinking of yourself in the information age. And there I gave Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel a lot of credit because he first came up with the idea that we have to find a way to have every young person enter the information age together. And I think that's exactly the right approach.

I also think that there is clearly a rising general standard of living for everybody. That is people overall are generally better off than they have ever been - but that in the short run, in a period of great transition those who are more successful pull away, and get even wealthier faster. But the historical pattern is that everybody else begins to catch up over time, and I think if you know what you are doing you don't become a have not, and if you don't know what you are doing transferring welfare to you does not solve the problem. We've got to find a way to have more people understand the information age and participate in it.

Gingrich: Well, part of what it requires is that we look at parallel methods of gathering information. We need a transparency -- a public accountability -- about the activities of the big banks. We need a transparency about companies and countries that are borrowing money. I think we are going to need a lot more information to know who is doing what to whom … I think we also need to recognize that on some issues like child labor. We need a worldwide compact that works to say that we think there is a standard of decency below which no one in the world should fall -- and frankly that we wouldn't allow companies that hired 9-year-olds to sell in the United States. I think there are some standards of decency that we want to set on a worldwide basis.

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