Deep pockets and short arms

High-technology companies, the saying goes, have deep pockets and short arms. That, at least, is how Silicon Valley is known to political campaign fund-raisers.

A $150 billion industry by some estimates, high technology donated a statistically negligible amount of money to this year's presidential campaigns. A breakdown of technology company contributions requested by CNET showed that from January 1995 to June 1996, computer service and equipment companies gave a total of $223,200 to the election campaigns of President Clinton and Republican challenger Bob Dole.

By contrast, law and lobbying firms donated more than $5.9 million and the securities industry $5.5 million, according to figures compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that monitors campaign contributions Clinton table / Dole table.

"Traditionally, the valley has not gotten involved in politics in that way. It's like drawing blood from a stone," said Mike Engelhardt, government affairs manager at Sybase. "It's partly philosophical, the nature of the culture of engineers."

Technology executives make no apologies for their political frugality, saying they believe in supporting candidates and campaigns on an issue-by-issue basis, depending on the needs of the moment in the lightyear-fast pace of the industry.

There is also a practical reason for their financial abstention. Many technology companies, especially PC and other hardware manufacturers, traditionally run on exceptionally thin profit margins and have less disposable income than their counterparts in other industries.

"They have worked so hard and been so focused that it's hard for them to understand that this political process has a breadth so much greater than Silicon Valley," said Amber Henninger, campaign manager for Representative Tom Campbell (R-California). "These CEOs are used to saying, 'I want that chip changed by next Friday,' and it is changed."

Not one high-tech company made the list of the top 50 contributors to either Clinton or Dole. The top contributor to both campaigns, accounting firm Ernst and Young, gave $135,750 to Clinton and $107,650 to Dole--more money than the entire high-tech industry combined.