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From: js2j@mhuxt.UUCP (sonntag)
Newsgroups: net.politics.theory
Subject: Re: Experimentation and Danger
Message-ID: <1275@mhuxt.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 12-Nov-85 13:17:15 EST
Article-I.D.: mhuxt.1275
Posted: Tue Nov 12 13:17:15 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 13-Nov-85 21:42:37 EST
References: <28200239@inmet.UUCP> <344@pedsgd.UUCP> <783@mmintl.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Murray Hill
Lines: 33

> >- Every citizen should recieve an accounting statement every year stating
>>  which laws where passed, who voted for and against them, which ones expired,
> >  how much tax he had paid, where it went, what the value of services he
> >  recieved in return, etc. Admittedly, some of these would have to be
> >  estimates, but the idea is to provide the citizen with enough information
> >  to decide if he is getting screwed, and who to blame if he is. The press
> >  currently does an inadequate job reporting these things  because it
> >  doesnt sell many papers, but could probably do a great job of exposing
> >  fraud or inaccuracy in the estimates, which does.
> 
> I'm afraid this would just produce a new government beaurocracy, which I
> don't think would justify its costs.
> 
> Frank Adams                           ihpn4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka

    It wouldn't take nearly as large a beaurocracy to keep track of one
government as it does to keep track of 200 million citizens, but we already
support several types of the latter kind of beaurocracy.  I think the
cost of setting up this program would be more than offset by the increased
efficiency of a government which *knew* it was under constant scrutiny by
its citizens.
    Imagine a citizen receiving his report:  "What!?  X% of my taxes were
used to keep the price of milk high?  And my congressman voted *for* that!?
And he didn't bother to vote on many of these other issues!?  That's the
last time they get *my* vote!"  Currently it is *very* difficult for the
average citizen to get this kind of feedback from their government.  Feedback
is used extensively in most complicated, high-performing systems to improve
performance.  Since our system of government includes very little in the
way of feedback it's not suprising that 'government' has become almost 
synonymous with 'inefficient'.
-- 
Jeff Sonntag
ihnp4!mhuxt!js2j