2 ms·

This is the first proposal I've heard that points a way out of the current horrible mess of brokenness in US government. With luck and effort, the next crisis w

by MaysonL 16y ago

This is the first proposal I've heard that points a way out of the current horrible mess of brokenness in US government. With luck and effort, the next crisis will bring a teachable moment, and government will pivot to a better model.

jacques_chester 16y ago
One of the proposals is a sensible enough reform -- the budget sunsets. But societies do not pivot. At best, they evolve. Law is complex because politicians and voters want it to scale with the complexity of society and economy; and the complexity of society and economy grows as a non-linear, exponential function of economic & technological progress and population growth. Another reason is simple game theory. Lawmakers bear very little of the cost of passing new laws, but accrue most of the political benefits (being seen to be "doing something"). It's a tragedy of the commons situation. Additionally, part of the job of common law lawyers is to convince judges that they have found a unique situation, never before encountered in the last thousand years or so. They succeed often enough because it genuinely happens. Ironically, while decrying rules-based law, the Howard proposes instead goal-based law. This pushes policy assessment onto judges. One of the reasons law becomes rule-based in the first place is to remove policy judgement from the judicial sphere, back to the executive and legislative spheres where it belongs. His solution would make matters worse by completing the undermining of US jurisprudence by the doctrine of "realism". Public accountability is a good idea, but needs to be balanced with the need for free and frank advice. Personally I would make a distinction between operational public servants, who could be easily sacked, and advisory public servants, who would be difficult to sack.

2 ms·

This is the first proposal I've heard that points a way out of the current horrible mess of brokenness in US government. With luck and effort, the next crisis w

by MaysonL 16y ago

jacques_chester 16y ago
One of the proposals is a sensible enough reform -- the budget sunsets. But societies do not pivot. At best, they evolve. Law is complex because politicians and voters want it to scale with the complexity of society and economy; and the complexity of society and economy grows as a non-linear, exponential function of economic & technological progress and population growth. Another reason is simple game theory. Lawmakers bear very little of the cost of passing new laws, but accrue most of the political benefits (being seen to be "doing something"). It's a tragedy of the commons situation. Additionally, part of the job of common law lawyers is to convince judges that they have found a unique situation, never before encountered in the last thousand years or so. They succeed often enough because it genuinely happens. Ironically, while decrying rules-based law, the Howard proposes instead goal-based law. This pushes policy assessment onto judges. One of the reasons law becomes rule-based in the first place is to remove policy judgement from the judicial sphere, back to the executive and legislative spheres where it belongs. His solution would make matters worse by completing the undermining of US jurisprudence by the doctrine of "realism". Public accountability is a good idea, but needs to be balanced with the need for free and frank advice. Personally I would make a distinction between operational public servants, who could be easily sacked, and advisory public servants, who would be difficult to sack.