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Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

mchap.io

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Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#171

Post by paulie_a »

bpchaps wrote: post #22
tptacek wrote: post #2

Matt's schtick is automated, large-scale FOIA requesting; he obtains huge collections of data from cities and then tries to do interesting stuff with it. Here, he apparently managed to get all the tickets in Chicago for several years running, and then used that data to fix the parking signs. This, to me, is so neat.

Hey! Thanks for posting this, and the kind words. Interesting note about getting data like this - Illinois FOIA allows a requester to submit a SQL as part of their request.. so long as they know the tables and columns within the database ;)

Actually Chicago has an extensive open data access platform. Although it's not SQL but it is pretty interesting.

https://data.cityofchicago.org

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#173

Post by pc86 »

ekianjo wrote: post #134
dmix wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I'm fiscally conservative while also believing public servants should make market rates. Which also means pushing back against obsessing about total employment counts at x rate but rather focusing on the specific utility of individual agencies, policies, and projects. Sadly public salaries and jobs in general are low hanging fruit targeted by short-sighted political campaigns while all other gov spending…

why should they make market rates? they have job security forever? Risk in the private sector should be rewarded somehow.

If you could do all of the following as part of a single bill it would go a long way toward getting brilliant people into government roles.

1. Pay for all the below by strategically cutting military spending some low-to-mid single-digit percentage.[0]

2. Eliminate public sector unions and most Civil Service classifications, both of which make it harder to fire low performers.

3. Peg government payroll for all positions to (if it exists) their private-sector counterpart, plus a healthy percentage, say 15%.[1]

4. Eliminate government pensions and match government employee 401(k) contributions up to a large percentage, e.g. 10% of salary.

5. Allow all government employees to enroll in Medicare.

[0] The military is already getting projects it doesn't want as pork, most of these cuts could be to those programs.

[1] There are legal caps to salary for the executive branch but there are already ways around those (e.g. as contractors).

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#174

Post by pc86 »

mmirate wrote: post #169
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's one neat trick to stop 'them' getting your money. It's so easy you'll be amazed! It's "not speeding" /savedyouaclick

Then because time is money, you just lose similar amounts of money over time.

No. Maybe if you maximized your time 100% toward earning money. Maybe (but almost certainly not). But if you did that, you'd be in the back of a Maybach or a 7 Series, working, and someone else would be driving. And they could do the speed limit.

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#175

Post by tremon »

maxerickson wrote: post #163
fbender wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government is the only entity that does not have to (and never should) follow capitalistic rules. The government is for the people, and capitalism, by definition, is not.

What are "capitalistic rules"? Governments absolutely should be looking to make profits, it's just that they don't necessarily have to make them in dollars. So say you were able to objectively measure the value a program produced (costs are usually already known). If a program costs 10 units for every unit of value it produces, maybe it isn't a good program. If it produces modestly more value than it costs, it's maki…

What are "capitalistic rules"?

In this case, the dogmatic assumption that every endeavour should be financially profitable.

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#176

Post by pc86 »

chrismeller wrote: post #154
pbhjpbhj wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm reasonably sure that in UK FOIA requests have to be handled at cost? It's that true in Chicago. Mind you the company responsible probably said "the database schema will cost $2k to put in a PDF".

It varies by state in the US (what doesn't?), but most states do have a clause in their FOIA law that says something along those lines as well. It may be completely ambiguous ("at cost", fees must be "reasonable", etc.) or it can be more specific ("may not exceed the hourly salary of the lowest paid employee who can do the work", etc.). Of course the former is pretty worthless, especially if the state doesn't outline…

And don't forget if their DBA team is all consultants, "at cost" for the state just included that DBA's time, putting together the scope of work for the client, writing the proposal, management approval, etc. Generating a PDF of all tables and all columns in a presentation-level format could definitely cost the state $2k.

I work for a company that has a lot of state consultants (>50% of the workforce) and our salaries are typically 2-2.5x our state counterparts, and most items of work that would take more than an hour or two will require at least one level of management approval on both sides.

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#177

Post by swaggyBoatswain »

bpchaps wrote: post #23
throwawayjava wrote: post #15

How much did the FOIA request cost?

It was free. I've never had to pay for any information coming from an Illinois FOIA request.

I didn't even know about FOIA request until this post thanks for write up

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#178

Post by macintux »

maxerickson wrote: post #163
fbender wrote: post #162

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The government is the only entity that does not have to (and never should) follow capitalistic rules. The government is for the people, and capitalism, by definition, is not.

What are "capitalistic rules"? Governments absolutely should be looking to make profits, it's just that they don't necessarily have to make them in dollars. So say you were able to objectively measure the value a program produced (costs are usually already known). If a program costs 10 units for every unit of value it produces, maybe it isn't a good program. If it produces modestly more value than it costs, it's maki…

> Governments absolutely should be looking to make profits

I understand what you're saying, but I think you're stretching the common understanding of "profits" and risking confusion because of it.

Absolutely, government should try to measure the impact of its actions, but expressing that in terms like profit can lead to undesirable consequences like the expectation that a successful self-promoter pretending to be a successful businessman can also be a successful president.

Re: Using FOIA Data and Unix to halve major source of parking tickets

#179

Post by ada1981 »

mLuby wrote: post #109
xbryanx wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When is...dear educated technologists...the last time you even slightly considered working for city government? Alas, our best and brightest aren't serving the people. They toil at advertising.

This is something the public can control. Make government positions competitive with corporate ones and you'll get a bunch more talented (and patriotic) "educated technologists" working in government. Likewise with teachers. It's not difficult, just costly.

I imagine there are a whole bunch of “gov is inefficient” types who like having non-competitive rates so reinforce the narrative. This makes it easier for the public to support dismantling gov programs, etc.
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