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Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

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Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#41

Post by thasmin »

eli wrote: post #33
anigbrowl wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, but some of the sites are set to lose funding in a few weeks amid a febrile political atmosphere. My understanding is that the main expense areas are hosting/infrastructural overhead, developer salaries, and normal office/administrative overhead which is a fact of life in DC. The pessimist in me thinks that keeping the inner workings of government in a state of murky obscurity furthers the interests of some m…

This is a good point, but actually most of the federal government is set to lose funding and shut down next week unless something happens in Congress.

Most of the federal government has been schedule to shut down "two weeks from now" for a while.

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#42

Post by tomjen3 »

jdp23 wrote: post #20
j_baker wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sucks, but the truth of the matter is that cutting back Defense, Social Security, and Medicare are touchy issues that can't be done easily. Far easier to cut back things like data.gov, which will only upset a few Silicon Valley techies. It seems to me that at this point, they're looking for politically low-hanging fruit rather than fiscally low-hanging fruit.

Exactly. Many techies avoid politics and activism or fail to learn the skills to do it well. The learned helplessness leads to becoming the low-hanging fruit.

The solution isn't to get involved in politics, it's to put an end to this "if you haven't died by the age of 18, you get to cast a vote". At least a four year requirement of a four year STEM degree at an accredited university should prevent people who aren't used to dealing with facts from getting us all killed.

Democracy is a great idea so long as you limit whom you consider "the people".

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#43

Post by tomjen3 »

eli wrote: post #33
anigbrowl wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed, but some of the sites are set to lose funding in a few weeks amid a febrile political atmosphere. My understanding is that the main expense areas are hosting/infrastructural overhead, developer salaries, and normal office/administrative overhead which is a fact of life in DC. The pessimist in me thinks that keeping the inner workings of government in a state of murky obscurity furthers the interests of some m…

This is a good point, but actually most of the federal government is set to lose funding and shut down next week unless something happens in Congress.

Again? I recall that was the issue some time ago.

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#44

Post by tomjen3 »

bmelton wrote: post #31
smogzer wrote: post #12

Well maybe they are putting together a better site that makes up for all of those and also enable the citizens to vote and/or give ideas where they want their money spent, or just enable the voters to keep the money if they do not have representation.

That is, I believe, the worst possible idea. "[A democracy] can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury."

Sure, but he said where they want their money spent. That would kill plenty of lobbying, hopefully all of it.

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#45

Post by chipsy »

Duff wrote: post #38
wisty wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's a post-industrial economy? Is it like an industrial economy that got tired, and needed a little sit-down while it's credit rating was still good?

Pretty much. The US once created lots of stuff, now 31% of corporate profits are earned by the financial sector. (ie. passing our money back and forth) See: http://www.thestreet.com/story/11061024/1/the-cannibalizatio...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41349653/ns/business-us_business...

We still have a substantial manufacturing base, it's just that we've squeezed the jobs out of it by emphasizing high productivity and automation, while outsourcing the dirtiest work. The developing countries can enjoy more industrial jobs because their wages are lower, but the U.S. is already facing a "robot economy." We just haven't raised the question politically yet.

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#46

Post by wladimir »

mberning wrote: post #10
knowtheory wrote: post #4

It is extremely ironic then, that the Canadian open data movement has held up the US as an example of transparency and openness, and a model for the sorts of disclosure that the Canadian federal government should live up to. This is such a momentous leap backwards, i just don't know where to begin. There is no other source for this data. We're still figuring out the best use for it, but if the government doesn't prov…

I know what you mean. I find it incredibly frustrating that we HAPPILY go after minuscule savings on things like data.gov and NPR, meanwhile it is 100% taboo to talk about cutting big budget areas like the military. In my opinion we need to be looking at the big 3 because that is where we have the best opportunity to make significant improvements. Defense Social Security Medicare/Medicaid

The interesting thing is that transparent data would allow for a more efficient and transparent government, as everyone could look for inefficiencies.

A web site is also the 21th century way of providing this data, who goes to request data from an archive as a stack of papers these days?

It's pretty ironic indeed that this gets shut down. Obama started all kinds of sensible things at the beginning of his term, and now pulls them back one by one.

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#47

Post by pgdn »

jamesbkel wrote: post #9

What a shame. I can't imagine there's a significant financial burden imposed by Data.gov (can't speak to the other services). I mean, the data collection certainly is the most expensive component... and from what I understand that keeps going independent of Data.gov. Presumably, the data is collected for programs beyond Data.gov - only more reason to keep maintaining the site since the marginal cost is minimal. Data.…

"I can't imagine there's a significant financial burden imposed by Data.gov" You allude to what I think is the main question ... what are the actual costs of running this site? In an era of misinformation and judgment calls I think this knowledge is absolutely crucial. Anyone know where to look? I assume Data.gov itself wouldn't contain such valuable and transparent information :>

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#48

Post by te_chris »

tomjen3 wrote: post #42
jdp23 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly. Many techies avoid politics and activism or fail to learn the skills to do it well. The learned helplessness leads to becoming the low-hanging fruit.

The solution isn't to get involved in politics, it's to put an end to this "if you haven't died by the age of 18, you get to cast a vote". At least a four year requirement of a four year STEM degree at an accredited university should prevent people who aren't used to dealing with facts from getting us all killed. Democracy is a great idea so long as you limit whom you consider "the people".

Just throwing this out there but..... you. Clearly your elitism knows no bounds.

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#49

Post by andrewgleave »

This is very disappointing.

Later this month I'll be releasing the first open data project for the country where I currently live – the Isle of Man.

I used data.gov as an example of what can be done, why it's important, and also to get initial funding for the project.

Re: Data.gov & 7 Other Sites to Shut Down After Budgets Cut

#50

Post by roel_v »

tomjen3 wrote: post #40
knowtheory wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah but you've got to remember that every program has a constituency. The fact that we're the constituency, does mean that we have to temper our vociferousness with solid arguments and evidence. This stuff is important, but remember, there are programs out there to feed impoverished children. Is data.gov more important than that? Maybe not. The point is though, that data.gov and open government data is, given our go…

Why should we be reasonably? The other people who goes to Washington aren't, so if we are it will put us at a disadvantage. As for those who can't feed their children without federal help should have learned to keep their legs closed or at least used a condom. I feel sorry for the kids, but there are soup kitchens or private charity.

You always have to be reasonable, everybody has to be. 'oh but they're not either!' is not a reasonable argument (yes I see the circular reasoning in that).

As for the second one, I oppose heavy state interference in private affairs and social security too, but if you're suggesting that feeding poor children is less important than maintaining a website, quite frankly you're insane.

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