YC's request for startups: Government 2.0 • Hacker News Board

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#221

Post by sjg007 » Fri, May 24, 2019, 12:15 PM UTC

ibeckermayer wrote: post #218

sjg007 wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There may be another way, partner with academic hospitals and have them sell the insulin at cost.

That’s an interesting idea. Maybe something like - We make the insulin and give it to them for free. - They sell it - They donate to us as a 501c3 The legal framework is really twisted and difficult to parse. Maybe this is the perfect loophole, maybe somebody would end up in prison. We’ve got some lawyers volunteering, but per not having much money its difficult to get steady legal counsel to brainstorm with about th…

Why would you go to jail??

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#222

Post by nsriv » Fri, May 24, 2019, 1:11 PM UTC

gioele wrote: post #4

If anybody is planning anything that combines laws, versioning/revision control and public access to legal resources, please get in touch with me. I have quite a bit of experience in that field that I'll be happy to share thoughts and talk shop.

During my work as a legislative aide, I often thought about the benefit of using an almost Github-like system for editing, and making that revision history public when a bill went up for a vote. The requested edits would be issues, when incorporated they would be commits, forks and branches for and merges for committee deliberations etc.

I talked to a few people in NY State about it and it went over like a lead balloon, so I'm rest curious about your experience!

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#223

Post by jkeuhlen » Fri, May 24, 2019, 2:27 PM UTC

MWilcut wrote: post #159

jkeuhlen wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kinds of issues are you thinking about tackling in that space?

Empowering Vets to package up and view their own claims information in a way that more closely aligns to what claims adjudicators are going to be looking for, without bogging them down in laws/regs and making it as burdensome as it is when the VA explains it. Maybe some gamification of the process, in manageable and unintimidating steps. The biggest thing to understand is that Veteran's do not currently have a way to…

Interesting idea, it makes sense for the most part! I'd worry about needed "clearance" to view claim information however. How often is this actual DoD clearance? It would seem unlikely to be able to get API level access for anything restricted to be able to package it up for claimants.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#224

Post by save_ferris » Fri, May 24, 2019, 2:58 PM UTC

Uhhrrr wrote: post #212

save_ferris wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree with this. There are many spaces that can be maintained either publicly or privately that when privatized don't always result in the best outcomes for consumers. A good example are private utilities. I had a relative that sold his house in a municipality in east Texas and moved to a new development in central Texas. He intentionally chose a house just outside the nearest municipality to avoid paying local…

I find this thoroughly unpersuasive. A 2.5x water bill in exchange for no municipal taxes and no zoning laws and other picayune regulations?

I have no idea what the zoning situation is for him. The bottom line in his case was that he thought he was saving money by staying out of the municipalities, only to find that his total cost of living really didn't change at all.

On top of that, public utilities are accountable to the public, while private utilities are accountable to shareholders. There were no obvious economic reasons for the incredible disparity in price, other than one utility had an incentive to profit while the other didn't.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#225

Post by ibeckermayer » Fri, May 24, 2019, 7:16 PM UTC

sjg007 wrote: post #221

ibeckermayer wrote: post #218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s an interesting idea. Maybe something like - We make the insulin and give it to them for free. - They sell it - They donate to us as a 501c3 The legal framework is really twisted and difficult to parse. Maybe this is the perfect loophole, maybe somebody would end up in prison. We’ve got some lawyers volunteering, but per not having much money its difficult to get steady legal counsel to brainstorm with about th…

Why would you go to jail??

If we set up a production facility and start trying to sell the insulin we produce, without going through the full regulatory process, we're in violation of the law. If we set up a production facility and give it away for free, and then ask for "donations" from the same group we give it away for free to, is that legal?

Jail may also be an overstatement. We are working with lawyers to get a clearer picture of the legal risk involved, for example maybe the biggest risk is that they just come shut us down.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#226

Post by sjg007 » Fri, May 24, 2019, 11:08 PM UTC

ibeckermayer wrote: post #225

sjg007 wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would you go to jail??

If we set up a production facility and start trying to sell the insulin we produce, without going through the full regulatory process, we're in violation of the law. If we set up a production facility and give it away for free, and then ask for "donations" from the same group we give it away for free to, is that legal? Jail may also be an overstatement. We are working with lawyers to get a clearer picture of the lega…

Hospitals do cell therapy etc... so I bet there’s a way. Maybe a clinical trial.