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

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#41

Post by dymk » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:01 PM UTC

scarejunba wrote: post #29

dymk wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Absurd? I'm just as serious about what I'm proposing, as I am about a "Github-like UI" for the foundations of our country.

You're just being silly now. No one's saying "merge the PR to change abortion laws". They're talking about tooling to look at proposed differences clearly. It doesn't seem absurd to me to have a diff, watch that evolve as new versions are proposed by people, and then finally watch what goes in. Obviously ground truth is still in the books, with laws debated in parliament or congress or whatever, but this acts as a sh…

You were able to discern a lot more detail from "Github-like UI" than I was, so kudos to you! I guess I'm just bad at reading into really presumptuous details like that when they're not there.

Interesting that you're calling me silly or hysterical for simply proposing a fearlessly concurrent Government built on Blockchain technology. After all, we're going for Woke Government 2.technotopia, not Broke Government 1.capitolhill.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#42

Post by pera » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:01 PM UTC

graenxa wrote: post #12

Who needs public services when you can have private for-profit start-ups? I'm sure the new startups will always prioritize serving the citizens over making money. After all, that's what private for-profit organizations have a long track record of doing. In seriousness: I'm sure the listed start ups do good work. There are ways tech can help government and people. Government 2.0 is awful branding. The idea that you ca…

Government 2.0 is not about "upgrading" or "replacing" the government with private companies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-government#Government_2.0

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#43

Post by WilliamEdward » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:01 PM UTC

Companies already run the government. We need less of this, not more.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#44

Post by nosuchuser2 » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:02 PM UTC

breck wrote: post #13

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.

I have tinkered with a human readable, mathematically minimal, strongly typed language for writing laws/governments/constitutions. I am highly confident it will work--the code and tech are there I'm just waiting for a strong project leader with good domain knowledge to lead it. Shoot me an email if interested.

How do you handle the fact that much law is intentionally ambiguous?

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#45

Post by maxxxxx » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:02 PM UTC

mythrwy wrote: post #35

nabnob wrote: post #28

The solution to income inequality is not going to come from venture capitalists and private companies. I have an idea for a non-profit that tackles a systemic problem, but I can't help but look at some of the other yc grads and think that their companies seem hopelessly out of touch with the problems they're trying to tackle. Promise is mentioned as "tackling mass incarceration", but their company seems geared more t…

The solution to income inequality probably isn't going to come from governments either sadly.

It has to come from politics. Capitalism unregulated will pretty much always lead to a few accumulating more and more and increasing their power.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#46

Post by jpmattia » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

Having been part of the startup community in both Silicon Valley and greater DC, I think this is a much-needed and brilliant effort on the part of YC. I hope it pays off in spades, both for the public and YC.

That said: My hat is off to anyone who manages to cross the divide between silicon valley culture and govt bureaucracy culture. Navigating the differences in those world views is not for the faint of heart.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#47

Post by Toine » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

graenxa wrote: post #12

Who needs public services when you can have private for-profit start-ups? I'm sure the new startups will always prioritize serving the citizens over making money. After all, that's what private for-profit organizations have a long track record of doing. In seriousness: I'm sure the listed start ups do good work. There are ways tech can help government and people. Government 2.0 is awful branding. The idea that you ca…

I would upvote you 10 times if I could. The premise that private corporations will solve every problem by giving citizens what they want/need is a MYTH. Markets and democracy go hand in hand. Markets need democracy (ie a government) to ensure basic stuff like protection of private property, management of public resources, etc.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#48

Post by saeedjabbar » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:04 PM UTC

nabnob wrote: post #36

mwseibel wrote: post #16

Hey folks - happy to answer questions about our new RFS.

I have an idea for a non-profit that tackles a systemic problem, but the companies you've listed seem hopelessly out of touch with the problems they're trying to tackle. Promise is mentioned as "tackling mass incarceration", but their company seems geared more towards improving efficiency in criminal justice agencies. Do they really think that an app that sends reminders is going to help failure to appear rates? Crim…

This is spot on and shows how much Silicon Valley is out of touch with the reality on the ground and dismissive of non-profits and government agencies that handle these sort of things.

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#49

Post by toomuchtodo » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:04 PM UTC

maxxxxx wrote: post #45

mythrwy wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The solution to income inequality probably isn't going to come from governments either sadly.

It has to come from politics. Capitalism unregulated will pretty much always lead to a few accumulating more and more and increasing their power.

Indeed. Want to fix government? Run for office or work in government. Anything else is polishing brass on the Titanic.

Hat tip to the USDS and 18F [1]. Hard working people making an impact. YC: Why not consider hiring lobbyists to enable existing, impactful teams more velocity?

[1] https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/444159-congress-shoul... (Congress should grow the Digital Services budget, which more than pays for itself)

Re: YC's request for startups: Government 2.0

#50

Post by maxxxxx » Thu, May 23, 2019, 6:05 PM UTC

graenxa wrote: post #12

Who needs public services when you can have private for-profit start-ups? I'm sure the new startups will always prioritize serving the citizens over making money. After all, that's what private for-profit organizations have a long track record of doing. In seriousness: I'm sure the listed start ups do good work. There are ways tech can help government and people. Government 2.0 is awful branding. The idea that you ca…

Agreed. Companies should do their best within a framework that’s defined by the population through politics. They shouldn’t create that framework.