Fix It Shorts #1: Crazy Red Tape and Rigid Rules: How Do We Fix It?

It's the biggest issue of the Presidential campaign that the candidates are not talking about: bloated government and the poor delivery of services.   From very long TSA airport security lines to the dysfunction at your local DMV, our interactions with government can be extremely frustrating.  Exceedingly complex rules and laws make things even worse.    For decades, Philip K. Howard has been a leading voice on how to streamline government and make it work for all of us. His latest book is "The Rule of Nobody: Saving America From Dead Laws and Broken Government." He's the founder of the good government group, Common Good.   In this 12-minute episode of "Fix It Shorts," Philip gives alarming examples of how regulations have programmed officials and politicians of both parties to follow rigid rules that often leave very little room for human judgement.   Solutions: 

• Rules and regulations need to be radically simplified. 
• Laws based on principles and goals rather detailed rules.
• Sunset provisions for laws: they can be re-examined every five or ten years.
• Founding father James Madison's warning about laws should be heeded. They must not be "so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood."

  "Four Ways to Fix A Broken Legal System." Philip K. Howard Ted Talk.    

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