Comments on: President Technology Platforms: McCain vs Obama http://www.thedeets.com/2008/08/20/president-technology-platforms-mccain-vs-obama/ Consistently against torture. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 21:36:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: » The Effect of Drilling for Offshore OilThe Deets - Ed Kohler's Blog http://www.thedeets.com/2008/08/20/president-technology-platforms-mccain-vs-obama/#comment-6274 » The Effect of Drilling for Offshore OilThe Deets - Ed Kohler's Blog Thu, 18 Sep 2008 14:43:15 +0000 http://www.thedeets.com/?p=2135#comment-6274 [...] a good example of why we need more open government data, as Barack Obama has proposed doing, but McCain doesn’t understand. If the government puts [...] [...] a good example of why we need more open government data, as Barack Obama has proposed doing, but McCain doesn’t understand. If the government puts [...]

]]> By: Charlie Quimby http://www.thedeets.com/2008/08/20/president-technology-platforms-mccain-vs-obama/#comment-5891 Charlie Quimby Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:14:04 +0000 http://www.thedeets.com/?p=2135#comment-5891 Ed, I agree with you as far as the concept goes. But I must say as someone who has spent time digging through government budgets already accessible — and I'm sure you know this — the technology to provide better access to data is only a small part of serving up information that enables more informed positions for more people. Government finance is amazingly complex. Whatever solutions emerge will require a lot of process alignment and mediation behind the user interface. It can be done, but there is huge cost to the work that a lot of people unfortunately will not see as a good use of their tax dollars. MNSCU recently launched an accountability tool; it remains to be seen how many will use it. Minnesota had a pretty good report called Minnesota Milestones during the Carlson administration that got whacked in the budget cuts early in the decade, along with virtually the entire state planning department. Ed, I agree with you as far as the concept goes. But I must say as someone who has spent time digging through government budgets already accessible — and I’m sure you know this — the technology to provide better access to data is only a small part of serving up information that enables more informed positions for more people.

Government finance is amazingly complex. Whatever solutions emerge will require a lot of process alignment and mediation behind the user interface. It can be done, but there is huge cost to the work that a lot of people unfortunately will not see as a good use of their tax dollars.

MNSCU recently launched an accountability tool; it remains to be seen how many will use it. Minnesota had a pretty good report called Minnesota Milestones during the Carlson administration that got whacked in the budget cuts early in the decade, along with virtually the entire state planning department.

]]> By: daniel http://www.thedeets.com/2008/08/20/president-technology-platforms-mccain-vs-obama/#comment-5861 daniel Thu, 21 Aug 2008 01:21:05 +0000 http://www.thedeets.com/?p=2135#comment-5861 Kohler for president of the universe! Daniel Kohler for president of the universe!

Daniel

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