Re:They made computers behave like annoying salesmen
by bobthepanda on Wednesday April 23, 2025 @07:16PM
(#43777713)
We have this in WA and it's arguably very dysfunctional, particularly because due to property tax caps it has kind of turned into government-by-renewed-levy, and causes all sorts of headaches when one particular levy to fund one project has a surplus and another has a deficit due to completely normal deviations in tax projections.
Re:They made computers behave like annoying salesmen
by akoboldfrying on Wednesday April 23, 2025 @07:35PM
(#43777833)
Thanks for the data point!
Re:They made computers behave like annoying salesmen
by cortesoft on Thursday April 24, 2025 @03:27PM
(#43786496)
How would that work for something like legalize gambling? The default state would be for gambling to be legal (since a law is required to make it illegal). So in a few years when the `legalize gambling` law was up for review, what would happen?
Which policies would be up for review? Everything? Do we have to re-outlaw murder ever 5 years?
Re:They made computers behave like annoying salesmen
by akoboldfrying on Friday April 25, 2025 @09:01AM
(#43793117)
I don't see a problem with having to re-criminalise gambling every few years -- do you?
Regarding murder, I don't have a problem with having to periodically re-criminalise that either, though I think that for cases like this where there's enough of a consensus, the ban could be either permanent or much longer-term (e.g., every 50 years). In fact, having overly frequent votes on such serious crimes might encourage people to try to overturn them as a prank.
Re:They made computers behave like annoying salesmen
by cortesoft on Friday April 25, 2025 @02:50PM
(#43797265)
I don't think I trust our government on this. Look how many times they threaten shut down for routine things like increasing the debt ceiling; I can just imagine representatives threatening to not renew the outlawing of murder unless something else is added to the bill.
I like the idea of policy changes like this having an expiry date a few years in the future, which forces a periodic revote if some party wants to keep the new policy. Like a political office term, this should be long enough to give businesses a timeframe they can plan around, and an opportunity for voters to see how the policy played out.
Perhaps it would lead to an ever-increasing pile of legal "confirmation dialog boxes" that bore the public. But I like that the default action (doing nothing) would lead to regulations being deleted, as there are few forces that act to reduce regulation, and having too many regulations is another slow-burn energy sink for everyone.