CDR: Re: Wired News Senate scorecard: Democrats beat Republicans

[Tim May]

At 9:55 AM -0500 11/6/00, Declan McCullagh wrote:
>Just in time for Tuesday's election, Wired News has compiled a tech 
>scorecard for the U.S. Senate.

Showing the foolishness of converting a more nuanced, vector form of 
voting records into a simplistic, scalar form. Consider some of these 
questions:

>
>    #4: A vote to require federal candidates to disclose contributions
>    online within 24 hours. (Yes is 1)

Supporters of liberty don't like "campaign disclosure" laws at all, 
let alone "online disclosure." Consider the equally onerous violation 
of the First Amendment:

"Those writing articles must disclose online anyone with whom they 
have had financial relationships over the past 5 years." A clear 
violation of the First, right? So is any limit on who I support 
financially, who I give money to, how candidates raise money, etc.

>
>    #8: A vote to create an information-technology-training tax credit.
>    (Yes is 1)

Just another special interest tax loophole. Those interested in 
liberty know that these loopholes distort the free market. The usual 
result of such "training credits" is a series of mostly-bogus "Learn 
to Operate Keypunch Machines at the Control Data Institute!!" radio 
ads for fly-by-night schools in areas very far from technology 
centers. Getting the training subsidies is what matters.

In these cases, I would argue strongly that a "No is 1."

No wonder the Dems did so well.

Again, the real problem is trying to collapse multiple issues into a 
simple-minded "technology score." At least the Nolan Chart 
understands that at least two dimensions are needed.


--Tim May
-- 
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Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
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