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alexpotatotoday at 8:52 PM2 repliesview on HN

So interesting point about things being public vs not:

If congressional votes are private, you never REALLY know if your congressperson is actually voting in your best interests. You only see certain bills pass and if they are in your favor, you can probably make some assumptions if they voted or not.

If the votes are public, now EVERYONE can see who they voted for. That sounds great! Then you realize that lobbyists can also see who the congressperson voted for. Lobbyists that have a lot more money and influence than you do. Lobbyists that can hold back millions if the vote is against their interests.

My point isn't that one format isn't better than the other. My point is that there are "no solutions, only tradeoffs"


Replies

fogoftoday at 9:10 PM

Do you think there is a tradeoff in this case? If so, what is the best counterargument against making PACER records free? I think it's important to note, as the article does, that these records are already "public" (that's what the "P" stands for) what's at issue is whether you should be charged a fee to access them.

functionmousetoday at 9:18 PM

ban lobbying