The American people have lost faith that our government can get things done.
We need to fix that, and as one of the most innovative and entrepreneurial countries that has ever existed, there is no reason we can’t get there.
During the pandemic, economically disadvantaged citizens and those who do not own a home experienced disproportionate delays in receiving funds. Our representatives succeeded in passing legislation, and, still, our antiquated systems stood between the people who needed help and the help they were promised. Great things are possible, but we need forward thinking to unlock bureaucracy.
We’re used to banking, ordering food, and arranging transportation online. Many track their health and communicate primarily via their phone. We need to modernize the way our government communicates and delivers services to our population to match this convenience.
An online Citizen’s Portal would allow Americans to access and apply for benefits, see tax info, renew licenses, fill out a census, register to vote, and get important updates on what’s going on in Congress. This online portal and app would enable people anywhere in the country to have immediate access to all of these services.
There are hurdles to overcome with data privacy, security, and interoperability of government data sets. State unemployment benefits are run out of state agencies that don’t interface with the federal government. The IRS, CDC, Census Bureau, and Small Business Administration don’t pool data with each other. But these are all problems that also need addressing, and if we can fix them while also making government services more accessible to everyone, we should. All we need is the vision and the will.
Problems to be Solved:
- People don’t believe the federal government can get things done anymore.
- Most people have many interactions every year with government agencies (both local and federal - the DMV, the IRS, etc…), and they’re universally viewed as painful.
- Many people should be benefiting from services that they can’t access or don’t know about.
- The operations of the government are obscure and removed from people’s everyday lives.
“We should make citizenship easy - from getting tax refunds to renewing your passport to seeing your representative’s voting record. A citizen's portal could improve the ease and efficiency of modern life to millions and save the equivalent of millions of hours of time that could be better spent elsewhere.”
–Andrew Yang
Solutions:
- Consolidate federal systems and data sets, and work with states to allow for their data and systems to work with federal ones.
- Create an online Citizen’s Portal, available to everyone living in this country, where information and services can be provided.
If this sounds like the future you want to build for America, consider donating today!
Do you agree?
