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by
Ralph Nader
May
24, 2003
Do
new technologies trump power and decentralize it as some technophiles believe?
Not if repressive power gets there first.
Here
are three examples from the federal government where either corporate or
political power has blocked technology from helping you assess your elected
Representatives and receive a more efficient government.
1.
Log onto the website of your Congressional Representatives. Over 95 percent of
members of the House and Senate still do not place their voting record there in
a clear, timely and promptly retrievable fashion.
For
an example of one legislator who does, see:
www.house.gov/wolf/VotingRecord.htm.
Now
is there anything more important to be regularly on elected officials' websites
than their voting record? A PEW survey shows people want such information above
all other. Fingertip access by voters back home, by the press, by students and
scholars would change the dynamic of accountability between politicians and the
people. But the politicians have other ideas. They want to communicate to their
constituents through their slick newsletters, radio and television monologues
and other formats where they can shine, sloganize and obfuscate.
For
two years, some citizen groups, including ours, have been demanding that all
members do what Cong. Frank Wolf and Cong. Christopher Shays have done for
years. I have written to the Democratic and Republican leadership in the House
and Senate twice urging that their members publish their voting records. So
adverse are the two parties to performing this simple service for the folks
back home who pay their salary, benefits and perks, that these leaders have not
even bothered to respond.
The
Technology is available. The Power says No. So you try with your lawmakers.
(Don't let them mislead you by links to the cumbersome Thomas database.)
2.
Federal departments and agencies sign hundreds of billions of dollars in contracts
with corporations each year. Technology permits them to put these contracts on
their website in full view of potentially better competitors, scholars, the
media and any citizen who wants to question them in whole or in part. Power by
corporations, in sync with bureaucrats who prefer to work in the shadows, says
no.
So
all kinds of deals with oil, gas, coal, hard rock mineral companies, drug and
health care companies, weapons manufacturers, computer and assorted supplier
firms, consulting outfits and landlords - to name a few - would be exposed to
the sunshine. Justice Louis Brandeis once called this kind of sunshine,
"the best disinfectant."
Quite
likely, there would be less waste, fraud and corruption, and more quality
competition. Fairer provisions for the taxpayers would start replacing these
one-sided agreements and handouts that favor vendors and corporate welfare
kings.
Now
it looks like Technology has a backer. The Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), under the leadership of Mitch Daniels, wants these contracts online
above a certain minimum dollar amount and with due regard to redacting
sentences involving national security. OMB will see to it that a proposed
system to achieve this open government will be placed very soon in the Federal Register
for public comment. At last, Power For vs. Power Against. Let's see who wins.
3.
The US government is a huge consumer of software. But Microsoft has huge
monopoly power in the market for operating systems and also for applications
like word processors, spreadsheets and presentation graphics.The Justice
Department let Microsoft off when it had the monopolist in a full nelson!
Still, the US government, as a Big Consumer, can use its vast purchasing power
to break this Microsoft monopoly and save hundreds of millions of dollars
yearly by dramatically changing software markets.
The
source of Microsoft's power is its control over standards and, in particular,
Microsoft's ability to change constantly the formats in which data are stored.
People pay top dollar for upgrades to Microsoft Word and Powerpoint simply to
be guaranteed that they can read, exchange and edit files with others.
Yet
there are competitive software programs that do a fine job of creating and
editing documents and presentations. However, users are afraid these
non-Microsoft products will not be able to properly read and modify documents
created by Microsoft's dominant software.
The
US government can "solve" this problem by requiring, through a
customer specification, that all software programs it purchases use as a
default a nonproprietary data format which is approved by all competitors.
There
is no reason for a monopoly on word processing or presentation graphics
programs. People use dozens if not hundreds of different programs to create web
pages, and this works for a simple reason. The World Wide Web is based upon
open standards. If our government-as-consumer leads the way, it can stimulate
competition and innovations for these important software applications. If the
government does not lead the way, we may soon find there are no competitors
left.
The
Technology is there. Will the democratic Power be there to put it to work?
Let's hear from you at info@essential.org.
Ralph Nader is America’s
leading consumer advocate. He is the founder of numerous public interest groups
including Public Citizen, and has twice
run for President as a Green Party candidate. His
latest book is Crashing the Party: How to Tell the Truth and Still Run for
President (St. Martin’s Press, 2002)