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Why Computer Programmers Would Make Good Legislators
Burkhart's Blog ^ | 11.22.09 | Alan Burkhart

Posted on 11/22/2009 8:28:09 PM PST by neverhome

...Every time a new law is created, whatever problem they were trying to solve usually gets worse (and more expensive). But, rather than repealing or rewriting the buggy law, they just keep piling on more legalese and spending more money until the original problem finally goes away. But as we all know, in the process of writing all this massive, mindless legislation, they invariably create a brand new mess of problems.

And of course, they now feel the need to write yet more laws to solve the new problems (that they caused), and the vicious circle continues. The bank failures, courtesy of The Community Reinvestment Act, come to mind...

(Excerpt) Read more at alanburkhart.blogspot.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Computers/Internet; Government; Hobbies
KEYWORDS: cost; healthcare; legislation; programming
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Dreaming this up tells me I have been sitting at home way too long ;-)
1 posted on 11/22/2009 8:28:11 PM PST by neverhome
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To: neverhome

***in the process of writing all this massive, mindless legislation, they invariably create a brand new mess of problems.

And of course, they now feel the need to write yet more laws to solve the new problems (that they caused), and the vicious circle continues.**

OH, like the Microsoft SERVICE PACKS????


2 posted on 11/22/2009 8:31:29 PM PST by gwilhelm56 (Pray for Obama: Psalm 109:8 "Let his days be few; and let another take his office. ")
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To: gwilhelm56
OH, like the Microsoft SERVICE PACKS????

Exactomundo!
3 posted on 11/22/2009 8:41:55 PM PST by neverhome (Everyone shut up until AFTER I have my coffee)
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To: neverhome

I beg to argue with this. I know when I enter:
if(budget <= expenses){
break;
}

politicians don’t understand simple logic like that


4 posted on 11/22/2009 8:46:12 PM PST by smith288 (Peace at all costs gives you tyranny free of charge)
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To: smith288
"I beg to argue with this..."

Ah... but here's how they do it in DC:

Do While budget <= expenses
budget.increment(10,000,000)
EndWhile

5 posted on 11/22/2009 8:52:04 PM PST by neverhome (Everyone shut up until AFTER I have my coffee)
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To: neverhome
I still say that we should have a constitutional amendment that restricts all legislation to a certain number of words, such as 100. If you have a complicated problem, you'll simply have to pass more than one piece of legislation to get it addressed, but all pieces of legislation must be voted on individually. So, if you want to, say, build a bridge, you might have to pass bill to authorize the building of the bridge, with the whens and wheres, and another bill to authorize money for the project. This would avoid the monstrosities such as the healthcare bill which are designed specifically to be ambiguous and indecipherable so that the legal class can then claim that it says whatever they want it to say, and who would know better?

The programming analogy works perfectly - the 100 word limit would be modular programming vs. spaghetti programming. Any programmer knows that when a segment of code gets too long it becomes unwieldly and, if long enough, will be almost impossible to debug if it is all one module. Break it down into modules, and it becomes far more manageable.
6 posted on 11/22/2009 8:53:30 PM PST by fr_freak
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To: neverhome

Hockey Moms make he best legislators!


7 posted on 11/22/2009 8:54:24 PM PST by Longhair_and_Leather (Don't send a boy to do a man's job, send a woman--Sarah 2012!)
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To: fr_freak

And earmarks should be forbidden outright. Lord only knows how much earmarks have cost us over the years.

And you’re right - any time I see my VB code getting over-long, I look for ways to break it up. Same principle should apply to legislation.


8 posted on 11/22/2009 8:59:35 PM PST by neverhome (Everyone shut up until AFTER I have my coffee)
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To: Longhair_and_Leather

Speak loudly and carry a big (hockey) stick! :-)


9 posted on 11/22/2009 9:01:58 PM PST by neverhome (Everyone shut up until AFTER I have my coffee)
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To: neverhome
Ah... but here's how they do it in DC:

Do While budget <= expenses budget.increment(10,000,000) EndWhile


Actually, your example is still too sane for D.C. (or Sacramento or any other capitol). The real code is this:

Spend_money(budget_limit)
    Do While budget <= budget_limit
    budget.increment(10,000,000)
    EndWhile
    printf("It's time for the rich to pay their fair share!")
    new_budget_limit=budget_limit+100,000,000
    spend_money(new_budget_limit)

10 posted on 11/22/2009 9:02:41 PM PST by fr_freak
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To: fr_freak

“Actually, your example is still too sane for D.C. (or Sacramento or any other capitol).”

Yep, there it is. The endless loop programmers dread, but politicians evidently salivate over.

Let’s keep it simple though. Code’s getting long:

Function spend()
budget += 10,000,000
Goto spend()

Please don’t ask me what language that was supposed to be.
(TI Basic maybe?)


11 posted on 11/22/2009 9:12:51 PM PST by neverhome (Everyone shut up until AFTER I have my coffee)
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To: neverhome

I agree with you... the big problem in DC is that apparently nobody there thinks in terms of “cause -> effect” (ie logic) or “if X happens, what caused X?’.... *sigh*


12 posted on 11/22/2009 9:15:16 PM PST by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: fr_freak; Lazamataz

Bring yer code, cowboy.

Everybody else is doin C or variants and I’m trying to do it in SQL, but I’d rather write it in Cognos.


13 posted on 11/22/2009 9:24:55 PM PST by txhurl (Go Rogue or Go Home!)
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To: txhurl

“Bring yer code, cowboy...”

Code is poetry, no matter the language.


14 posted on 11/22/2009 9:31:23 PM PST by neverhome (Everyone shut up until AFTER I have my coffee)
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To: OneWingedShark

Cause and effect are not important to politicians. It’s more like “The end justifies the means” with them.


15 posted on 11/22/2009 9:39:30 PM PST by neverhome (Everyone shut up until AFTER I have my coffee)
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To: neverhome

Okay, wait just one minute. What’s the monetary pay off for the body odor, junk food left overs, and over all gender neutral whateverness of the coding world?


16 posted on 11/22/2009 9:44:28 PM PST by concentric circles
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To: neverhome
SR R15,R15
BR R14

-PJ

17 posted on 11/22/2009 10:07:19 PM PST by Political Junkie Too (Every child will be a natural born criminal until their parents add them to their health care plan.)
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To: neverhome
Not a bad idea. Programmers could also code in referential integrity for any new law (or old law) such that it would have to comply with the US Constitution.

That right there would diminish the US Code to a very small stack of paper.

18 posted on 11/22/2009 10:09:05 PM PST by meadsjn (Sarah 2012, or sooner)
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To: concentric circles
"What’s the monetary pay off for the body odor, junk food left overs, and over all gender neutral whateverness of the coding world?"

Junk food? No no no. I have no idea where all these candy wrappers, pizza boxes and empty peanut bags came from. Maybe the maid left them...
19 posted on 11/22/2009 10:09:17 PM PST by neverhome (Everyone shut up until AFTER I have my coffee)
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To: smith288

programmers can’t get eelected- not experts in the fine art of lieing.


20 posted on 11/22/2009 10:13:02 PM PST by genghis
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