Digital Direct Democracy, episode #10 __ CPD Weaknesses __
The last episode considered the Strengths of the Citizens’ Preferences Database proposal and, in general, the likelihood that Digital Direct Democracy can gain widespread public acceptance.
Weaknesses.
‘Weakness’, like ‘strength’ is largely a matter of personal opinion. What I consider a strength, you may think a weakness.
Consider this. Anyone whose income is partially or totally derived from taxes - through government employment, subsidies or otherwise - will be predisposed to oppose the CPD proposal.
On the other hand, the CPD will likely be popular among citizens who are employed in the private sector, believe themselves to be over-taxed and are frustrated by too many government rules.
In the interest on transparency, I fit the latter profile, my wife the former. With this said, the following are what I suspect will be considered weaknesses by many citizens.
»> The CPD introduces change. To resist it is to forfeit resilience.
The ‘unknown’ often generates anxiety in people compared to the ‘known’. This is true even when the ‘status quo’ is not ideal.
We arrange our lives around the ‘known’ - the rules, expectations and incentives which become manifest through our choice of work/workplaces, social groups, entertainment/sports pastimes, travel preferences and cultural exposures, and more.
To survive and thrive within our ‘known’ circumstances, we learn to navigate and leverage these to fulfill our own needs and desires. This builds resilience.
This advantage is not reliably available when dealing with the ‘unknown’.
Besides ‘death and taxes’, change is unavoidable. Individuals can either embrace change and learn how to make it work for them, or to avoid it only to be surprised someday when is catches them off guard with unacceptable consequences.
Those who embrace change acquire resilience which, in turn, is a strong predictor of superior outcomes whenever change is unavoidable.
»> An adjustment period is expected for each person.
It will take time for citizens to familiarize themselves with the new system.
Some will be early adopters, others late, and a portion won’t participate for a variety of reasons.
Much like selecting an insurance policy, individuals will carefully evaluate their needs, liabilities and preferences.
Some citizens will become more adept than others in their use of the Citizens’ Preference Database, its online interface options, and the best ways to keep informed. Updating one’s Personal Preferences Profile will likely be a learned competency acquired from regular use and ‘trial and error’.
»> Out of sight, out of mind.
People who use computer systems daily to carry out their work duties usually master these systems through frequent use. The CPD system is NOT one that the average Canadian will visit frequently to update their Personal Preferences Profile (PPP).
The PPP is a “set it and forget it” record that is referenced in real time during all of your digital payment transactions.
This adjudication method ensures that you are only taxed for public services for which you have subscribed (i.e. chosen to Opt-In.)
Citizens will sign in to their CPD account when their personal circumstances change, or when they receive notice of changes to the CPD that prompts them to update their Personal Preferences Profile.
»> “Survivival of the fittest” is king in free markets.
All competitive businesses experience changing market conditions. These are considered normal dynamics in competitive markets.
The winners and survivors are those with tenacity, resilience and a good business strategy, well executed.
To survive competition, government service providers must be able to adapt to dynamic market conditions. This will be unfamiliar terrain for most of them. The possibility of failure leading to bankruptcy is real in competitive markets.
The formerly-protected government entities will surely face very difficult decisions as they explore business models and organizational structures that will enable them to succeed at winning and retaining market share.
EXAMPLE: Climate Change Crisis Theory (CCCT) market. In canada, $Billions have been spent by governments to create a Climate Change Governmental Complex (CCGC) in the belief that they are responsible to mitigate an alleged climate crisis. What would happen to those past and ongoing investments, and the associated bureaucracies, if 80% of Canadians chose to Opt-Out of accepting any tax or regulation compliance liabilities associated with the CCCT programs and their mandates? The Climate Change Governmental Complex (CCGC) would likely collapse. At the very least, it would shrink in size, budget and scope of authority to levels that would be sustainable for its new market reality.
»> A new reality: a sweeping new paradigm.
Constant adaptation is key for long-term success, and government entities like the CCGC are not known for this quality.
Most if not all public institutions currently offers programs and services on an exclusive basis. When they become subject to citizen Opt-In and Opt-Out choices, competition will force them to embrace the kind of agility and flexibility common to businesses that compete, say, in the retail sector.
Many modern consumers, especially online shoppers, research their options before making a purchase. They won’t buy anything they DON’T need, want or can’t afford.
The ability to Opt-Out of many government-imposed tax expenses will enable consumers to deploy those tax savings on other products or services that they DO need, want and can afford.
The new dynamic reality that Digital Direct Democracy solutions, like the CPD, will introduce to the Canadian economy will liberate the freedom of informed choice for everyone. Government entities, which formerly held a lock on revenues streams from coerced taxation, will face an uncertain future.
»> Work cultures are “oil and water”.
Another point to consider is that many non-governmental competitors will not face the kind of radical down-sizing adjustments and “right-sizing” experimentation that the government service providers will face in order to succeed in competitive markets. Significant among these will be changes required in the workplace.
Government employees, who are unaccustomed to employment in firms that face competitive markets, will find business workplaces challenging. Many differences exist.
Consider, for example, the following differences. Labour unions are rare in non-government workplaces. Performance expectations play a bigger role than seniority when employee pay increases and promotions are considered. Employment benefits are usually not as generous in competitive businesses, including vacation allotments. Longer hours are common: while many government employees enjoy 35-hour work weeks, business employees often work until the day’s job is done which often results 40+ hours per week without overtime pay.
However, there is a silver lining. As non-governmental service providers capture more market share, that job market is expected to grow. There will be a high demand for knowledgeable and skilled workers. If former government employees possess related work experience, and they can adapt readily to the expectations of business entrepreneurs, they will likely be the first choice for job openings which align well with their work qualifications.
Obsolescence: a long term consequence
Entire industries have come and gone since Canada became a nation.
Advances in science and technology have always been the prime drivers of these changes.
When I consider just the changes that I have personally witnessed since 1977 as a new employer of IBM Canada until today as a retiree in 2024, those changes were beyond anything I could have imagined. And this is just one industry!
»> Advances in Science and Technology increase human productivity.
This reality has been very evident to average Canadian consumers who have experienced many changes in the retail, web and services businesses where they shop.
Efficiencies, cost reductions, customer service improvements, the quality and range of consumer choices, ROI, flexible work arrangements, and more - these were the primary goals that business executives have pursued whenever they decided to make new technology investments.
Few of these entrepreneurial goals are top-of-mind when government officials make investment decisions.
Protecting the vested interests of existing stakeholders is usually a higher priority.
»> Massive change is coming to the public sector.
Governments as we have known them are undergoing transformative forces of unprecedented powers. These are much greater than those that affected the destinies of so many former great industries of the past. Advances in AI will surely be among the most powerful of these forces.
»> The future of public institutions is uncertain. Their leaders know it.
It is no accident that men like Dr. Klaus Schwab have created and continues to lead enterprises like the Work Economics Forum. A degree in Mechanical Engineering, a PhD in Economics and a former career in Germany’s manufacturing sector - these all came together for Schwab to envision and produce impressive forecasts of the major socio-economic changes that would be driven by steady and rapid advances in technology.
After publishing The Fourth Indistrial Revolution in 2016, Klaus Schwab became somewhat of an ‘oracle’.
He attracted leaders of tech giants, billionaire investors and international political elites to understand his vision for the future.
They all sought to get ahead of the 4IR evolution and attempt to shape it to their advantage.
»> Humanity is to be harnessed for profit and power.
Across the globe, billions of national and eventually “post-national” citizens are “the crop to be harvested” by an elite class of people who are promoting, orchestrating and funding these changes.
As the world economy and its power regimes evolve , new “kings” will be crowned and we, their subjects, will be expected to live under their rule, or else.
The private sector has readily embraced the 4IR revolution because it is in the interests of entrepreneurs to do so. The rise of giants like Meta, Alphabet and Amazon are all the evidence you need.
The more change-resistant public sector, on the other hand, has left open a soft bureaucratic underbelly for 4IR actors to either transform for profit, or to leverage ‘corporatism’ to harness humanity for access to enormous wealth and power.
Who will win? Nobody knows!
