What are some optimal tax rates? What are the target individual finances (food, housing, retirement, etc)? What should government spend money on?
I manifestly do not care what the absolute values are for minimum wage, fees, various tax rates, government spending, etc.
I do care about fairness, equal opportunity, rule of law, and empowerment. I care that people can feed and educate their kids, grow old, and play with their grandkids.
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I want a SimCity for IRL policy.
Policy makers first simulate their proposals. Then repeat their experiments in the real world.
First a little, then a lot.
Hypothesis, experiment, evaluate. Rinse, lather, repeat.
As circumstances change and new ideas crop up, better strategies displace old strategies.
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We're geeks. We should be thinking about this stuff systematically. Lead by example.