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Idea#850

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Making Government Operations More Open »

Plain Language in Goverment Documents

Why Is This Idea Important?: An informed citizenry is the cornerstone of democracy. We cannot be informed if we don't understand the information that the government provides. We cannot make informed choices or decisions on matters that affect our lives and our nation if we can't understand it. We cannot take advantage of government benefits and services if we don't understand the information. Confusion and chaos are counterproductive to an effective citizenry.

I support the Plain Writing Act of 2009 currently in the Senate and the Plain Language Act of 2009 currently in the House. Both bills would require that all government documents that convey information about benefits and services be written in plain language. We should extend that bill to include regulatory information as well. Small business (and corporations) often have a difficult time complying with regulations because the language is so complex and convoluted. The more this administration can use plain language to communicate with the public in ANY situation, but better informed we are and the better citizens we become. Even complex, legal information can be written so that non-experts can understand it. It's time to pass the bills and continue to push for plain language in plain sight (as in the new credit card bill) in federal documents. Whenever possible, transparency and plain language should be the default setting for government communication.

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Submitted by deborah 2 years ago

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Comments (4)

  1. josephrampulla said:

    The Paperwork Reduction Act made government documents more understandable. Consents for Medical procedures have to be written in plain understandable language.

    Incomprehensible language in regulations is a major disincentive for Small Business to try to play by the rules. I support the Plain Writing Act.

    In a related priority ----As we have seen the financial system is a public common in which we all have a stake. Similar regulation should address them. Mortgages, car loans, insurance policies, credit card documents etc etc are incomprehensible to the point of being useless to the common person. The language in financial documents should be regulated to be readable on 7th or 8th grade level (or something like that).

    2 years ago
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  2. pxc said:

    I posted a similar idea before realizing this was already proposed. This is an important threshold issue to all other good ideas being posted on this site.

    2 years ago
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  3. teineitalia1 said:

    There is a similar post above; it is one of the simplest and yet most profound changes we could make. What good is a "transparent" document if it obfuscates the truth? Plain and simple language is not "dumbing down" America- it would have quite the opposite effect. It would help the average citizen understand laws and be better informed on policy. thank you to everyone who pushes for this important change.

    2 years ago
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  4. josephrampulla said:

    I would like to see Plain Writing Act set the standard for legally binding or disclaimer documents --like credit card contracts, mortgages etc....

    What the hell -- we own so much of the corporate sector now why not set the standard for them too.

    2 years ago
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