As I walk to work, I often have ideas as my mind wanders. This is one of those. It was sparks by thinking of the sentencing of Rod Blagojevich, marijuana possessions, and crimes committed by financial institutions during the financial crisis. When you compare sentences, the magnitude of the crime and its impact on society often seem disconnected.

This is also true with government spending and taxes. The actual “settings” often don’t match what we think the should be. We are also usually unclear as to what the settings are at all.

Step 1 diagram

The purpose of this idea would be to A) clarify what we feel is most important B) see how that matches with reality and C) develop a sense of where our priorities should go.

Step 2 diagram

I don’t have the time to take this any further, but here’s what I mocked up as a possible Web tool to accomplish this.

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