Dilbert: We need a 'user interface branch of the government'

Dilbert creator Scott Adams has a great editorial in The Wall Street Journal where he provides serious commentary on government and how civic-focused design would help modernize and better meet citizen expectations.

Quotables:

There's a reason changing our system of government is slow going. I like to think of the government as a big, complicated machine. We citizens are the users. What we've always lacked is a well-designed user interface. That's not a surprise when you consider the era in which our system was invented. Back then, the user interface for your mule involved a wooden club and language that would offend a pirate.

Perhaps what we need is a fourth branch of government, smallish and economical, operating independently, with a mission to build and maintain a friendly user interface for citizens to manage their government.

Imagine showing Jefferson the Internet. I think he'd immediately launch a start-up, design three apps and propose a new form of government that leverages social networks, all before lunch.

Full story: What If Government Were More Like an iPod?