The Background

Most Americans are required to pay taxes that go to municipal, state, and federal governments. These tax dollars are used for various purposes, such as paying government employees, NGOs, and private contractors. But most importantly, taxes should be used to address and resolve critical public policy areas for citizens nationwide. The government acknowledges this responsibility on agency websites, proposals, and expenditure reports. To evaluate the efforts of elected leaders to resolve policy concerns for the general public, citizens and civic organizations need a reliable way to evaluate and draw conclusions about the government's performance. Below are the public policy areas (the Democratic Systems) in which the government has a duty to improve societal outcomes for public:

1. Welfare System

   The Welfare System refers to a range of government programs that provide financial or other aid to individuals or groups who cannot support themselves. The goals of welfare vary, as it looks to promote the pursuance of work, education, or, in some instances, a better standard of living.

2. Public Safety System

   The Public Safety System refers to the welfare and protection of the general public. More specifically, public safety concerns the prevention and protection of the public from crimes, disasters, and other potential threats to their safety and wellbeing. In many cases, public safety engages a wide range of individuals and organizations including police, correctional institutions, emergency medical services, fire force, social workers, etc.

3. Healthcare System

   The Healthcare System is best understood as a set of overarching principles and goals that dictate how care is delivered and accessed. Health policy shapes the entire health care landscape, including both patients and providers. This broad category can be broken down into discrete policies, such as those related to mental health care and health care affordability.

4. Environmental System

   The Environmental System includes any measure by a government, corporation, or other public or private organization regarding the effects of human activities on the environment, particularly those measures that are designed to prevent or reduce harmful effects of human activities on ecosystems.

5. Education System

   The Education System deals with methods of teaching and learning in schools or school-like environments as opposed to various non-formal and informal means of socialization (e.g., rural development projects and education through parent-child relationships).

6. Economic System

   The Economic System covers the use of government spending and tax policies to influence economic conditions (the current state of the economy in the country), especially macroeconomic conditions (how larger-scale economic entities behave), including aggregate demand for goods and services, employment, inflation, and economic growth.

7. Foreign Affairs System

   The Foreign Affairs System refers to the general objectives that guide the activities and relationships of one state in its interactions with other states. The development of foreign policy is influenced by domestic considerations, the policies or behavior of other states, or plans to advance specific geopolitical designs.

8. Government Operations System

   The Government Operations System covers the processes and procedures by which the government inspects and manages federal, state, and local government operations and activities.

9. Information System

   The Information System refers to an integrated set of components for collecting, storing, and processing data and for providing information, knowledge, and digital products.