Let's simplify legal jargon - Alan Siegel
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so<00:00:16.480> basically<00:00:17.359> we<00:00:17.520> have<00:00:17.720> public<00:00:18.160> leaders
so basically we have public leaders
so basically we have public leaders
public<00:00:19.480> officials<00:00:19.880> who<00:00:20.000> are<00:00:20.080> out<00:00:20.240> of<00:00:20.359> control
public officials who are out of control
public officials who are out of control
they're<00:00:21.160> writing<00:00:21.640> bills<00:00:22.080> that<00:00:22.199> are
they're writing bills that are
they're writing bills that are
unintelligible<00:00:23.840> and<00:00:24.560> out<00:00:24.680> of<00:00:24.840> these<00:00:25.000> bills
unintelligible and out of these bills
unintelligible and out of these bills
are<00:00:25.400> going<00:00:25.519> to<00:00:25.599> come<00:00:25.880> maybe<00:00:26.320> 40,000<00:00:27.320> pages<00:00:27.640> of
are going to come maybe 40,000 pages of
are going to come maybe 40,000 pages of
regulations<00:00:29.160> total<00:00:29.519> complex
regulations total complex
regulations total complex
which<00:00:30.880> has<00:00:31.000> a<00:00:31.160> dramatically<00:00:32.040> negative<00:00:32.520> impact
which has a dramatically negative impact
which has a dramatically negative impact
on<00:00:33.040> our<00:00:33.399> life<00:00:34.399> um<00:00:34.520> if<00:00:34.600> you're<00:00:34.800> a<00:00:34.920> veteran
on our life um if you're a veteran
on our life um if you're a veteran
coming<00:00:35.680> back<00:00:36.000> from<00:00:36.320> Iraq<00:00:36.640> or<00:00:37.239> Vietnam<00:00:38.239> uh<00:00:38.840> you
coming back from Iraq or Vietnam uh you
coming back from Iraq or Vietnam uh you
face<00:00:39.320> a<00:00:39.520> blizzard<00:00:40.000> of<00:00:40.320> paperwork<00:00:40.800> to<00:00:40.960> get<00:00:41.079> your
face a blizzard of paperwork to get your
face a blizzard of paperwork to get your
benefits<00:00:41.760> if<00:00:41.840> you're<00:00:41.960> trying<00:00:42.160> to<00:00:42.280> get<00:00:42.399> a<00:00:42.520> small
benefits if you're trying to get a small
benefits if you're trying to get a small
business<00:00:43.120> loan<00:00:43.680> you<00:00:43.879> face<00:00:44.120> a<00:00:44.280> blizzard<00:00:44.680> of
business loan you face a blizzard of
business loan you face a blizzard of
paperwork<00:00:45.600> what<00:00:45.719> are<00:00:45.800> we<00:00:45.879> going<00:00:46.000> to<00:00:46.120> do<00:00:46.280> about
paperwork what are we going to do about
paperwork what are we going to do about
it<00:00:47.280> I<00:00:47.480> Define<00:00:47.960> Simplicity<00:00:48.960> as<00:00:49.079> a<00:00:49.280> means<00:00:49.640> to
it I Define Simplicity as a means to
it I Define Simplicity as a means to
achieving<00:00:50.399> Clarity<00:00:51.440> transparency<00:00:52.440> and
achieving Clarity transparency and
achieving Clarity transparency and
empathy<00:00:53.559> you<00:00:53.760> building<00:00:54.239> Humanity<00:00:54.840> into
empathy you building Humanity into
empathy you building Humanity into
Communications<00:00:56.640> I've<00:00:56.800> been<00:00:57.160> simplifying
Communications I've been simplifying
Communications I've been simplifying
things<00:00:58.079> for<00:00:58.280> 30<00:00:58.640> years<00:00:59.399> I<00:00:59.559> come<00:00:59.719> up<00:01:00.079> the<00:01:00.199> out<00:01:00.280> of
things for 30 years I come up the out of
things for 30 years I come up the out of
the<00:01:00.559> advertising<00:01:01.079> and<00:01:01.320> design<00:01:01.719> business<00:01:02.440> my
the advertising and design business my
the advertising and design business my
focus<00:01:03.160> is<00:01:04.119> understanding<00:01:05.119> you<00:01:05.400> people<00:01:06.280> and
focus is understanding you people and
focus is understanding you people and
how<00:01:06.720> you<00:01:07.040> interact<00:01:07.560> with<00:01:07.720> the<00:01:07.960> government<00:01:08.360> to
how you interact with the government to
how you interact with the government to
get<00:01:08.680> your<00:01:08.920> benefits<00:01:09.840> how<00:01:09.960> you<00:01:10.119> interact<00:01:10.560> with
get your benefits how you interact with
get your benefits how you interact with
corporations<00:01:11.520> decide<00:01:11.880> who<00:01:12.040> you're<00:01:12.159> going<00:01:12.240> to
corporations decide who you're going to
corporations decide who you're going to
do<00:01:12.600> business<00:01:13.040> with<00:01:13.920> uh<00:01:14.080> and<00:01:14.240> how<00:01:14.360> you<00:01:14.560> view
do business with uh and how you view
do business with uh and how you view
Brands<00:01:16.080> so<00:01:16.320> very<00:01:16.600> quickly<00:01:17.439> when<00:01:18.280> President
Brands so very quickly when President
Brands so very quickly when President
Obama<00:01:19.479> said<00:01:20.479> um<00:01:20.799> I<00:01:20.960> I<00:01:21.000> don't<00:01:21.159> see<00:01:21.439> why<00:01:21.560> we<00:01:21.720> can't
Obama said um I I don't see why we can't
Obama said um I I don't see why we can't
have<00:01:22.400> a<00:01:22.680> one-page<00:01:23.680> plain<00:01:24.119> English<00:01:24.720> Consumer
have a one-page plain English Consumer
have a one-page plain English Consumer
Credit<00:01:25.479> agreement<00:01:26.400> so<00:01:26.600> I<00:01:26.680> locked<00:01:27.040> myself<00:01:27.320> in<00:01:27.439> a
Credit agreement so I locked myself in a
Credit agreement so I locked myself in a
room<00:01:28.680> figured<00:01:29.040> out<00:01:29.200> the<00:01:29.400> content
room figured out the content
room figured out the content
organized<00:01:31.320> the<00:01:31.520> document<00:01:31.960> and<00:01:32.079> wrote<00:01:32.280> it<00:01:32.439> in
organized the document and wrote it in
organized the document and wrote it in
plain<00:01:32.840> English<00:01:33.799> I've<00:01:34.000> had<00:01:34.200> this<00:01:34.439> checked<00:01:35.079> by
plain English I've had this checked by
plain English I've had this checked by
the<00:01:35.360> two<00:01:35.680> top<00:01:35.920> consumer<00:01:36.360> credit<00:01:36.600> lawyers<00:01:36.960> in
the two top consumer credit lawyers in
the two top consumer credit lawyers in
the<00:01:37.240> country<00:01:37.920> this<00:01:38.119> is<00:01:38.240> a<00:01:38.399> real<00:01:39.000> thing<00:01:40.000> now<00:01:40.640> uh
the country this is a real thing now uh
the country this is a real thing now uh
I<00:01:41.399> I<00:01:41.479> went<00:01:41.720> one<00:01:41.920> step<00:01:42.159> further<00:01:42.439> and<00:01:42.600> said<00:01:42.840> why
I I went one step further and said why
I I went one step further and said why
do<00:01:43.079> we<00:01:43.240> have<00:01:43.360> to<00:01:43.520> stick<00:01:43.759> with<00:01:43.920> the<00:01:44.040> sty<00:01:44.439> lawyers
do we have to stick with the sty lawyers
do we have to stick with the sty lawyers
and<00:01:45.119> just<00:01:45.719> have<00:01:46.320> a<00:01:46.520> a<00:01:46.759> paper<00:01:47.159> document<00:01:47.560> let's
and just have a a paper document let's
and just have a a paper document let's
go<00:01:48.240> online<00:01:49.240> so<00:01:50.240> many<00:01:50.560> people<00:01:51.079> might<00:01:51.320> need<00:01:52.040> help
go online so many people might need help
go online so many people might need help
in<00:01:52.520> computation<00:01:53.280> working<00:01:53.600> with<00:01:53.719> a<00:01:53.880> Harvard
in computation working with a Harvard
in computation working with a Harvard
Business<00:01:54.560> School<00:01:55.560> uh<00:01:55.640> you'll<00:01:55.799> see<00:01:56.079> this
Business School uh you'll see this
Business School uh you'll see this
example<00:01:56.719> when<00:01:56.840> you<00:01:57.000> talk<00:01:57.200> about<00:01:57.479> minimum
example when you talk about minimum
example when you talk about minimum
payments<00:01:58.880> if<00:01:59.200> you<00:01:59.320> spend<00:01:59.920> $2<00:02:00.920> for<00:02:01.079> a<00:02:01.200> meal<00:02:02.000> the
payments if you spend $2 for a meal the
payments if you spend $2 for a meal the
longer<00:02:02.560> you<00:02:02.920> take<00:02:03.159> to<00:02:03.399> pay<00:02:03.600> out<00:02:04.200> that<00:02:04.360> loan<00:02:04.640> you
longer you take to pay out that loan you
longer you take to pay out that loan you
see<00:02:05.439> over<00:02:05.680> a<00:02:05.840> period<00:02:06.079> of<00:02:06.240> time<00:02:06.439> using<00:02:06.719> the
see over a period of time using the
see over a period of time using the
minimum<00:02:07.240> payment<00:02:07.680> it's
minimum payment it's
minimum payment it's
$997<00:02:10.479> how<00:02:10.640> about<00:02:10.959> that<00:02:11.200> you<00:02:11.319> think<00:02:11.440> your
$997 how about that you think your
$997 how about that you think your
bank's<00:02:11.920> going<00:02:12.040> to<00:02:12.160> show<00:02:12.440> that<00:02:12.560> to<00:02:12.760> people<00:02:13.760> but
bank's going to show that to people but
bank's going to show that to people but
it's<00:02:14.000> going<00:02:14.120> to<00:02:14.280> work<00:02:14.519> it's<00:02:14.680> more<00:02:14.959> effective
it's going to work it's more effective
it's going to work it's more effective
than<00:02:15.519> just<00:02:15.720> computational<00:02:16.440> AIDS<00:02:17.000> and<00:02:17.160> what
than just computational AIDS and what
than just computational AIDS and what
about<00:02:18.200> uh<00:02:18.360> terms<00:02:19.000> like<00:02:19.720> um<00:02:20.400> over<00:02:20.720> the<00:02:20.959> limit<00:02:21.959> um
about uh terms like um over the limit um
about uh terms like um over the limit um
perhaps<00:02:22.519> a<00:02:22.680> stealth<00:02:23.160> thing<00:02:23.720> def<00:02:23.959> find<00:02:24.080> it<00:02:24.200> in
perhaps a stealth thing def find it in
perhaps a stealth thing def find it in
context<00:02:24.959> tell<00:02:25.239> people<00:02:25.519> what<00:02:25.640> it<00:02:25.760> means<00:02:26.599> when
context tell people what it means when
context tell people what it means when
you<00:02:26.840> put<00:02:26.959> it<00:02:27.080> in<00:02:27.239> plain<00:02:27.480> English<00:02:28.239> you<00:02:28.400> almost
you put it in plain English you almost
you put it in plain English you almost
Force<00:02:29.000> the<00:02:29.160> institution<00:02:29.640> to<00:02:30.000> give<00:02:30.160> the<00:02:30.319> people
Force the institution to give the people
Force the institution to give the people
away<00:02:31.000> a<00:02:31.200> default<00:02:31.680> out<00:02:31.840> of<00:02:31.959> that<00:02:32.080> and<00:02:32.200> not<00:02:32.400> put
away a default out of that and not put
away a default out of that and not put
themselves<00:02:33.000> at<00:02:33.200> risk<00:02:34.200> plain<00:02:34.640> English<00:02:35.640> is
themselves at risk plain English is
themselves at risk plain English is
about<00:02:37.280> changing<00:02:37.720> the<00:02:37.959> content<00:02:38.840> and<00:02:38.959> one<00:02:39.080> of
about changing the content and one of
about changing the content and one of
the<00:02:39.360> things<00:02:39.599> I'm<00:02:39.800> most<00:02:40.040> proud<00:02:40.319> of<00:02:40.519> is<00:02:40.640> this
the things I'm most proud of is this
the things I'm most proud of is this
agreement<00:02:41.400> for<00:02:41.840> IBM<00:02:42.840> it's<00:02:43.000> a<00:02:43.200> grid<00:02:43.640> it's
agreement for IBM it's a grid it's
agreement for IBM it's a grid it's
calendar<00:02:44.680> at<00:02:44.879> such<00:02:45.040> and<00:02:45.239> such<00:02:45.400> a<00:02:45.560> date<00:02:46.000> IBM<00:02:46.480> has
calendar at such and such a date IBM has
calendar at such and such a date IBM has
responsibilities<00:02:47.599> you<00:02:47.800> have
responsibilities you have
responsibilities you have
responsibilities<00:02:49.200> received<00:02:49.720> very<00:02:50.080> favorably
responsibilities received very favorably
responsibilities received very favorably
by<00:02:52.000> by<00:02:52.239> business<00:02:53.239> and<00:02:53.360> there's<00:02:53.560> some<00:02:53.760> good
by by business and there's some good
by by business and there's some good
news<00:02:54.200> to<00:02:54.400> report<00:02:54.720> today<00:02:55.360> each<00:02:55.519> year<00:02:55.720> one<00:02:55.879> in<00:02:56.080> 10
news to report today each year one in 10
news to report today each year one in 10
taxpayers<00:02:57.159> receive<00:02:57.599> a<00:02:57.720> notice<00:02:58.040> from<00:02:58.200> the<00:02:58.400> IRS
taxpayers receive a notice from the IRS
taxpayers receive a notice from the IRS
there<00:02:59.519> are<00:02:59.640> two<00:03:00.280> 200<00:03:00.640> million<00:03:01.040> letters<00:03:01.400> that
there are two 200 million letters that
there are two 200 million letters that
go<00:03:01.760> out<00:03:02.280> running<00:03:02.640> through<00:03:03.000> this<00:03:03.560> typical
go out running through this typical
go out running through this typical
letter<00:03:04.319> that<00:03:04.480> they<00:03:04.760> had<00:03:05.400> I<00:03:05.560> ran<00:03:05.760> it<00:03:05.879> through<00:03:06.040> my
letter that they had I ran it through my
letter that they had I ran it through my
Simplicity<00:03:06.720> lab<00:03:07.040> it's<00:03:07.200> pretty
Simplicity lab it's pretty
Simplicity lab it's pretty
unintelligible<00:03:08.360> all<00:03:08.680> the<00:03:09.560> um<00:03:09.879> parts<00:03:10.120> of<00:03:10.200> the
unintelligible all the um parts of the
unintelligible all the um parts of the
document<00:03:10.720> in<00:03:10.920> red<00:03:11.599> are<00:03:11.799> not<00:03:12.080> intelligible<00:03:13.080> we
document in red are not intelligible we
document in red are not intelligible we
looked<00:03:13.400> at<00:03:13.560> doing<00:03:13.879> over<00:03:14.080> a<00:03:14.239> thousand<00:03:14.599> letters
looked at doing over a thousand letters
looked at doing over a thousand letters
that<00:03:15.159> cover<00:03:15.920> 70%<00:03:16.599> of<00:03:16.720> the<00:03:16.920> transactions
that cover 70% of the transactions
that cover 70% of the transactions
they're<00:03:17.760> in<00:03:17.879> plain<00:03:18.120> English<00:03:18.480> they've<00:03:18.640> been
they're in plain English they've been
they're in plain English they've been
tested<00:03:19.120> in<00:03:19.239> the<00:03:19.400> laboratory<00:03:20.280> when<00:03:20.480> I<00:03:20.599> run<00:03:20.760> it
tested in the laboratory when I run it
tested in the laboratory when I run it
through<00:03:21.120> my<00:03:21.319> lab<00:03:22.239> uh<00:03:22.440> this<00:03:22.799> heat<00:03:23.040> mapping
through my lab uh this heat mapping
through my lab uh this heat mapping
shows<00:03:23.920> everything<00:03:24.720> is<00:03:24.879> intelligible<00:03:25.760> and<00:03:25.879> the
shows everything is intelligible and the
shows everything is intelligible and the
IRS<00:03:26.480> has<00:03:26.640> introduced<00:03:27.159> the<00:03:27.799> program<00:03:28.799> looking
IRS has introduced the program looking
IRS has introduced the program looking
at
now<00:03:33.280> there's<00:03:33.519> one<00:03:33.680> there<00:03:33.760> are<00:03:33.879> a<00:03:33.959> couple<00:03:34.159> of
now there's one there are a couple of
now there's one there are a couple of
things<00:03:34.519> going<00:03:34.760> on<00:03:35.080> right<00:03:35.239> now<00:03:35.680> that<00:03:35.840> I<00:03:36.040> want<00:03:36.159> to
things going on right now that I want to
things going on right now that I want to
bring<00:03:36.439> to<00:03:36.560> your<00:03:36.760> attention<00:03:37.760> there's<00:03:38.120> a<00:03:38.200> lot<00:03:38.360> of
bring to your attention there's a lot of
bring to your attention there's a lot of
discussion<00:03:39.000> now<00:03:39.239> about<00:03:39.720> uh<00:03:39.879> Consumer
discussion now about uh Consumer
discussion now about uh Consumer
Financial<00:03:40.879> Protection<00:03:41.400> Agency<00:03:42.400> how<00:03:42.519> to
Financial Protection Agency how to
Financial Protection Agency how to
mandate<00:03:43.360> Simplicity<00:03:44.360> we<00:03:44.480> see<00:03:44.760> all<00:03:44.959> this
mandate Simplicity we see all this
mandate Simplicity we see all this
complexity<00:03:46.439> uh<00:03:46.560> it's<00:03:46.799> incumbent<00:03:47.360> upon<00:03:47.680> us<00:03:48.480> and
complexity uh it's incumbent upon us and
complexity uh it's incumbent upon us and
this<00:03:49.080> organization<00:03:49.799> I<00:03:49.959> believe<00:03:50.560> to<00:03:50.760> make
this organization I believe to make
this organization I believe to make
Clarity
Clarity
Clarity
transparency<00:03:53.760> and<00:03:53.920> empathy<00:03:54.519> a<00:03:54.720> national
transparency and empathy a national
transparency and empathy a national
priority<00:03:56.120> there's<00:03:56.400> no<00:03:56.680> way<00:03:57.120> that<00:03:57.239> we<00:03:57.360> should
priority there's no way that we should
priority there's no way that we should
allow<00:03:58.040> government<00:03:58.439> to<00:03:58.640> communicate<00:03:59.120> the<00:03:59.239> way
allow government to communicate the way
allow government to communicate the way
they<00:03:59.799> communicate<00:04:00.560> there's<00:04:00.799> no<00:04:01.000> way<00:04:01.200> we
they communicate there's no way we
they communicate there's no way we
should<00:04:01.480> do<00:04:01.720> business<00:04:02.200> with<00:04:02.439> companies<00:04:03.439> that
should do business with companies that
should do business with companies that
have<00:04:04.280> agreements<00:04:04.879> with<00:04:05.040> stealth<00:04:05.560> provisions
have agreements with stealth provisions
have agreements with stealth provisions
and<00:04:06.159> that<00:04:06.239> are<00:04:06.519> unintelligible<00:04:07.519> so<00:04:08.159> how<00:04:08.319> we
and that are unintelligible so how we
and that are unintelligible so how we
going<00:04:08.519> to<00:04:08.640> change<00:04:08.920> the<00:04:09.079> world<00:04:09.840> make<00:04:10.840> Clarity
going to change the world make Clarity
going to change the world make Clarity
transparency<00:04:12.200> and<00:04:12.760> simplicity<00:04:13.360> a<00:04:13.519> national
transparency and simplicity a national
transparency and simplicity a national
priority<00:04:14.640> I<00:04:14.799> thank<00:04:14.959> you
priority I thank you
priority I thank you
[Music]
what<00:04:30.800> does<00:04:30.960> a<00:04:31.120> machine<00:04:31.759> know<00:04:32.000> about
what does a machine know about
what does a machine know about
itself<00:04:33.919> can<00:04:34.080> it<00:04:34.199> know<00:04:34.400> when<00:04:34.560> it<00:04:34.639> needs<00:04:34.840> to<00:04:34.960> be
itself can it know when it needs to be
itself can it know when it needs to be
repaired<00:04:36.199> and<00:04:36.360> when<00:04:36.479> it
repaired and when it
repaired and when it
doesn't<00:04:38.160> in<00:04:38.360> Industries<00:04:38.840> like<00:04:39.080> manufacturing
doesn't in Industries like manufacturing
doesn't in Industries like manufacturing
and<00:04:39.840> energy<00:04:40.600> they're<00:04:40.800> using<00:04:41.120> Predictive
and energy they're using Predictive
and energy they're using Predictive
Analytics<00:04:42.199> to<00:04:42.400> detect<00:04:42.759> signs<00:04:43.000> of<00:04:43.240> trouble
Analytics to detect signs of trouble
Analytics to detect signs of trouble
helping<00:04:44.600> some<00:04:44.840> companies<00:04:45.320> save<00:04:45.680> Millions<00:04:46.000> on
helping some companies save Millions on
helping some companies save Millions on
maintenance<00:04:47.199> because<00:04:47.520> machines<00:04:47.919> seek<00:04:48.199> help
maintenance because machines seek help
maintenance because machines seek help
before<00:04:48.880> they're<00:04:49.039> broken<00:04:50.000> and<00:04:50.160> don't<00:04:50.639> when
before they're broken and don't when
before they're broken and don't when
they're<00:04:50.960> not<00:04:51.800> that's<00:04:51.960> what<00:04:52.120> I'm<00:04:52.240> working<00:04:52.520> on
they're not that's what I'm working on
they're not that's what I'm working on
I'm<00:04:53.199> an<00:04:53.360> IBM<00:04:54.080> let's<00:04:54.240> build<00:04:54.479> a<00:04:54.639> smarter<00:04:55.039> planet
Alan Siegel, TED, TED, Talk, TEDEducation, TED-Ed, Ed, legal, law, jargon, legal, jargon, transparency
