Canonical empirical sources catalog and platform-wide derivation convention

v1.0 · Created May 7, 2026 for v3.2.8 (mitigation of Comprehensive Verification Report Dimension 5 finding: documents could benefit from explicit source citations on derivational claims) · Jason Robertson · Ohio · 2026

Purpose

This document catalogs the canonical empirical sources that platform analytical documents draw from, and establishes the platform's sourcing convention so readers can trace numerical claims back to their underlying sources. The Comprehensive Verification Report at v3.2.7 found that approximately forty percent of numerical claims in analytical documents do not have source-indicator language within two hundred fifty characters, but inspection showed most are derivational (e.g., a claim like '$145 billion equals $1,608 multiplied by 90 million filers' is calculation from sourced inputs rather than a separately citable empirical claim). This document addresses that finding by making the platform's sourcing taxonomy explicit and providing a single canonical reference that all analytical documents can point at.

Sourcing Convention

The platform's analytical documents follow this convention: numerical claims are either (a) directly cited to a primary source at the point of use, (b) derived through explicit calculation from inputs cited elsewhere in the same document, or (c) derived from the canonical sources cataloged below and referenced at the top of each analytical document. Derivational claims of the form '$X equals Y times Z' or 'X percent of population Y equals N people' inherit their sourcing from the inputs to the calculation; the calculation itself is the source. Readers can verify any platform claim by tracing it back through one of these three paths.

Each analytical document includes a Sources baseline statement near its top identifying which entries from this catalog are relevant to that document's claims. The catalog below enumerates the canonical sources and identifies which documents draw from each.

Canonical Sources Catalog

Federal Tax and Income Sources

Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Statistics of Income (SOI) 2023 baseline: source for individual filer counts, adjusted gross income distributions, and tax-bracket population data. Used in: Federal Income Tax Revenue Modified Architecture; Combined Reform Model income tax sheets; Federal Fiscal Impact Analysis tax-revenue stream; What This Means For You household examples; Per Citizen Benefits and Costs.

IRS Form 1040 instructions and Publication 17 (2024 tax year): source for current standard deductions ($14,600 single / $29,200 MFJ / $21,900 HOH), tax brackets, child tax credit ($2,000 per qualifying child), and other current-system parameters used as the comparison baseline. Used in: We The People Calculator; Federal Income Tax Revenue Modified Architecture; Narrative Example 100K Tax Comparison.

U.S. Treasury and Joint Committee on Taxation revenue projections: source for current federal individual income tax aggregate revenue (approximately $2.4 trillion annually). Used in: Federal Income Tax Revenue Modified Architecture; Wage Floors As Tax Architecture; Federal Fiscal Impact Analysis.

Healthcare Sources

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)) National Health Expenditure (NHE) data 2023: source for U.S. healthcare spending per capita ($14,612 baseline used throughout the platform), aggregate healthcare spending, and spending breakdowns by payer. Used in: Healthcare Transition Detailed Plan; Pillar Four Universal Healthcare Access; Federal Fiscal Impact Analysis healthcare stream; Per Citizen Benefits and Costs; Path To Reality.

Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) employer health benefits surveys: source for average employer-sponsored insurance premiums and employee contributions. Used in: We The People Calculator current-system premium baseline; What This Means For You; Healthcare Transition Detailed Plan.

Demographic and Population Sources

U.S. Census Bureau population estimates 2023: source for total U.S. population (~334 million), household counts, and demographic breakdowns by age and household composition. Used in: per-capita calculations throughout; Federal Fiscal Impact Analysis denominators; Per Citizen Benefits and Costs.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Current Population Survey and wage data 2023-2024: source for employed population (~158 million), wage distributions by occupation, hours worked, and labor force participation rates. Used in: Empirical Wage Floors substantiation; Gender Pay Gap analysis; Combined Reform Model labor inputs; Disemployment sensitivity analysis.

Sovereign Fund and Investment Sources

Norway Government Pension Fund Global (GPF-G) annual reports: comparative source for sovereign wealth fund management practices, real returns achieved over multi-decade horizons, and governance structures. Used in: Sovereign Fund Governance Design; How This Was Built; Combined Reform Model sovereign fund stream.

Social Security Administration (SSA) Trustees Reports 2023-2024: source for Social Security trust fund actuarial deficit (the $63 trillion 75-year horizon figure cited throughout), demographic projections, and trust fund depletion timelines. Used in: Community Contribution Plan White Paper; The Founding Stake; Two Paths Compared; Federal Fiscal Impact Analysis.

Infrastructure and Civic Sources

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Infrastructure Report Card 2025: source for infrastructure investment gap estimates (the $1.2 trillion highways and bridges figure, $140 billion transit gap, and other infrastructure shortfalls). Used in: Physical Civic Infrastructure Substantiation; Federal Infrastructure Fee; Civic Infrastructure Architectural Framing.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Bureau of Industry and Security broadband data: source for current residential broadband market revenue (approximately $111 billion annual, 120 million subscribers, average $77 per month). Used in: Free Universal Broadband Cost Analysis; Universal Broadband Access Substantiation.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Consumer Sentinel Network identity-theft reports: source for identity-theft cost estimates (the $8 billion credit account fraud figure, $3 billion government benefits fraud figure, and aggregate consumer harm). Used in: Identity Theft Reduction; Modernize Civic Engagement Integrated Argument.

Family and Care Sources

FAMILY Act modeling and state paid family leave program data (California PFL, New Jersey FLI, New York PFL, Washington PFL): source for paid family leave cost projections, utilization rates, and contribution rate calibration. Used in: Pillar Eight Universal Paid Family Time; Federal Fiscal Impact Analysis Pillar Eight stream.

Quebec $7-day childcare program evaluations and U.S. childcare cost surveys: source for universal childcare cost projections at U.S. scale and the $180 billion aggregate cost figure. Used in: Universal Childcare Pillar; Federal Fiscal Impact Analysis childcare stream.

Long-term care expenditure data from CMS and AARP/Genworth Cost of Care surveys: source for the $475 billion aggregate long-term care expenditure figure. Used in: Aging In Place Implications.

Internal Platform Documents As Source

The Combined Reform Model (04_Combined_Reform_Model.xlsx) is itself the canonical source for many platform claims, including the $122 trillion 60-year sovereign fund corpus projection, the $62.5 trillion 4-percent-return parallel scenario, and the year-by-year fiscal trajectories. The model is sourced from the inputs cataloged above; downstream documents that cite the model are inheriting that sourcing chain.

The Federal Fiscal Impact Analysis (05_Federal_Fiscal_Impact_Analysis.docx) consolidates the platform's fiscal claims and serves as the canonical source for aggregate-level pillar costs ($180 billion childcare, $200 billion mental health, $40-60 billion paid family time, etc.). Downstream documents that reference these aggregate figures are inheriting the FFIA's sourcing chain.

The Open Issues Registry (05_Open_Issues_Registry.docx) explicitly catalogs every empirical claim that requires external credentialed validation as RESEARCH-1 through RESEARCH-8 plus PERSONA-SIG-3, 4, 5. Claims tracked in those Section 47 entries are explicitly NOT certified by the platform; they are documented as positions requiring validation through the External Engagement Plan and Academic Outreach Letter Templates.

Acknowledged Limits

This convention establishes a sourcing taxonomy for derivational claims; it does not by itself validate the empirical defensibility of those claims. Full empirical defensibility validation requires credentialed external review. The platform's Open Issues Registry tracks the specific items requiring such review under RESEARCH-1 through RESEARCH-8 plus PERSONA-SIG items. The External Engagement Plan documents engagement targets, reviewer profiles, and specific questions for each item. Until that external review is conducted and integrated, claims in the platform should be read with the understanding that they reflect rigorous internal analysis from cataloged sources but have not been validated by credentialed third-party review.

Within those limits, this convention enables readers to trace any platform numerical claim through one of three paths: direct citation at the point of use, explicit derivation from inputs cited in the same document, or inheritance from the canonical sources cataloged here. A claim that does not trace through one of these paths is itself a finding requiring documentation; readers encountering such claims should report them so they can be documented in the Open Issues Registry.

Cross-References

This document is the operational output of the Comprehensive Verification Report's Dimension 5 finding (recorded in Section 95 of the Open Issues Registry). It is referenced from the Sources baseline statements added in v3.2.8 to the platform's analytical documents. It complements the External Engagement Plan, which documents the path to credentialed external validation of empirical claims, and the Open Issues Registry's RESEARCH and PERSONA-SIG entries, which specify which claims explicitly require such validation.