Published in GEN·Dec 14, 2021Why Biden’s Executive Order on Customer Experience Could Be a Game-ChangerUnlike prior initiatives to simply digitize the bureaucracy, this one could actually improve access to government services — I hang out in a little corner of the Internet where people obsess about things like administrative burden and government program rule reconciliation. People here love to point out the myriad of ways in which what looks like bad technology design in government is more meaningfully attributed to the mind-boggling…President Biden16 min read
Jul 12, 2021Slow TrainThe people in sleeping compartments on the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to Los Angeles see each other mostly in the dining car, which feels pretty fancy as far as American middle class travel goes. White tablecloths with coordinating blue napkins, real flatware, stemless glasses holding decent wine. There are…Amtrak4 min read
Published in OneZero·Jun 29, 2021Pitting Private Tech Against the Public Sector is Bad for EveryoneHow Marc Andreessen’s criticism of governmental responses to Covid misses the mark — Last week, in an interview with Noah Smith, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen casually referred to the “chronic collapse of state capacity virtually everywhere in our time,” noting that the good news was that “the private sector can and does deliver even under considerable duress, and even when much of our…Government8 min read
Published in OneZero·Apr 20, 2021How the Government’s Multibillion-Dollar Plan to Modernize Its Tech Could Go Horribly WrongOur ‘Kill It With Fire’ moment — The amount of money that is about to be thrown at modernizing government legacy systems is staggering. The rescue package alone allocates several billion dollars to it, and that’s on top of what’s been spent over the past year trying to make systems at the federal, state, and local levels…Modernization9 min read
Feb 4, 2021What on earth is SME-QA and why should you care about it?A stunning announcement about how federal government hires recently passed largely unnoticed. Only in the age of vaccine rollout drama, impeachment, and Gamestop would this not qualify as headline news. …Government Jobs8 min read
Published in U.S. Digital Response·Apr 17, 2020What states must do about Pandemic Unemployment AssistanceTens of millions of people are suddenly out of work. Your Lyft driver, your hairdresser, your barista, the waiters at your favorite restaurant, and countless others have lost their sources of income because of the COVID-19 crisis. In moments like this, government must act, and it has, at least, taken…Unemployment9 min read
Feb 4, 2020Digital is Not Always Better Than PaperAKA Help me with my book! — Digital was supposed to make things better. Platforms for peer-to-peer communication like Facebook and Twitter were supposed to connect and unite us and help us understand each other, ultimately ushering in an era of world peace, love, and understanding. They have done some wonderful things, but if peace, love, and…Digital Transformation8 min read
Published in Code for America Blog·Dec 19, 2019When you think end of year giving, think about democracyThis is the time of year when many people make donations to charities. This year it’s more overwhelming than ever. There are so many needs, so many clear and present threats — to our planet, to justice, to human dignity and human life. …Politics3 min read
Published in Code for America Blog·Dec 19, 2019The year in review at Code for AmericaI founded Code for America in 2009 with the hope that we could use the principles and practices of the digital age to help government work better. I was obsessed with the idea that by bringing a user-centered, data-driven, and iterative approach into government we could truly make it work…Philanthropy3 min read
Nov 6, 2019Delivery-Driven PolicyPolicy designed for and in the digital age Why is policy still educated guesswork with a feedback loop measured in years? — Tom Loosemore, UK Government Digital Service At Code for America, we envision a government that works for people, and by people, in a digital age. The framework of…Government17 min read