Why the Government wastes your time - and what to do about it with Annie Lowrey

Most Americans have experienced the frustration of government bureaucracy. But what if all that wasted time is also undermining our democracy? Journalist and author Annie Lowrey joins Claudia to discuss her new book, The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time—and How to Fix It. They explore why the “time tax” makes it so hard for people to get the help they need, how those barriers erode public trust, and what it would take to make government work better for everyone.

Annie and Claudia talk about:

• Why some bureaucratic barriers are accidental while others are deliberately designed to keep people from receiving benefits
• How the time tax erodes trust in government and discourages citizen engagement
• Why the rise of indirect government benefits creates complexity that's hard to undo
• How WWII wage caps helped create the US system of employer-based health insurance

Annie makes the case that inclusive and well designed government programs do more than deliver benefits. They build trust in government and civic engagement:

“We have all of these really great studies that show the kind of elegant, inclusive programs, whether that is public school, Medicare, Social Security retirement benefits. They make people feel like citizens. They make them proud to be Americans. They make them more likely to vote, more likely to go to a community meeting, more likely to volunteer in their community.”

Relevant Links

Read Annie’s books The Time Tax and Give People Money

See a list of Annie’s most recent articles for The Atlantic

Explore Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan's research on administrative burden

See publications from researcher Jamila Michener

Read about the Yale study that found changes to Medicaid could lead to over 51,000 preventable deaths

About Our Guest

Annie Lowrey is a staff writer at The Atlantic. She is the author of Give People Money, which was shortlisted for the Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. Prior to joining The Atlantic, she was a staff writer for The New York Times and New York magazine, as well as the Moneybox columnist for Slate. At The Atlantic, she writes about the economy and politics.

Source

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