Jennifer Pahlka
@pahlkadot
Author of Recoding America Fellow at @NiskanenCenter, Advisor to Abundance Network Formerly @CodeforAmerica @USDS @USDResponse Defense Innovation Board
“My pitch for this episode is simple: Jennifer Pahlka has written one of the best policy books I have ever read.” - Ezra Klein nyti.ms/3MSlc8M
"Leaders who choose reform over preservation may find that their constituents start believing in them again. The budget crisis may be unavoidable, but the loss of public trust doesn’t have to be." Full article from the brilliant @pahlkadot: nytimes.com/2025/07/22/opi…
Wonderful piece by @pahlkadot and @robertmgordon on how state and local governments can improve efficiency by removing outdated rules and retooling their workforce. nytimes.com/2025/07/22/opi…
“The question is whether to prioritize the needs of the existing system or the needs of the public it is supposed to serve.” via @robertmgordon @pahlkadot nytimes.com/2025/07/22/opi…
On the 1-yr anniversary of SCOTUS overturning the Chevron doctrine, Congress has not only failed to step up, but is now slashing sources of nonpartisan expertise. The First Branch is sadly validating critics & failing the Loper Bright test. thehill.com/opinion/congre…
The politics - and mechanics - of reducing policy clutter statesforum.org/journal/issue-… @pahlkadot
This is just insane.
This is as good an example of mindless admin law as you'll find. To the argument that the error here was completely harmless, the Eighth Circuit was like, "Well, maybe? But who cares, no error is harmless unless we are COMPLETELY SURE it didn't make a difference."
Per @pahlkadot, “You can’t redistribute what doesn’t exist.” Successful abundance policies must reduce the barriers that make it hard to access resources AND increase the supply of those resources.
Getting ready for our little town's 4th of July parade and listening to @rSanti97's latest on Statecraft, about Governance Lessons From the Constitutional Convention. Of course.
Huge!!! Congratulations to @BuffyWicks, @GavinNewsom, @cayimby, and the whole crew for a major win for housing affordability.
I honestly can barely believe this happened. Total YIMBY victory in California today. After Newsom signs this bill; CEQA will no longer apply to *any* infill housing under 85’. No inclusionary zoning or labor provisions.
We're going to be chatting with the architects of this experiment on Wednesday, and you should join us! RSVP for our virtual conversation: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regist…
For years, California environmentalists have been MIA or worse on an absolute no-brainer of green policy: building dense housing near transit. Are changes afoot? ⤵️ Maybe! But @NRDC's SB 79 support letter also shows persistence of addled Groups-blob thinking. 🧵/14.
BIG NEWS! The major environmental organization @NRDC has come out in support of SB 79, our bill that will make it easier to build homes near transit!
Read this for an accurate (IMHO) account of these three books (including mine!). The public discourse diverges quite a bit from the actual content of the books.
Finally finished reading what are IMV the three main books that define the ‘abundance canon’: Recoding America, Why Nothing Works, and Abundance (h/t to @pahlkadot for the early edition of WNW). Some thoughts re: the actual content of the books relative to the Discourse / 🧵
Higher pay for the SES is a good idea a lot of people could get behind.
I'm a small government guy, but making the goverment we have work well means paying people more like the private sector: less at the bottom, more at the top. My case for pay increases for the underappreciated Senior Executive Service in @CityJournal here: city-journal.org/article/senior…