Politics is how people achieve power. Policy is what they do with it. Every week on The Weeds, host Jonquilyn Hill and guests break down the policies that shape our lives, from abortion to financial regulations to affirmative action to housing. We dive deep and we get wonky, but we have fun along the way. New episodes drop every Wednesday. Produced by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network.
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The scourge of the “time tax”
(Originally aired May 2022) Dylan Matthews and Dara Lind are joined by Annie Lowrey (@annielowrey), a staff writer at the Atlantic, to talk about why it’s so hard for people to get government benefits. Frequently called the “time tax,” the administrative burden of applying for and distributing government benefits leads to thousands of people not getting the aid they qualify for.
References:
Annie Lowrey on Code America’s efforts to fight the Time Tax
Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan's book on administrative burden
Why Is It So Hard to Make a Website for the Government? from the New York Times
White paper — Program Recertification Costs: Evidence from SNAP
A sudden change to SSI eligibility had huge, lasting negative consequences
Credits:
Sofi LaLonde, producer and engineer
Libby Nelson, editorial adviser
A.M. Hall, editorial director of talk podcasts
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