Author of Recoding America; founded Code for America and was US deputy chief technology officer from 2013 to 2014. Writes Eating Policy on why governments cannot do what they decide to do.
Jennifer Pahlka did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
A century of fire suppression policy in the American West has dangerously overloaded forests with fuel and made megafires more likely.
We now know that fires are necessary for healthy forests, that a century of fire suppression in the West has been disastrous.
eatingpolicy.comSaid 22 Aug 2026This on korrents
Legislators generally lose interest in an issue once the political work of passing a law is finished.
our lawmakers tend to stop paying attention once the political work is done.
eatingpolicy.comSaid 20 Aug 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Hiding
From one piece Weekend short read: Fire is a metaphor, until its not 2 beliefs · eatingpolicy.com
Their words
The difference is mostly the delay, which stems not necessarily from the regulation itself, but from the incentives in the machinery that administers it.
Their words
We now know that fires are necessary for healthy forests, that a century of fire suppression in the West has been disastrous.
From one piece Checking in on Outcomes Reviews 3 beliefs · eatingpolicy.com
korrents.com
Televised hearings built for viral clips are the wrong venue for honest accountability conversations.Their words
the time to make that point is not during a televised hearing when everyone is trying for a viral clip.
korrents.com
Well-functioning systems succeed through continuous debugging rather than perfect initial design.Their words
When things work well, it's usually not because they were designed perfectly, but because they are constantly being debugged.
korrents.com
Legislators generally lose interest in an issue once the political work of passing a law is finished.Their words
our lawmakers tend to stop paying attention once the political work is done.
From one piece Thinking the unthinkable 3 beliefs · eatingpolicy.com
Their words
There is suddenly political will and leadership on these issues, which makes change now possible, but the administrative state is not going to reform itself.
Their words
we've both come to believe that when transformation fails repeatedly, it's time for something different, and one of the tools that leaders need to add to their tool belts (and probably use a lot more frequently than they do today), is starting fresh, creating new entities (agencies and departments, for example) and either endowing them with new authorities or transferring authorities from legacy institutions to the new ones.
korrents.com
Philanthropy can never operate at the scale of government, no matter how well-funded it becomes.Their words
Even with the influx of funding that may come with the AI companies' IPOs, philanthropy can never act at the scale of government.
From one piece North Carolina’s bold move on civil service 3 beliefs · eatingpolicy.com
Their words
While I don't think compensation is the core challenge of civil service systems, of course it matters.
korrents.com
AI is raising public expectations of government service at the same time it changes what government must deliver.Their words
Every state, and the federal government right along with them, is about to be asked to do a lot more than keep the lights on.
Their words
These wins are not proof that the system works; in fact, they are clear evidence that the system only works when it is circumvented.
From one piece Philanthropy’s Willie Sutton Problem 3 beliefs · eatingpolicy.com
Their words
Transformation comes from fields with a plan, not projects with potential.
Their words
When government can't act at the speed of the technology, the consequential decisions still get made, but by the companies building it rather than the public's representatives.
korrents.com
Government controls both the resources and the legitimacy needed for large-scale change.Their words
Government is where the literal money is (money that could often go much further if we fixed what's wrong with government), but it's also where the impact is. And it's where the legitimacy is.
korrents.com
A well-functioning reform team within a bureaucracy can end up excusing the lack of deeper structural change.Their words
Ironically, an effective digital service can provide just enough success to excuse the lack of true reform.
Nothing matches.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
We now know that fires are necessary for healthy forests, that a century of fire suppression in the West has been disastrous.
Weekend short read: Fire is a metaphor, until its not Said 22 Aug 2026
The difference is mostly the delay, which stems not necessarily from the regulation itself, but from the incentives in the machinery that administers it.
Weekend short read: Fire is a metaphor, until its not Said 22 Aug 2026
our lawmakers tend to stop paying attention once the political work is done.
Checking in on Outcomes Reviews Said 20 Aug 2026
When things work well, it's usually not because they were designed perfectly, but because they are constantly being debugged.
Checking in on Outcomes Reviews Said 20 Aug 2026
the time to make that point is not during a televised hearing when everyone is trying for a viral clip.
Checking in on Outcomes Reviews Said 20 Aug 2026
Even with the influx of funding that may come with the AI companies' IPOs, philanthropy can never act at the scale of government.
Thinking the unthinkable Said 7 Aug 2026
we've both come to believe that when transformation fails repeatedly, it's time for something different, and one of the tools that leaders need to add to their tool belts (and probably use a lot more frequently than they do today), is starting fresh, creating new entities (agencies and departments, for example) and either endowing them with new authorities or transferring authorities from legacy institutions to the new ones.
Thinking the unthinkable Said 7 Aug 2026
There is suddenly political will and leadership on these issues, which makes change now possible, but the administrative state is not going to reform itself.
Thinking the unthinkable Said 7 Aug 2026
These wins are not proof that the system works; in fact, they are clear evidence that the system only works when it is circumvented.
North Carolina’s bold move on civil service Said 20 Jul 2026
Every state, and the federal government right along with them, is about to be asked to do a lot more than keep the lights on.
North Carolina’s bold move on civil service Said 20 Jul 2026
While I don't think compensation is the core challenge of civil service systems, of course it matters.
North Carolina’s bold move on civil service Said 20 Jul 2026
Government is where the literal money is (money that could often go much further if we fixed what's wrong with government), but it's also where the impact is. And it's where the legitimacy is.
Philanthropy’s Willie Sutton Problem Said 19 Jun 2026
When government can't act at the speed of the technology, the consequential decisions still get made, but by the companies building it rather than the public's representatives.
Philanthropy’s Willie Sutton Problem Said 19 Jun 2026
Transformation comes from fields with a plan, not projects with potential.
Philanthropy’s Willie Sutton Problem Said 19 Jun 2026
Ironically, an effective digital service can provide just enough success to excuse the lack of true reform.
The Digital Service Was Never the Point Said 30 May 2026
A digital service team that works with an agency that continues to hire and manage for the same jobs they did last year, and structures the work in the same way it did last year, is just a tourist.
The Digital Service Was Never the Point Said 30 May 2026
But being good or even excellent at that does not automatically make you good at understanding user needs and making informed judgement calls about what features will meet those needs and how they should be designed.
The Digital Service Was Never the Point Said 30 May 2026
Extending the lifespan of a brittle system just means the system eventually fails more spectacularly.
A (shorter) Three Horizons Framework for Government Reform Said 27 Apr 2026
AI is not only an exogenous shock that government will have to absorb. It is also moving the bar on what counts as acceptable service in the first place.
A (shorter) Three Horizons Framework for Government Reform Said 27 Apr 2026
The forty-page PDF used to feel intolerable. The well-designed web form will start to feel that way too, and faster than the last transition did.
A (shorter) Three Horizons Framework for Government Reform Said 27 Apr 2026
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This is going to be an odd post, just a too-long passage from a book I’m reading: Orbital, by Samantha Harvey. But hey, it’s the holidays. Harvey describes Orbital as a “space pastoral.” It is set on the International Space Station, inhabited by six astronauts whose thoughts Harvey dips into from time to time, but mostly the book is reflections on earth and humanity from the collective perspective of orbit. There are so many beautiful passages worth sharing, but this one about politics seems particularly appropriate.
eatingpolicy.com 27 Dec 2024
“In business, culture eats strategy. In government, culture eats policy.” Posts on procurement, permitting and the machinery that turns a law into a thing that works.
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Link verified 20 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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