iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Merici @merici.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I agree that digital service teams isn’t an efficient model. I question if the public would (or should?) ever care about them.

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Eh, I don’t think so, specifically on the spending and budget side. It’s a very diff approach I am getting a sense of your perspective on usds and doge, one that I don’t see eye to eye with, esp as I was in the org when it became “doge” My q to you is - how should gov deliver in the internet era?

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Also usds didn’t have hiring or spending authorities. We hacked into existing broken systems and used agency spending and budgets

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Doge / tech force has hired I believe 11 ppl. Most of the original doge was politically appointed or just forced into agencies, depending on where they landed. Those aren’t usds authorities.

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

This is a different set of issues; usds never had the power to do any of this, neither does doge.

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

We hacked ourselves into government. We never fixed the machine. New piece out today on what civic tech got right, wrong, and what comes next with @donmoyn.bsky.social donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-did-civic-tech-learn-over-the

donmoynihan.substack.com

What Did Civic Tech Learn in the Last Decade?

Some Insights About How to Use Tech in Government – and What Comes Next

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Federation of American Scientists @scientistsorg.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Ambitious change is possible. We have brilliant ideas, a passionate movement, and the energy needed to pull digital services forward into a more impactful, more confident future. Now’s the time to get started. @merici.bsky.social ✍️ @donmoyn.bsky.social donmoynihan.substack.com/p/what-did-c...

donmoynihan.substack.com

What Did Civic Tech Learn in the Last Decade?

Some Insights About How to Use Tech in Government – and What Comes Next

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Federation of American Scientists @scientistsorg.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

We spoke to over one hundred digital government practitioners across the country. What we learned is when you get knocked down (or have your best products dismantled, RIP Direct File), you have to get up again, and get up stronger, with a theory of change, and the right team.

donmoynihan.substack.com

What Did Civic Tech Learn in the Last Decade?

Some Insights About How to Use Tech in Government – and What Comes Next

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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 03/06/2026

What a great evening on ‘Money and taxes’ at @digitalservice.bund.de last night. Our 3 speakers, @merici.bsky.social, Manuel Großmann from Taxfix, and Sonja Wilczek from @digitalservice.bund.de co-delivered a broader view on how governments can deliver better tax services that work for users.

A group of people sitting in a modern office space, some mildly smiling, at a window is a poster saying ‘Money and taxes’

People of different ethnicities and skin tones sitting in an office space at a larger meeting, with a man speaking

3 – 2 women and 1 man – people posing for a picture, smiling into the camera, holding small stickers, a poster in the background saying ‘Money and taxes’

Over a dozen people sitting in a modern office space with 1 woman standing and talking next to a lectern; a projected slide says ‘Thank you! Questions? Comments? Input?’, the low warm summer evening sun shines into the room

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Martin Jordan @martinjordan.com · 01/06/2026

A reminder 🔔 Tomorrow, 2 June, we are running our 13th public sector innovation meetup on ‘Money + taxes’. 💶 We’ll hear from 3 great speakers: @merici.bsky.social, formerly with the USDS, Manuel Großmann from Taxfix, and Sonja Wilczek from @digitalservice.bund.de Join us from 6pm:

meetup.com

Meetup #13 — Money + taxes, Tue, Jun 2, 2026, 6:00 PM | Meetup

The state deals with a lot of money. People and organisations need to declare, file, and pay taxes or receive returns if they overpaid the state. Tax contributions amount t

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

The phrase “But where we need vision, we have a vacuum. Where we need direction, we have drift” made me 🤔

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

I put @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social’s resignation speech in to an AI checker and here are the results

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

And if you want my full Direct File eulogy, here you go. It’s basically a love letter from taxpayers. ✊❤️ medium.com/@merici/brin...

medium.com

A love letter to Direct File from Taxpayers

long live our little free tax filing service

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

This is what the end of Direct File looks like in practice. What fees did you run into? Reply or DM me. 💸💸💸

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

It’s tax day! In addition to the loss of truly free tax filing with Direct File, many taxpayers are facing additional fees when filing. Forced upgrades to save your data. Upsells for state filing. Processing fees to actually pay your bill. I paid a $29.30 fee just to file in Nebraska.

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Federation of American Scientists @scientistsorg.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

The problem with sacred cows isn't that they existed – it's that they have taken on new life as facts, even as the world changes around them. @merici.bsky.social takes on the sacred cows of digital government delivery, and what we can win if we put them out to pasture. fas.org/publication/...

fas.org

What Did We Stop Questioning in Digital Government Delivery?

Let’s see what rules we can rewrite and beliefs we can reset: a few digital service sacred cows are long overdue to be put out to pasture.

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Julianne McShane @juliannemcshane.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

‼️ NEW Trump tells MS NOW he didn’t know anything about Melania’s statement beforehand

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Some highlights from the episode: - Our first user was a single mom who’d been paying $400+ a year just to file - Direct File had a higher NPS than Apple and Starbucks - We talked to DOGE several times and thought we had a chance And, of course, lots of tax memes. open.spotify.com/episode/2CTn...

open.spotify.com

why the IRS killed a free, easy way to file your taxes

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

It’s tax season and Direct File is dead. I went on the Killswitch podcast with @dexdigi.bsky.social to talk about what we built, who killed it, and why I’m certain it’ll make a comeback.

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Dexter Thomas @dexdigi.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

Merici Vinton led the team who created Direct File: a free, easy-to-use service that let you file your taxes without being upsold or having your data sent to Facebook. So who wanted it gone? full episode in the profile.

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New York Times Opinion @nytopinion.nytimes.com · 04/04/2026

“This tax season, as you wade through the absurdly expensive and complicated process of filing income taxes, remember to thank the Trump administration” for killing the Direct File program, Binyamin Appelbaum writes.

nyti.ms

Opinion | Why This Tax Day Is Even Harder and More Annoying Than Usual

Tax preparation companies and Republicans are pursuing their shared interest in torturing taxpayers

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Rachel Maddow @maddow.bsky.social · 06/04/2026

"Filing taxes should be really easy and completely free. It is in most other developed countries. In 2024, the Biden administration debuted a program called Direct File to make tax filing easy and free for most American taxpayers, too. President Trump killed it." www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump Killed the One Thing That Made Filing Taxes Easier

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

"Filing taxes should be really easy and completely free. It is in most other developed countries. And in 2024, the Biden administration debuted a pilot program called Direct File that could have made tax filing easy and free for most American taxpayers, too. President Trump killed it."

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Trump Killed the One Thing That Made Filing Taxes Easier www.nytimes.com/2026/04/04/o...

nytimes.com

Opinion | Trump Killed the One Thing That Made Filing Taxes Easier

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Jesse Lee @jessecharleslee.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Very notable that the pincers have been closing in on Bondi’s subpoena to testify behind closed doors, a real deposition on the Epstein files. Deadline in two weeks. Her role in stalling and covering up ran out of runway and he had to just pull the plug. Seems to me she can still testify though. 👀

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Revolving Door Project @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

Of course Trump thinks Americans benefit from high gas prices, his administration is filled with them! Our Julian Scoffield reveals who Trump is referring to in his claim that “when oil prices go up, we make a lot of money."

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Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 13/03/2026

"Top Trump officials acknowledged to lawmakers during recent classified briefings that they did not plan for the possibility of Iran closing the strait in response to strikes, according to three sources familiar with the closed-door session." How is this real life? AYFKM

cnn.com

Trump administration underestimated Iran war’s impact on Strait of Hormuz | CNN Politics

The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation, accord...

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

War without reason or purpose.

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Yes that’s a free option that exists. But you’re wrong that it’s an IRS product- it definitely is not. It is an online form, not mobile friendly, only available in English, that is provided by a private tax software alliance.

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

You can kill the product but not the idea - today, 160 Congressional co-sponsors introduced a bill to bring back the IRS’ much beloved free tax filing product, Direct File. www.theverge.com/policy/88522...

theverge.com

Democrats to introduce bill aimed at resurrecting IRS Direct File

Democrats want to bring back Direct File.

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Anat Shenker-Osorio @anatosaurus.bsky.social · 25/02/2026

In competitive authoritarianism (US right now) there's often a "loyal opposition" that's essential to the regime. They are so wedded to "decorum," they go along with rites & rituals that help regime prop up veneer of normalcy, undermining clear view of regimes actions & aims.

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

At Yosemite, Rangers Are Scarce and Visitors Have Gone Wild www.nytimes.com/2026/01/19/u...

nytimes.com

At Yosemite, Rangers Are Scarce and Visitors Have Gone Wild

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Revolving Door Project @revolvingdoordc.bsky.social · 12/01/2026

Government can build efficiently. Take the IRS free file tool for example. The problem isn't a lack of can-do by the government. It's wealthy companies who have stepped in to block the development of government capacity, and who killed the free file tool when Democrats finally made it a reality.

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Murshed Zaheed @murshedz.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

“Minnesota, New York, California, Illinois and Colorado will be cut off from around $7 billion in funding for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides cash assistance to households with children, according to two people familiar with the matter.” Monstrously cruel.

nytimes.com

Health Dept. to Freeze $10 Billion in Funding to 5 Democratic States

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Eric Umansky @ericumansky.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize. “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

Although Machado ultimately said she was dedicating the award to Trump, her acceptance of the prize was an “ultimate sin,” said one of the people.

“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” this person said.

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leon @leyawn.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

this is your mission. our pedophile president needs you to jump out of a helicopter to kidnap a head of state and his wife so some oil ceos can make a lot of money. we’ll be watching from a resort in florida that still serves wedge salad and checking how many retweets we get. good luck soldier

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 26/12/2025

With Help of Lina Khan, Mamdani Looks to Quickly Cut Costs for New Yorkers www.nytimes.com/2025/12/26/n...

nytimes.com

With Help of Lina Khan, Mamdani Looks to Quickly Cut Costs for New Yorkers

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 07/11/2025

My first MozzFest! What a crowd, what an agenda. Nice to be around optimistic leaders speaking truth to power. And, of course, to see @melissaryan.bsky.social

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Natalie Alms @almsnatalie.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

SCOOP: Direct File is officially dead. The IRS emailed states yesterday telling them that the free, online tax filing service won't happen next year and has no future launch date. Republicans and tax prep companies both opposed the service. www.nextgov.com/digital-gove...

nextgov.com

Direct File won’t happen in 2026, IRS tells states

The free service that allowed taxpayers to file online directly with the IRS was used by hundreds of thousands of taxpayers in 2024 and 2025, who gave it high marks — although tax prep companies and R...

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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 04/11/2025

Direct File is survived by its code, lovingly preserved on GitHub for potential revival whenever the leaders of the executive branch are no longer bent on looting the country.

github.com

GitHub - IRS-Public/direct-file: Direct File

Direct File. Contribute to IRS-Public/direct-file development by creating an account on GitHub.

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Good read, thanks for sharing.

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Comfortably Numb @numb.comfortab.ly · 22/10/2025

The West Wing is now just the Wing.

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Merici @merici.bsky.social · 15/10/2025

Today is the last day the IRS accepts tax returns. It’s also the last day to use Direct File, the IRS’ beloved, free tax filing service, before it’s shut down. 💔 ✊❤️

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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 11/10/2025

Yep, boy howdy, and absolutely. I’m not a civic tech person, but I know some good ones — @erie.bsky.social, @merici.bsky.social, @waldo.net. A Democratic Party serious about rebuilding state capacity would give folks like them the latitude to supplant contractors with internal tech.

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