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The Niskanen Center

@niskanencenter.bsky.social
6.4K followers 1.4K following 629 posts

Strengthening liberal democracy through innovative policy solutions.

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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Instead of depending on the knowledge of public servant "heroes," the goal should be to learn from them and fix the system, so they don't have to be heroes. "When individual heroism becomes institutional knowledge, the workaround becomes design.” trusttprocess.substack.com/p/the-hero-i...
trusttprocess.substack.com
The hero in the machine
When and where does individual heroism become institutional knowledge?
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Congress set the capital gains exclusion for home sales in 1997, when the median home cost $145,000, and never touched it again. Back then, almost no home sales hit the cap. Today, 8% of sales nationwide do. www.niskanencenter.org/to-help-grow...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Broken trust isn't fate, but a design choice and design failure. New from Trust the Process: trusttprocess.substack.com
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
A retiree staying in a house they might prefer to sell is running up against incentives Congress wrote in 1997 and never adjusted for inflation. @AWJustus has a roadmap for fixing this. www.niskanencenter.org/to-help-grow...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
"Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets." - W. Edwards Deming If a government system produces broken public trust, it is the outcome of flawed design. But we can change that design! New from Trust the Process: trusttprocess.substack.com
trusttprocess.substack.com
trust/theprocess | Substack
A theory for building state capacity. A story about how government earns trust by keeping its promises. A study of the 10 year digital transformation at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Click…
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
We talk about the housing shortage like it's just a construction problem, but some of the supply already exists. It's just held by owners who, if they ever wanted to sell, would take a major tax hit for doing so. www.niskanencenter.org/to-help-grow...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 24/07/2026
The tax code rewards some retirees for staying in houses that they might want to move on from. Sell, and you could owe taxes on the gains above $250K–$500K. www.niskanencenter.org/to-help-grow...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
2,500 years ago, Confucius said: "Without the trust of the people, the government cannot stand." So why are we still failing to treat public trust as the foundation of state capacity? trusttprocess.substack.com
trusttprocess.substack.com
trust/theprocess | Substack
A theory for building state capacity. A story about how government earns trust by keeping its promises. A study of the 10 year digital transformation at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Click…
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
"When government services work, they stop feeling remarkable." That's why we're doing a deep-dive into the VA's decade-long transformation, because it's proof that government can get better. lnkd.in/eQNZPJQQ
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Every debate about "fixing government" needs examples of government actually getting fixed. The VA is one of the best we have: a reform that survived multiple administrations, driven reorganization around what veterans actually need. Here's how they did it. lnkd.in/eQNZPJQQ
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
Most federal reforms die with the next administration. The VA's lasted a decade, driven by people, not systems and organizing around what veterans actually need. If we want long-standing change, this is the success story to study. lnkd.in/eQNZPJQQ
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Felony-arrest DNA collection is the rare policy that delivers fewer crimes, fewer victims, and fewer people in prison. Deterred crimes never need punishment. Read Evan Burt’s inaugural commentary! www.niskanencenter.org/states-shoul...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
34 states already collect DNA at felony arrest. The evidence that this works to deter crime is solid. So, why haven't the other 16 states caught up? Read Evan Burt’s inaugural commentary! www.niskanencenter.org/states-shoul...
niskanencenter.org
States should collect DNA upon felony arrest - Niskanen Center
Strong research suggests DNA collection can prevent a crime from being committed in the first place.
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Medicare spends $21 billion a year training doctors. The formula deciding where that money goes hasn't been updated in 40 years. Join Lawson Mansell and David Schwartzman July 8th 2–3PM ET to talk about fixing it. Register here: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
California will need 10,500+ more primary care providers in the next 4 years. Yet the state still makes internationally-trained doctors repeat their residency before they can practice. AB 2386 would fix that. Hear Lawson Mansell’s Testimony here: www.niskanencenter.org/testimony-li...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
"Every unsolved crime is a threat to public safety." The best way to stop crime is to make would-be perpetrators certain that they'll get caught. That's more effective than the threat of harsh prison sentences that are only selectively applied. #criminaljustice #publicsafety
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Doctors who trained abroad for years are sitting on the sidelines in California, not because they're unqualified, but because the state makes them redo their entire residency first. Lawson Mansell testifies on the cost of California's licensing rules.
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
"The most important question in violent crime policy is not how harshly we punish. It's how many crimes we can deter, and how swiftly we respond to those." Jason Olin testifying before the Ohio House Public Safety Committee on June 2, 2026. #ohio #publicsafety #criminaljustice #hb830
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
For at least the past 50 years, policymakers have tried to control crime by making punishments more and more severe. But this isn’t the most effective response. Hear Greg Newburn break down why with Jeff Asher. Link: lnkd.in/eHZ-XRKS
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
When the system fails to solve a crime, the damage doesn't end with the victim. “Communities also absorb the message that violence carries no consequence, and the research is consistent that the offender is likely to offend again." #criminaljustice #publicpolicy #justice #ohio
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
We've been running the same expensive punishment-first system for five decades. It lowered crime a bit, but at what cost?
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
The average American spends half their budget on housing and transportation. Congress can fix it: reward housing growth, connect people to opportunity, and cut infrastructure costs. 🏠🚌
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Interstate power lines can take 10+ years—state/local approvals slow it. Dr. Liza Reed told the Senate: ⚡Clear federal authority for interregional transmission ⚡Remove barriers to tech like HVDC ⚡Enable competition beyond state monopolies Read the full testimony: lnkd.in/evNPD6ki
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Myth: Educating undocumented children is a fiscal burden on U.S. taxpayers. Fact: The tax revenue from undocumented workers covers the $10.7 billion cost of educating these children more than 9X over. @scanlon.house.gov cites Niskanen Center research:
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John David Dyche @jddyche.bsky.social · 11/03/2026
This conversation between Brink Lindsey & Damon Linker, very smart, thoughtful gentlemen affiliated with The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social, is great. Discussions & ideas like theirs are essential if liberal democracy is to survive populist assault. open.substack.com/pub/brinklin...
open.substack.com
Damon Linker on defending liberalism (and how not to)
On this episode of The Permanent Problem podcast, I’m happy to welcome Damon Linker, author of the “Notes from the Middleground” Substack and a Niskanen Center senior fellow, to discuss the challenge ...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Bullying Anthropic won’t fix the government’s real problem: it shouldn’t be so dependent on private firms in the first place. Read Gabe Menchaca: hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/hegseths-w...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Housing policy is family policy.
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Too often, we’re given a false choice: build new infrastructure or save nature. But programs from the Colorado River to the Mississippi prove we can have it both ways.
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Dallas permitted more housing than all of California in multiple months of 2024. Dallas should get more infrastructure support.
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
Cutting consulting contracts could save taxpayers more than $65 billion. But government agencies must hire top talent to do it.
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rohan aras @rohanaras.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
New piece in The Hill—Congress should consider housing jointly with transportation in Surface Reauth: - Reward places that accept growth with needed transpo investment - Prioritize projects that improve access to daily needs - Improve project delivery thehill.com/opinion/cong...
thehill.com
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awjustus.bsky.social @awjustus.bsky.social · 15/02/2026
In @thehill.com with @rohanaras.bsky.social today where we argue that surface transportation policy is not complete without considering housing. thehill.com/opinion/cong...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
The H-2A visa program, the only legal pathway for temporary agricultural labor, excludes: ✖️dairy ✖️year-round livestock ✖️meatpacking For many law-abiding plants, there is no feasible way to quickly replace the workers they have lost. @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social: thedispatch.com/article/immi...
thedispatch.com
How Immigration Enforcement Is Hitting Businesses
Fearing deportation, undocumented workers have left the agriculture and construction sectors shorthanded.
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Alex Armlovich @aarmlovi.bsky.social · 17/02/2026
An Austin or Minneapolis-scale YIMBY victory in California would cut poverty by as much as the Child Tax Credit Already in Minneapolis, *unsubsidized market rate apartments are affordable at federal LIHTC rents* bsky.app/profile/nisk...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Liberals need to confront what angry electorates are telling them, not flinch and dismiss the critics. damonlinker.substack.com/p/how-not-to...
damonlinker.substack.com
How Not to Defend Liberalism
Liberals need to confront what angry electorates are telling them, not flinch and dismiss the critics
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
To what extent was the U.S. already in crisis before the rise in populism we've seen over the past few years? It's a serious debate among defenders of the liberal-democratic order. Recent responses to Brink Lindsey's new book have brought it to the forefront. ⬇️
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
“  We need meaning, purpose, status, and belonging, and our current capitalist consumer's way of life isn't very good at providing that.” Brink Lindsey on the “triple crisis of capitalism." ↓
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
This should be the North Star of criminal justice reform.
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Jenny Schuetz @jennyschuetz.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
30+ states have now adopted policies to boost housing production. Which means exciting opportunities for researchers to study these policies' effectiveness. Some guidance from me, via @niskanencenter.bsky.social, on how to design good state policy evaluations: www.niskanencenter.org/how-to-evalu...
niskanencenter.org
How to evaluate state pro-housing policies: Mind the empirical pitfalls - Niskanen Center
As more state legislatures become laboratories of housing policy experimentation, social science researchers have once-in-a-generation opportunities to evaluate how pro-housing policies are working in...
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
"We remember the 1980s as this optimistic time, when, in fact, there was a profound sense of anxiety around declining U.S. industrial competitiveness."
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Digital tech influences minds, democracies, and cultures. Where's the counter-movement? It's coming.
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Christopher Allbritton @christopherallbritton.com · 29/01/2026
When the monopolist owns the megaphone, the playbook breaks. Today, the tools we'd use to organize resistance are controlled by the forces we need to resist. We're forced onto digital terrain owned by the people we're trying to rein in. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3RC...
youtube.com
Andor | Luthen Rael’s Monologue | Disney+
YouTube video by Star Wars
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Christopher Allbritton @christopherallbritton.com · 29/01/2026
The Gilded Age robber barons were ruthless. They bought legislators and hired strikebreakers. But they couldn't control what farmers thought about them. Tarbell exposed Standard Oil. Sinclair's Jungle changed federal law. The media was too diffuse to control. That's no longer true.
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Christopher Allbritton @christopherallbritton.com · 29/01/2026
The system needing reform is the same system that prevents reformers from organizing. Super pumped to publish a new essay for @niskanencenter.bsky.social on why the fourth industrial revolution resists political response… and why we should build capacity anyway.
hypertext.niskanencenter.org
The fragmentation flywheel
Why the Fourth Industrial Revolution resists political response
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Christopher Allbritton @christopherallbritton.com · 29/01/2026
Loved contributing to this series. Thank you for the opportunity!
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Michele Evermore @micheleevermore.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Here is my collaboration with Will Raderman @niskanencenter.bsky.social to look into states that have adopted enhanced wage records and how that data can help UI agencies, as well as training and education efforts for workers. www.niskanencenter.org/the-case-for...
niskanencenter.org
The case for enhanced wage records: Lessons from states - Niskanen Center
There is already wide recognition among states of the value of additional data categories for analyzing state labor market dynamics.
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Henry M J Tonks @henrymjtonks.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
Excited to appear on @niskanencenter.bsky.social’s podcast “The Vital Center”! I spoke to Geoffrey Kabaservice about #liberalism, the Democratic Party, and what Americans today could learn from the “New Liberals” of the 1970s-1990s. #abundance #USPolitics www.niskanencenter.org/reevaluating...
niskanencenter.org
Reevaluating the New Liberals, with Henry Tonks - Niskanen Center
Tonks argues that while New Liberals didn’t correctly diagnose the changes to the economy in all of its particulars, their policy vision retains considerable relevance to today’s politics — and partic...
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Ann Lewis @ann-lewis.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
AI in government can be transformative, but only if institutions are ready. Too often we chase tools instead of fixing the structures that actually shape outcomes. Reform + experimentation, not hype, is the path to real progress. www.niskanencenter.org/ai-in-govern... @niskanencenter.bsky.social
niskanencenter.org
AI in government: From tools to transformation - Niskanen Center
AI can only catalyze meaningful change when paired with effective operating models.
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The Niskanen Center @niskanencenter.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Can we create a digital economy that strengthens democracy instead of eroding it? This week in Hypertext ⤵️
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