Do you work on development, democracy, or state institutions? Apply for a Kellogg visiting fellowship and hang out with me for the semester or year! Apply by October 1
kellogg.nd.edu/vfellowships
kellogg.nd.edu
Visiting Fellowship Program | Kellogg Institute For International Studies
Since 1983, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies has offered visiting fellowships to promote interdisciplinary international research in a supportive community of scholars.
![Lavignia left his start-up, Gumroad, to join Veteran’s Affairs. Here is the key passage:
Now that he’s there, he says he finds himself surrounded by people who “love their jobs,” who came to the government with a sense of mission driving their work. “In a sense, that makes the DOGE agenda a little bit more complicated, because if half the government took [a buyout offer], then we wouldn’t have to do much more,” he says, implying software can replace departing employees. “We’d just basically use software to plug holes. But that’s not what’s happening.”…when it comes down to it, what he’s found is a machine that largely functions, though it doesn’t make decisions as fast as a startup might. “I would say the culture shock is mostly a lot of meetings, not a lot of decisions,” he says. “But honestly, it’s kind of fine—because the government works. It’s not as inefficient as I was expecting, to be honest. I was hoping for more easy wins.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2rrp7amblhg3xoly5n5huiqv/bafkreieacmnc5aa2tjl2eajo7jphh2ljx2uyxopzl2xgzihaglmv4epvhq)
