03/27/2023
Onerous government software is spooking millions out of legal, financial, and medical aid they’re entitled to, according to this impassioned debut from Pahlka, founder of the nonprofit Code for America. Contending that the government should think of people seeking social services as users on a platform, Pahlka calls on officials “to put the needs of government’s many users ahead of the needs of the bureaucracy,” and argues that such an overhaul would mean that unemployment checks get written sooner, Medicare works for both patients and doctors, and veterans stop feeling like they’ve been told “to go fuck themselves.” Instead of outsourcing the planning and building of these new administrative systems to private tech companies, Pahlka, who founded the United States Digital Service under the Obama administration, calls for the creation of government positions “charged with digital strategy and product management.” Though she admits that “increasing that government’s capacity to function in a digital world will be long, hard work,” Pahlka expresses optimism that decades of innovation by the private sector will help smooth the transition. Throughout, she enriches her lucid technical discussions with concise history lessons and vivid profiles of government employees pushing for reform. Comprehensive and persuasive, this call for change inspires. (June)
Named one of NPR's Best Books of 2023
Named one of Ezra Klein's "Books That Explain Where We Are in 2023," The New York Times
“An indispensable new book...Recoding America isn’t just about tech. It’s about the American administrative state, and it’s a call for paring back the rigid rules that make it so hard to govern, and for rebuilding government’s ability to do its job effectively.”
—The Atlantic
“No one should be allowed to hold public office without reading this book.”
—Adam Grant, author of Think Again
“If you’ve ever wondered how government can get better, you’ll love Pahlka’s fresh take on the solutions to our bureaucratic dysfunction. Everyone can learn something from this wonderful book: How to strengthen democracies, how to lead with more wisdom, how to make government work for all of us. The future of our society—and even our planet—depends on our ability to recode the American government.”
—Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
“A remarkably compelling, inspiring, and entertaining read about government technology…A valuable and enlightening book."
—Science
“Every American who cares about our democracy should read this book. We all know government doesn’t work the way it should, but we chalk it up to bureaucratic dysfunction. Taking us behind the scenes in the best and the worst of our bureaucracies, Pahlka lays bare not only what’s wrong, but what to do about it. An engaging and compelling read on a problem we can’t afford to ignore.”
—Eric Schmidt, former Chairman of Alphabet
“Democracy depends on trust, and trust depends on the actual delivery of government services, delivery that fails far too often. Recoding America should be on the reading list of every person who wants to make a difference in the world, and every public servant who wants to make government work.”
—Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America
“Recoding America will rattle some cages, but Pahlka’s engaging and vivid accounts of policy rhetoric crashing onto the rocks of implementation will convince you those cages need a little rattling. A compelling argument to focus on the underappreciated art of delivery in our digital era.”
—Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft
“Jen Pahlka’s insight and experience make her the perfect author of this manifesto on how and why we must reset the relationships between people, policy, bureaucracy, and technology. Her call to action to understand people first, and to find ways to improve policy and systems, without always piling on more, should be in the front of the minds of every policymaker and project manager, working in the public sector.”
—Garlin Gilchrist, Lt. Governor of Michigan
“Government policy makers get promoted by crafting Big Ideas. But what American citizens need from their leaders today is smarter delivery of policies—and in particular, better digital delivery. Jen Pahlka, America’s former US Deputy Chief Technology Officer and a Silicon Valley insider, chronicles her years spent working to create a stronger, better, faster technology for the public sector, and what it taught her about how government works, when it doesn’t, and how our leaders could hack their way to a better, more efficient, and more trustworthy democracy.”
—Rana Foroohar, author of Makers and Takers, Homecoming
06/01/2023
Pahlka (founder, Code for America) analyzes the gap between U.S. government technology requirements and implementation. The author argues that government technology failures, such as the infamous launch of healthcare.gov, are due to a number of factors and not solely the fault of the codebase. Often, systems are created to meet stringent regulations and inflexible requirements, which limits technologists' control over the final product. Many technology modernization mandates add new features without reworking the underlying code, which leads to a clunky user experience, adds to maintenance, and requires experienced staff to operate. Staff also lack the incentive to take risks and are constrained by legalistic thinking. The book looks at rules and the changes that caused the U.S. government to fall behind in technology innovation, where they previously had been pioneers. Pahlka uses case studies and interviews with public servants to illustrate the problems, offers recommendations for fixing the situation, and asks technologists to consider a career in public service. VERDICT A fascinating exploration of technology and policy in the U.S., which will likely resonate with public-sector technologists.—Rebekah Kati
★ 2023-03-24
The founder of Code for America digs into the pitfalls of government technology.
Beginning with “I’m Just a Bill,” an animated musical introduction to the American legislation system from Schoolhouse Rock!, Pahlka, the deputy chief technology officer during the Obama administration, delivers an eye-opening and accessible examination of why online interactions with government in America work—or, often, do not. The author provides numerous examples of failures, including a form for Veterans Affairs health insurance that only really worked on certain computers with certain versions of software; the development of healthcare.gov, where “the full set of rules governing the program they were supposed to administer wasn’t finalized until the site was due to launch”; or an “application for food stamps that requires answering 212 separate questions.” Through these and many other illustrative cases, Pahlka effectively shows that “when systems or organizations don’t work the way you think they should, it is generally not because the people in them are stupid or evil. It is because they are operating according to structures and incentives that aren’t obvious from the outside.” Indeed, by tracing the requirements of any technology developed by or for the government, it becomes increasingly apparent that simply adding new laws or throwing money at the problems fails to alleviate the confusion or waste. Throughout this empowering book, the author makes compelling, clear arguments, revealing inefficiency, bureaucracy, and incompetence, whether it stems from legislators, administrators, or IT professionals. “The good news is that software and the US government have something very important in common: they are made by and for people,” writes Pahlka. “In the end, we get to decide how they work.” Anyone dealing with the implementation of technology in government should pay attention to the author’s suggestions.
An incredibly readable look at the fraught intersection of technological innovation and government bureaucracy.