Long DMV lines, endless tax forms, and paperwork-heavy safety-net programs aren’t just annoyances—they’re “time taxes,” the administrative burdens that waste people’s time and can keep eligible families from getting help.
On this episode of “Radio Atlantic,” Atlantic staff writer Annie Lowrey tells host Adam Harris that these burdens are often harsher for people with less social status and have long been used as tools of social control, such as Jim Crow voting rules and restrictive SNAP and TANF requirements designed to police behavior and deter use.
In her new book, “The Time Tax: How the Government Wastes Our Time—And How to Fix It,” Lowrey says reforms are possible but require political will, clearer accountability, and a focus on making government services simpler and more user-friendly.
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00:00 Introduction
00:28 What Are Time Taxes
05:53 Bureaucracy as Social Control
08:10 When Simple Programs Work
10:24 DOGE and Efficiency Theater
16:00 Fixes and Political Roadblocks
20:53 Data Risks and Lessons Learned
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