Gabfest Reads | The Tax Nobody Talks About: Your Time
Summary
Annie Lowry discusses her new book, The Time Tax, detailing how bureaucratic inefficiencies and political malice waste Americans' time through complex taxes, benefits, and permits. She contrasts the U.S. with high-income countries that automate tax filing and explains how "ordeal mechanisms" disproportionately burden the poor. Lowry also highlights the emotional toll of government interactions and proposes fixes like data interoperability and eliminating asset testing.
Topics discussed
Sponsors and introduction to GapFest Reads
Introduction to Annie Lowry and The Time Tax
Examples of government time waste: taxes and permits
Ordeal mechanism theory and intentional friction
Technological incompetence and lack of interoperability
Political causes: left vs right time taxes
Sponsor breaks: Vanguard, Bombas, and Opill
Why government services lag behind tech companies
How time tax disproportionately affects the poor
Quantifying the cost of time taxes
The psychological and emotional toll of bureaucracy
Why we like some government programs (e.g., Social Security)
Did DOGE reduce time taxes?
Solutions and political will for reform
State and local success stories in reform
The book's back cover: terms and conditions joke
Book recommendations from Annie Lowry
Closing remarks and credits
Sponsor breaks: Citizens Bank and Opill
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