W. Hayden Farris (he/him)
@whaydenfarris.bsky.social
Political Professional working toward evidence-based policy for effective and equitable outcomes. #Portland based, #Policy oriented.
Want lower prices? Ensure real competition in the private market.
Big corporations getting bigger is bad for a lot of reasons, and we have ways to fight back. Read what I wrote: oregonpowerandpolicy.substack.com/p/cartels-ca...
February 27, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Want lower prices? Ensure real competition in the private market.
Reposted by W. Hayden Farris (he/him)
Congratulations to @flashes.blue for their official launch on the App Store 🎉🎉🎉
It’s an instagram alternative built on the AT protocol 🙌 all the visual scrolling with none of the Meta algorithm
It’s an instagram alternative built on the AT protocol 🙌 all the visual scrolling with none of the Meta algorithm
February 25, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Congratulations to @flashes.blue for their official launch on the App Store 🎉🎉🎉
It’s an instagram alternative built on the AT protocol 🙌 all the visual scrolling with none of the Meta algorithm
It’s an instagram alternative built on the AT protocol 🙌 all the visual scrolling with none of the Meta algorithm
Trump investigating the CA High-Speed Rail project is likely not in good faith.
BUT CA should not be spending this much for so little. It's insofar functionally a waste of taxpayer dollars and points to massive failure in CA governance.
One solution CA should take: In-house construction 🧵
BUT CA should not be spending this much for so little. It's insofar functionally a waste of taxpayer dollars and points to massive failure in CA governance.
One solution CA should take: In-house construction 🧵
February 20, 2025 at 9:50 PM
Trump investigating the CA High-Speed Rail project is likely not in good faith.
BUT CA should not be spending this much for so little. It's insofar functionally a waste of taxpayer dollars and points to massive failure in CA governance.
One solution CA should take: In-house construction 🧵
BUT CA should not be spending this much for so little. It's insofar functionally a waste of taxpayer dollars and points to massive failure in CA governance.
One solution CA should take: In-house construction 🧵
Reposted by W. Hayden Farris (he/him)
The Institute of Education Sciences, which identifies what works in education, may be on #DOGE’s chopping block. Its $1B budget is less than 1% of the Dept. of Education's, but it’s vital for efforts to pursue research-based improvements, educational researchers explain. https://buff.ly/42Yvcae
Helping teachers learn what works in the classroom − and what doesn’t − will get a lot harder without the Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences
The nonpartisan arm of the Education Department supports research and shares data on student progress. It identifies what works and what doesn’t.
buff.ly
February 16, 2025 at 6:33 PM
The Institute of Education Sciences, which identifies what works in education, may be on #DOGE’s chopping block. Its $1B budget is less than 1% of the Dept. of Education's, but it’s vital for efforts to pursue research-based improvements, educational researchers explain. https://buff.ly/42Yvcae
Reposted by W. Hayden Farris (he/him)
The federal workforce isn't "bloated" - as @elizabethlinos.bsky.social explains, the real crisis is critical staffing shortages.
Read more here:
www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-f...
Read more here:
www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-f...
Trump says the federal workforce is too big. Here's what to know about its size.
The federal government is the nation's largest employer, yet the size of its workforce hasn't kept up with U.S. population growth, experts say.
www.cbsnews.com
February 14, 2025 at 11:23 PM
The federal workforce isn't "bloated" - as @elizabethlinos.bsky.social explains, the real crisis is critical staffing shortages.
Read more here:
www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-f...
Read more here:
www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-f...
When people genuinely or in bad faith ask: How else are we supposed to clean up gov. efficiency if the courts block DOGE?
The answer is easy and lies in the Constitution: get congressional approval – go through the legal process.
The answer is easy and lies in the Constitution: get congressional approval – go through the legal process.
February 10, 2025 at 4:03 AM
When people genuinely or in bad faith ask: How else are we supposed to clean up gov. efficiency if the courts block DOGE?
The answer is easy and lies in the Constitution: get congressional approval – go through the legal process.
The answer is easy and lies in the Constitution: get congressional approval – go through the legal process.
Reposted by W. Hayden Farris (he/him)
If you want a long, but very thorough, read on just how crazy dangerous the situation is with Elon, @brockm.bsky.social has laid it all out in a single article. Please read it.
www.techdirt.com/2025/02/05/t...
www.techdirt.com/2025/02/05/t...
The 24-Hour Reality Check: Musk’s Impossible Power Grab And America’s Crisis
There are twenty-four hours in a day. This isn’t a matter of political opinion or technological disruption—it’s as immutable as the fact that two plus two equals four. No amount of geni…
www.techdirt.com
February 5, 2025 at 5:57 PM
If you want a long, but very thorough, read on just how crazy dangerous the situation is with Elon, @brockm.bsky.social has laid it all out in a single article. Please read it.
www.techdirt.com/2025/02/05/t...
www.techdirt.com/2025/02/05/t...
One more reason to not use Twitter. Check out these bots. All accounts created before 2020 with minimal posts aside from this:
January 31, 2025 at 12:43 AM
One more reason to not use Twitter. Check out these bots. All accounts created before 2020 with minimal posts aside from this:
Things I can do in a city:
- Walk 2 blocks to pickup ice cream from a friend
- on the way back help someone move a dresser into their apartment
- hang out with my cats on my porch and say hi to passing neighbors
All within 20 minutes. Bliss.
- Walk 2 blocks to pickup ice cream from a friend
- on the way back help someone move a dresser into their apartment
- hang out with my cats on my porch and say hi to passing neighbors
All within 20 minutes. Bliss.
January 30, 2025 at 2:42 AM
Things I can do in a city:
- Walk 2 blocks to pickup ice cream from a friend
- on the way back help someone move a dresser into their apartment
- hang out with my cats on my porch and say hi to passing neighbors
All within 20 minutes. Bliss.
- Walk 2 blocks to pickup ice cream from a friend
- on the way back help someone move a dresser into their apartment
- hang out with my cats on my porch and say hi to passing neighbors
All within 20 minutes. Bliss.
Reposted by W. Hayden Farris (he/him)
If we want to electrify thousands of miles of rail in CA by 2050, we need to do it a lot faster and cheaper. Currently, CA pays far more for infrastructure than countries like Italy and Spain, which have mostly electric rail. What can we do differently?🧵 calelectricrail.org/transit-capi...
Transit Capital Project Delivery Reforms: Building cleaner, faster, and cheaper – Californians for Electric Rail
calelectricrail.org
December 18, 2024 at 6:14 PM
If we want to electrify thousands of miles of rail in CA by 2050, we need to do it a lot faster and cheaper. Currently, CA pays far more for infrastructure than countries like Italy and Spain, which have mostly electric rail. What can we do differently?🧵 calelectricrail.org/transit-capi...
Current investigations are pointing to PG&E infrastructure causing current fires.
1) any public utility that functions as a monopoly should be gov. run
2) a company that causes this level of damage should be dissolved
3) risk of powerlines to cause fires is support for microgrids w/ less risk
1) any public utility that functions as a monopoly should be gov. run
2) a company that causes this level of damage should be dissolved
3) risk of powerlines to cause fires is support for microgrids w/ less risk
January 13, 2025 at 2:06 AM
Current investigations are pointing to PG&E infrastructure causing current fires.
1) any public utility that functions as a monopoly should be gov. run
2) a company that causes this level of damage should be dissolved
3) risk of powerlines to cause fires is support for microgrids w/ less risk
1) any public utility that functions as a monopoly should be gov. run
2) a company that causes this level of damage should be dissolved
3) risk of powerlines to cause fires is support for microgrids w/ less risk
IMO liberal leaders forget that you don't change opinions via brute force facts or condescension.
Show and tell people that voting for you will directly help that person. And, along for the ride, they'll be exposed to info that helps them understand "liberal" views. Works better than name calling.
Show and tell people that voting for you will directly help that person. And, along for the ride, they'll be exposed to info that helps them understand "liberal" views. Works better than name calling.
But she (and many, many people we have spoken with) had a sense that she was being talked AT by politicians, that politicians were putting on a show for her. And that, I think understandably, seemed to offend her.
Part of why I don't quite know how to write about this is that ...
Part of why I don't quite know how to write about this is that ...
December 30, 2024 at 1:37 AM
IMO liberal leaders forget that you don't change opinions via brute force facts or condescension.
Show and tell people that voting for you will directly help that person. And, along for the ride, they'll be exposed to info that helps them understand "liberal" views. Works better than name calling.
Show and tell people that voting for you will directly help that person. And, along for the ride, they'll be exposed to info that helps them understand "liberal" views. Works better than name calling.
(I think) Poor Man's Boots theory applies to almost everything
Short on time > don't maintenance your car? Retroactive fixing takes more time than proactive maintenance.
Short on mental bandwidth? Lashing out requires more emotional cleanup than initial regulation.
Any ex. where this is not true?
Short on time > don't maintenance your car? Retroactive fixing takes more time than proactive maintenance.
Short on mental bandwidth? Lashing out requires more emotional cleanup than initial regulation.
Any ex. where this is not true?
December 24, 2024 at 7:10 PM
(I think) Poor Man's Boots theory applies to almost everything
Short on time > don't maintenance your car? Retroactive fixing takes more time than proactive maintenance.
Short on mental bandwidth? Lashing out requires more emotional cleanup than initial regulation.
Any ex. where this is not true?
Short on time > don't maintenance your car? Retroactive fixing takes more time than proactive maintenance.
Short on mental bandwidth? Lashing out requires more emotional cleanup than initial regulation.
Any ex. where this is not true?
In-housing staff works. @multco.bsky.social take notes.
BART has implemented this to great success - the Fleet of the Future project came $394 million under budget thanks to in-house staff. CAHSR has also started to increase state capacity in response to justified concern about the timeline and cost. But many other agencies need to follow suit.
1. Build State Capacity. Farming out projects to pricy consultants with no incentive to control costs causes massive bloat. Instead, we should invest in permanent operational staffing to plan, develop, procure, and manage project delivery at the state and regional level. 3/
December 19, 2024 at 8:08 AM
In-housing staff works. @multco.bsky.social take notes.
Problem: housing expensive to build
Symptom: housing shortage, expensive housing, increased homelessness
Solution to problem: make housing construction cheaper
Alt solution: Force market rate re-adjustment via social housing
Bandaid for symptom presented as solution: subsidize private market 🤦
Symptom: housing shortage, expensive housing, increased homelessness
Solution to problem: make housing construction cheaper
Alt solution: Force market rate re-adjustment via social housing
Bandaid for symptom presented as solution: subsidize private market 🤦
One of the stranger things about Kotek administration housing policy:
Gov. Kotek: “We should bring prices down by removing regulatory barriers”
Gov. Kotek’s own spokesperson: “All is well, we are throwing more money at the problem” www.oregonlive.com/realestate/2...
Gov. Kotek: “We should bring prices down by removing regulatory barriers”
Gov. Kotek’s own spokesperson: “All is well, we are throwing more money at the problem” www.oregonlive.com/realestate/2...
December 18, 2024 at 7:58 PM
Problem: housing expensive to build
Symptom: housing shortage, expensive housing, increased homelessness
Solution to problem: make housing construction cheaper
Alt solution: Force market rate re-adjustment via social housing
Bandaid for symptom presented as solution: subsidize private market 🤦
Symptom: housing shortage, expensive housing, increased homelessness
Solution to problem: make housing construction cheaper
Alt solution: Force market rate re-adjustment via social housing
Bandaid for symptom presented as solution: subsidize private market 🤦
If we rely on private-sector organizations for public-sector responsibilities, we should in-house those organizations.
This improves responsibility delegation clarity, chains of command, financial efficiency, and reduces administrative overhead.
This improves responsibility delegation clarity, chains of command, financial efficiency, and reduces administrative overhead.
There are a lot of blurry lines in the nonprofit sector: between government responsibilities and charitable endeavors, govt funding and philanthropy, contracts and grants, services and advocacy, accountability and reporting. Clarity would help everybody.
Super interesting look today from @opb.bsky.social reporter Bryce Dole on the perilous state of nonprofit funding and what that means for the social safety net local governments have come to rely on.
December 12, 2024 at 1:43 AM
If we rely on private-sector organizations for public-sector responsibilities, we should in-house those organizations.
This improves responsibility delegation clarity, chains of command, financial efficiency, and reduces administrative overhead.
This improves responsibility delegation clarity, chains of command, financial efficiency, and reduces administrative overhead.