The obligations we defer
Pensions, deferred maintenance, and the habit of moving a cost into a year nobody at the table will still be responsible for.
View seriesEssays & arguments
Writing.
Notes from the intersection of government, finance, institutions, technology, and civic life.
Latest essay · August 27, 2026
“America faces enormous challenges, but too much of our politics has become rage-bait, performance, and finger-pointing instead of governing.”
Effective Government · 6 min
Our Politics Is Failing the Moment
America faces enormous challenges, but too much of our politics has become rage-bait, performance, and finger-pointing instead of governing. The right, left, and center have different versions of the same failure. We need leaders willing to make hard choices, confront tradeoffs, build, invest, reform, and deliver results. The problems are getting bigger while our politics gets smaller. It is time to stop governing for the clip and get to work.
Read the essayStart here
Three ways in, if you have not read any of it before.
How I think about governmentGoverning RoomThe framework the rest of the writing argues from: capacity as the usable room an institution has to act.Fiscal StewardshipHow I think about fiscal responsibilityWe Are Not Cutting Costs. We Are Consuming Our Inheritance.Pensions, deteriorating infrastructure and tax cuts as symptoms of one failure rather than three problems.Fiscal StewardshipHow I think about democracyOur Politics Is Failing the MomentThe problems are getting bigger while the politics gets smaller. Governing is the work after the argument.Effective Government
The archive
Every essay, searchable.
Aug 26, 2026AI Is Not Just a Technology Revolution. It Is a Test of Government.Effective GovernmentGoverning the machine9 minJul 30, 2026The E-Bike Problem Is Real.Strong CommunitiesHow we move6 minJul 26, 2026Visible Spending, Invisible DebtFiscal StewardshipThe obligations we deferCapacity lens: Harvest6 minJul 18, 2026We Are Not Cutting Costs. We Are Consuming Our Inheritance.Fiscal StewardshipThe obligations we deferCapacity lens: Harvest6 minJul 3, 2026We the People at 250Democracy & InstitutionsThe republic at 2507 minJun 4, 2026America at 250Democracy & InstitutionsThe republic at 2504 minMay 7, 2026AI Will Not End the World. But It Will Change the Work.Strong CommunitiesGoverning the machine10 minApr 24, 2026Enjoy the Draft. But Don’t Send the Bill to Taxpayers.Fiscal StewardshipCapacity lens: Overcommit6 minApr 12, 2026Problems of Today Are Being Managed like it's the 1980sEffective GovernmentOne hundred and thirty municipalitiesThe volunteer model is failing7 minApr 11, 2026What Did America Actually Win in Iran?Democracy & Institutions5 minApr 8, 2026Trump’s Iran Gamble Is Weakening AmericaDemocracy & Institutions5 minMar 30, 2026Governing RoomFiscal StewardshipThe obligations we defer11 minMar 16, 2026Stop Making 130 Municipalities Reinvent the Trash ContractFiscal StewardshipOne hundred and thirty municipalities6 minFeb 4, 2026Democracy Fails When Influence Detaches from ConsequenceEffective GovernmentThe republic at 2504 minFeb 1, 2026Who We Drive AwayEffective Government5 minJan 21, 2026The Unraveling of the American OrderDemocracy & Institutions4 minJan 17, 2026The Politics of DemolitionStrong CommunitiesThe obligations we defer3 minJan 16, 2026The Discipline of RenewalEffective GovernmentThe obligations we deferThe republic at 250Capacity lens: Preserve4 minJan 11, 2026Regionalism Without Losing YourselfEffective GovernmentOne hundred and thirty municipalities5 minDec 2, 2025Government is Not Broken. It Is Starving.Effective GovernmentThe obligations we deferCapacity lens: Harvest7 minNov 21, 2025The Oath Is the PointDemocracy & InstitutionsThe republic at 2506 minNov 19, 2025Budgets Don't Fill PotholesFiscal StewardshipThe obligations we deferCapacity lens: Build8 minOct 27, 2025The Next-Gen Civic HeroStrong CommunitiesGoverning the machine5 minOct 25, 2025The Addressable CityEffective GovernmentGoverning the machine7 minOct 20, 2025The Governance DividendEffective GovernmentThe obligations we defer8 minSep 26, 2025Boundaries Don’t Breathe. Communities Do.Fiscal StewardshipOne hundred and thirty municipalities5 minAug 14, 2025Focusing My Service Here at Home, and Supporting Jen MazzoccoEffective Government2 minJul 31, 2025In the Shadow of the AlgorithmEffective GovernmentGoverning the machine5 minJul 30, 2025Leading Local Government Through the Adoption of AIEffective GovernmentGoverning the machine3 minJul 27, 2025Not Just Voters, But StewardsStrong Communities3 minJul 25, 2025America Was Built to Reach OutwardDemocracy & Institutions5 minJul 23, 2025Authoritarians Don’t Wear Uniforms AnymoreDemocracy & Institutions3 minJul 20, 2025The Pennsylvania We’re BecomingFiscal Stewardship5 minJul 16, 2025More Than Just a RoadStrong CommunitiesHow we move4 minJul 14, 2025Reflections on LeadershipEffective Government4 minJul 5, 2025Toward Repairing the RepublicDemocracy & InstitutionsThe republic at 2508 minJul 4, 2025After the Big Beautiful Bill: A Reckoning for Local GovernmentFiscal StewardshipWhen Washington pulls back4 minJul 2, 2025The Measure of a Community Is How It CaresStrong CommunitiesThe volunteer model is failing4 minJul 1, 2025Beyond the Ranch: Carrying the Cowboy Ethic into Public ServiceEffective Government4 minJun 29, 2025Local Government for a New EraFiscal Stewardship4 minJun 12, 2025The Spirit of the Whiskey Rebellion Lives On—In Defense of the First AmendmentDemocracy & Institutions2 minJun 7, 2025The Commons We Keep: Why Civic Spaces MatterStrong Communities5 minJun 1, 2025The Coming Squeeze: How the Allegheny County Region Must Prepare for the Coming Era of Federal AusterityFiscal StewardshipOne hundred and thirty municipalitiesWhen Washington pulls back5 minMay 22, 2025More Than Firefighting: A Year of Rediscovering Purpose in Public ServiceStrong CommunitiesThe volunteer model is failing4 minMay 19, 2025Democracy Isn’t a Spectator Sport. Tomorrow, It’s Game Day.Strong CommunitiesThe republic at 2502 minMay 16, 2025The Next Storm Will Come: On Self-Reliance, Fragility, and Civic PreparednessEffective GovernmentThe volunteer model is failing4 minMay 9, 2025Building Streets for People: A New Vision for Mt. Lebanon and DormontStrong CommunitiesHow we move4 minMay 6, 2025Building the Future: Weather, Infrastructure, and a New Mandate for Southwest PennsylvaniaFiscal Stewardship6 minApr 26, 2025Breathing Easier: Paris and the Politics of Urban CourageFiscal StewardshipHow we move4 minApr 22, 2025The Perennial Wisdom of Earth DayStrong Communities3 minApr 15, 2025End of the Line Economics: Why Pittsburgh Must Rethink Transit for Growth, Not NostalgiaFiscal StewardshipHow we move5 minApr 10, 2025Municipal Resilience in the Age of Retaliation: Preparing for the Local Impacts of the Trump TariffsFiscal StewardshipWhen Washington pulls back7 minApr 7, 2025The Toll of Tariffs: How Economic Nationalism Courts Conflict and Saps GrowthDemocracy & InstitutionsWhen Washington pulls back4 minMar 27, 2025CONNECT Utilities & Critical Infrastructure SummitFiscal Stewardship5 minMar 23, 2025The Problem Isn’t Government—It’s How We Make It WorkStrong Communities5 minMar 16, 2025The Aesthetics, Economics, and Politics of Infrastructure ModernizationEffective GovernmentThe obligations we defer4 minMar 9, 2025Globalization’s Winners and Losers: Why Tariffs Are Gaining Ground in AmericaDemocracy & InstitutionsWhen Washington pulls back6 minMar 7, 2025Building a Stronger Southwest Pennsylvania: A Strategy for Uncertain TimesFiscal Stewardship3 minMar 5, 2025Trump, Putin, and Xi: The Grand Bargain That Could Reshape the World—and Break the U.S.-Led Economic OrderDemocracy & Institutions6 minMar 2, 2025Saving Lives, Struggling for FundingStrong CommunitiesThe volunteer model is failing5 minFeb 20, 2025The Perils of Trump’s Foreign PolicyDemocracy & Institutions5 minFeb 17, 2025The Importance of NATO in Preserving U.S. SecurityDemocracy & Institutions5 minFeb 13, 2025The Promise and Fragility of Republican IdealsDemocracy & InstitutionsThe republic at 2503 minFeb 13, 2025When the Federal Government Pulls BackStrong CommunitiesWhen Washington pulls back3 minFeb 11, 2025Building the Future: Why America Must Keep Constructing Homes, Roads, Technologies, and InstitutionsStrong Communities3 minFeb 9, 2025Why Institutions Matter in a Democracy That Feels on the BrinkDemocracy & InstitutionsThe republic at 2503 minJan 30, 2025The Power of Local Government: Innovating and Funding for a Resilient FutureFiscal Stewardship4 minJan 28, 2025Investing in ResilienceFiscal StewardshipThe obligations we deferCapacity lens: Build2 minJan 26, 2025Regionalizing Fire and EMS Services is a No-BrainerFiscal StewardshipOne hundred and thirty municipalitiesThe volunteer model is failingCapacity lens: Build5 minJan 26, 2025Rethinking Zoning to Drive Economic Vibrancy in Suburban AmericaStrong Communities3 minJan 26, 2025Smaller Footprint Grocery Stores Could Revitalize Downtown AmericaStrong Communities2 minSep 10, 2023The Significance of Regionalizing Waste Stream ManagementFiscal StewardshipOne hundred and thirty municipalities3 minJun 28, 2023Safe Streets Create Economic ProsperityStrong CommunitiesHow we move4 minJun 19, 2023Celebrating Pride in Mt. LebanonStrong Communities4 minApr 13, 2022Building a More Resilient and Sustainable CommunityFiscal StewardshipOne hundred and thirty municipalities2 minJan 11, 2022Reimagining Streets for the FutureStrong CommunitiesHow we move4 minJan 6, 2022A recommitment to democracyDemocracy & InstitutionsThe republic at 2502 minJan 5, 2022Statement at Mt Lebanon, PA Reorganization MeetingEffective Government1 minDec 17, 2021Commissioner’s Column: CommunityStrong Communities3 min
Nothing matches .
Try a broader term, or a concept rather than a phrase: pensions, regionalism, streets, workforce.
Ongoing arguments
Ideas that keep developing.
Editorial series organize related essays without creating a second taxonomy for the rest of the site.
Foundational essay
The framework the rest of the writing argues from.
Governing Room
How public institutions build, preserve, and quietly consume their ability to act.
Read the frameworkThe republic at 250
Institutions, civic habit, and what a self-governing country actually runs on.
View seriesOne hundred and thirty municipalities
What local control is actually for, and what is simply being duplicated across a fragmented region.
View seriesHow we move
Streets as a design decision, mobility law that lags the vehicles on it, and transit economics.
View seriesThe volunteer model is failing
Emergency services running on a staffing base that has thinned for a generation.
View seriesGoverning the machine
Whether public institutions can adopt technology deliberately, or will simply be changed by it.
View seriesWhen Washington pulls back
Federal retrenchment, tariffs, and the local balance sheet that absorbs both.
View seriesThe ledger · 2021–2026
Every essay, by the month I wrote it.
Height is how much was published. Color is what it was about. Select a column to read the month; the archive works the same by tap and by keyboard.
Select a monthQuiet months are part of the record too.