Interactive replication of GiveWell's cost-effectiveness analysis
I re-implemented GiveWell's cost-effectiveness models for all six top charities as an open-source web tool with editable parameters, moral weights, and sensitivity analysis.
Writing
Thoughts on policy, technology, economics, and building tools for better governance.
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Why you can't make double eye contact
Your eyes can only converge on a single point. Up close, that means you have to pick one of the other person's eyes to look at.
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OpenMessage: How I built a macOS Google Messages client to give Claude my texts
I had already connected Claude Code to WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, and Gmail. SMS was the last holdout — and no existing tool could solve it.
Where US immigrants come from, and where ICE focuses enforcement
Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show highlighted the Americas. Here's what the data shows about immigration and enforcement patterns.
Scrollywood: Smooth scroll video recording for the web
A Chrome extension that records smooth-scrolling videos of any webpage, built for capturing scrollytelling stories and long-form content.
I used Claude Code to recertify for SNAP
Browser automation + document reading + form filling: Claude Code completed my SNAP recertification in about an hour of active work, across 373 tool calls.
The adolescence of policy simulation: On Amodei and economic disruption
AI can answer policy questions. It cannot yet model policy impacts. That requires infrastructure we are still building.
opencollective-py: Manage OpenCollective from your terminal or Claude Code
A Python client, CLI, and MCP server for the OpenCollective API.
From IDE to AI orchestration: The end of code-first development
How AI coding tools evolved from autocomplete to autonomous agents, and why I expect to abandon my IDE entirely this month.
RAMBar: A macOS menu bar RAM monitor for developers
A native macOS menu bar app for tracking memory usage across Claude Code sessions, VS Code workspaces, Chrome tabs, and Python processes.
TerminalGrid: Turn VS Code into a Claude Code superterminal
A VS Code extension for keyboard-driven terminal grid management with project picker and auto-launch for AI coding tools.
How to Use MDX for Interactive Posts
This blog supports MDX, allowing you to embed React components, Plotly charts, and interactive elements directly in posts.
VAT thresholds, revenues, and the role of counterfactuals
Debunking claims that raising the UK VAT threshold would increase tax revenues through growth effects.
AI models favor Cuomo over Mamdani on NYC housing production
An experiment using six AI models to forecast NYC housing production under two mayoral candidates.
My 2024 in code: Personal projects and AI tools
How AI helped me build useful software while leading PolicyEngine.
Why I'm a neoliberal
My political philosophy and why I identify with neoliberalism - emphasizing evidence-based policy, market mechanisms, and a strong social safety net.
In appointing their newest member, the Ventura City Council only pretended to care about housing
After asking each applicant about the housing crisis, most councilmembers voted for those least committed to solving it
If you earned more in 2019 than 2018, don't file your 2019 taxes yet! Otherwise, file ASAP!
The right tax filing schedule could get you thousands in (poorly designed) Recovery Rebates. And Congress: Let's just do UBI next time.
Why I’ve taken the Giving What We Can pledge
The global poor will benefit much more from ten percent of my income than I will
Ventura County must end its unsheltered homelessness
We need to make shelters more abundant and housing more affordable
Warren’s wealth tax would raise less than she claims — even using her economists’ own assumptions
Using their cited assumptions around avoidance and economic growth cuts revenue by a quarter
Andrew Yang's troubling Tucker Carlson interview
The Democratic presidential candidate fed into Tucker's MAGA narrative
Quantile regression, from linear models to trees to deep learning
Suppose a real estate analyst wants to predict home prices from factors like home age and distance from job centers.
We should replace the Child Tax Credit with a universal child benefit
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is one of the largest assistance programs for children in the US.
The case for a wonky basic income plan
In March, a former union leader joined forces with a prominent libertarian to debate two Obama White House economists.
Reddit featured a misleading headline on education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos
“billionaire”
Uber's tipping settlement will reduce earnings of African-American drivers
This week, Uber reached a settlement with drivers in California and Massachusetts in a lawsuit concerning worker classification.
If we can afford our current welfare system, we can afford basic income
Replacing the antipoverty bureaucracy