Policy entrepreneur, technologist, and economist. Co-founder and CEO of PolicyEngine.https://www.maxghenis.com/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/ide-to-ai-orchestration/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/ide-to-ai-orchestration/How AI coding tools evolved from autocomplete to autonomous agents, and why I expect to abandon my IDE entirely this month.Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/ai-models-nyc-housing/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/ai-models-nyc-housing/An experiment using six AI models to forecast NYC housing production under two mayoral candidates.Mon, 23 Jun 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/amodei-adolescence-policyengine/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/amodei-adolescence-policyengine/AI can answer policy questions. It cannot yet model policy impacts. That requires infrastructure we are still building.Tue, 27 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/andrew-yangs-troubling-tucker-carlson-interview/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/andrew-yangs-troubling-tucker-carlson-interview/The Democratic presidential candidate fed into Tucker's MAGA narrativeSat, 09 Mar 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/if-we-can-afford-our-current-welfare-system-we-can/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/if-we-can-afford-our-current-welfare-system-we-can/Replacing the antipoverty bureaucracySun, 24 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/if-you-earned-more-in-2019-than-2018-dont-file-you/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/if-you-earned-more-in-2019-than-2018-dont-file-you/The right tax filing schedule could get you thousands in (poorly designed) Recovery Rebates. And Congress: Let's just do UBI next time.Fri, 27 Mar 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/in-appointing-their-newest-member-the-ventura-city/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/in-appointing-their-newest-member-the-ventura-city/After asking each applicant about the housing crisis, most councilmembers voted for those least committed to solving itWed, 24 Feb 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/my-2024-in-code/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/my-2024-in-code/How AI helped me build useful software while leading PolicyEngine.Thu, 02 Jan 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/openmessage/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/openmessage/I had already connected Claude Code to WhatsApp, Signal, Slack, and Gmail. SMS was the last holdout — and no existing tool could solve it.Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/quantile-regression-from-linear-models-to-trees-to/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/quantile-regression-from-linear-models-to-trees-to/Suppose a real estate analyst wants to predict home prices from factors like home age and distance from job centers.Tue, 16 Oct 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/reddit-featured-a-misleading-headline-on-education/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/reddit-featured-a-misleading-headline-on-education/“billionaire”Sat, 26 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/scrollywood/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/scrollywood/A Chrome extension that records smooth-scrolling videos of any webpage, built for capturing scrollytelling stories and long-form content.Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/snap-recertification-claude-code/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/snap-recertification-claude-code/Browser automation + document reading + form filling: Claude Code completed my SNAP recertification in about an hour of active work, across 373 tool calls.Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/rambar/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/rambar/A native macOS menu bar app for tracking memory usage across Claude Code sessions, VS Code workspaces, Chrome tabs, and Python processes.Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/mystquarto/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/mystquarto/mystquarto converts academic markdown between MyST and Quarto formats — directives, roles, config files, and frontmatter. Now on PyPI.Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/_which-nut-is-healthiest-bayesian-qaly-analysis/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/_which-nut-is-healthiest-bayesian-qaly-analysis/A rigorous, evidence-based Monte Carlo simulation estimating the lifetime health impact of different nut types. The most comprehensive quantitative nut health analysis available.Fri, 19 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/the-case-for-a-wonky-basic-income-plan/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/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.Wed, 14 Jun 2017 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/ubers-tipping-settlement-will-reduce-earnings-of-a/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/ubers-tipping-settlement-will-reduce-earnings-of-a/This week, Uber reached a settlement with drivers in California and Massachusetts in a lawsuit concerning worker classification.Tue, 26 Apr 2016 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/using-mdx/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/using-mdx/This blog supports MDX, allowing you to embed React components, Plotly charts, and interactive elements directly in posts.Tue, 25 Nov 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/vat-thresholds/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/vat-thresholds/Debunking claims that raising the UK VAT threshold would increase tax revenues through growth effects.Sat, 30 Aug 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/terminalgrid/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/terminalgrid/A VS Code extension for keyboard-driven terminal grid management with project picker and auto-launch for AI coding tools.Wed, 07 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/opencollective-py/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/opencollective-py/A Python client, CLI, and MCP server for the OpenCollective API.Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/my-claude-code-config/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/my-claude-code-config/A year ago, Anthropic launched Claude Code. I've since consumed 10 billion tokens, mass-tweeted about it, and mass-customized it. Here's my setup and what I've learned.Wed, 25 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/ventura-county-must-end-its-unsheltered-homelessne/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/ventura-county-must-end-its-unsheltered-homelessne/We need to make shelters more abundant and housing more affordableMon, 25 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/warrens-wealth-tax-would-raise-less-than-she-claim/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/warrens-wealth-tax-would-raise-less-than-she-claim/Using their cited assumptions around avoidance and economic growth cuts revenue by a quarterSat, 09 Nov 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/we-should-replace-the-child-tax-credit-with-a-univ/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/we-should-replace-the-child-tax-credit-with-a-univ/The Child Tax Credit (CTC) is one of the largest assistance programs for children in the US.Sun, 22 Apr 2018 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/why-im-a-neoliberal/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/why-im-a-neoliberal/My political philosophy and why I identify with neoliberalism - emphasizing evidence-based policy, market mechanisms, and a strong social safety net.Fri, 18 Mar 2022 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/why-ive-taken-the-giving-what-we-can-pledge/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/why-ive-taken-the-giving-what-we-can-pledge/The global poor will benefit much more from ten percent of my income than I willTue, 31 Dec 2019 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/bad-bunny-immigration-enforcement/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/bad-bunny-immigration-enforcement/Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show highlighted the Americas. Here's what the data shows about immigration and enforcement patterns.Mon, 09 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/bad-bunny-immigration-enforcement/social/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/bad-bunny-immigration-enforcement/social/Social media posts for the Bad Bunny immigration enforcement articleSun, 09 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/bayesian-comforter/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/bayesian-comforter/How I analyzed 57 nights of Eight Sleep data to find the optimal comforter for sleep qualityWed, 04 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/double-eye-contact/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/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.Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/givewell-cea/social/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/givewell-cea/social/Social media posts for the GiveWell CEA interactive replicationTue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.maxghenis.com/blog/givewell-cea/https://www.maxghenis.com/blog/givewell-cea/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.Tue, 10 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT