State Capacitance

Government Needs Someone in Charge

Introducing "Competent Bureaucracy," my manifesto for rebuilding government around authority and responsibility.

Jul 20 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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June 2026

Other Writing

My writing, interviews, and media appearances outside of State Capacitance.

Jun 10 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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The Tax Gimmick that Built New York

How greater New York City was created, and its taxpayers were stuck with the bill.

Jun 2 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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February 2026

Announcing a New Project: Plain Job Titles Please

FAI helps the government sort out its job titles

Feb 5 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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January 2026

The Day Without Cities

The History of Judicial Decisions that Abolished All City Government

Jan 28 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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November 2025

How the Bureaucracy Lost its Builders

Why midcentury "modernization" reorganized expertise out of existence.

Nov 25, 2025 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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September 2025

Government Administration: An Annotated Bibliography

Bureaucracy as She is Spoke

Sep 22, 2025 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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July 2025

How Process Charts Kept the Lights On

A guest writer applies 1940s management to his day job

Jul 21, 2025 • Kevin Hawickhorst and F. Ichiro Gifford

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June 2025

How the Feds Invented Lean Manufacturing

Before Toyota, there was the Social Security Administration.

Jun 23, 2025 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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May 2025

The Solicitors Against the Circuit

By Jameson Payne: How the DC Circuit built up the bureaucracy, and how the state Solicitors General pared it back.

May 23, 2025 • Kevin Hawickhorst and Jameson Payne

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New: Accounting for State Capacity

Have I painted my 6,500 word masterpiece?

May 20, 2025 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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Uncle Sam's Problem Children

The five most problematic types of government programs according to Herbert Emmerich. A new series on efficient executive branch reorganization.

May 16, 2025 • Kevin Hawickhorst

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