The Paperwork Poverty Trap
How Forms, Long Lines, and Other Types of Bureaucratic Sludge Hold Everyone Back—Especially the Most Vulnerable
Cass R. Sunstein has thought a great deal about sludge. No, not the wastewater treatment byproduct, but the “yucky stuff” we are all doomed to encounter in our daily lives, whether it’s waiting on hold to change a phone plan or sifting through the paperwork to find a healthcare provider. Sludge—which is also the title of Sunstein’s most recent book, Sludge: What Stops Us from Getting Things Done and What to Do about It—is at best a nuisance. But at worst, the legal scholar explained during last night’s virtual Zócalo/Pacific Council …
