Hopefully these services can be restored in 3.5 years. One of the greatest things to happen to aging infrastructure of this country in the last 10 years as a lot of our systems are based on aging military systems.
We just need it, there’s no question of the benefits and there were no negatives to speak about.
Thank you President Barack Obama! A true leader and patriot.
ronbenton · 17h ago
>Hopefully these services can be restored in 3.5 years
I am not sure it works like that. Destruction is easy, building is hard.
zbentley · 8h ago
True, but software is slightly easier to restore service to than a razed physical building, for example. The support/staff/operations part still takes time and resources, but it is a little easier.
AStonesThrow · 13h ago
The Doge of Venice never liked swarthy people; George Bush din't like White People, and now the Orange Man is always trying to keep us down!!1
I mean, I liked what they made but its kinda sad that greatest thing to happen to our nation's infrastructure was some nice websites.
Meanwhile, healthcare housing and education got way more expensive and taxes for the wealthy went down.
itsdrewmiller · 14h ago
USDS was borne out of the healthcare.gov debacle, which resulted in providing affordable healthcare to millions of uninsured people. They may not have had an equivalent sized win yet but they have tremendous accomplishments for a tiny organization.
nemomarx · 20h ago
And a lot of bridges fell into disrepair, roads get worse, etc. Gridlock has made funding anything pretty hard in the last decade, and certain parties are so anti spending they won't try to fix it
Hikikomori · 19h ago
Anti spending? The deficit has increased under every republican president almost back to ww2. Their two Santa strategy seems to work well confusing people though.
nemomarx · 19h ago
Yeah but mostly tax cuts and MIC contributions, they're not paying for local development or education or so on
> The deficit is the difference between the money that the government makes and the money it spends. If the government spends more than it collects in revenues, then it’s running a deficit.
> The federal debt is the running total of the accumulated deficits. [Or surpluses]
Lol anti spending but they're about to pass a bill adding 2 trillion to the deficit
kubb · 19h ago
Isn’t that just to cut taxes for the rich?
amanaplanacanal · 19h ago
Yep. The only real cuts I see are cutting medical care for the poorest of the poor.
caycep · 20h ago
and when Biden/Obama admins did actually fix a bunch of infrastructure, half the voting public didn't give a shit
xp84 · 12h ago
That's what happens when parties govern by executive fiat instead of relying on legislation for things like that. Things rammed through by flimsy executive action are fragile and easy for the next administration to cancel.
We could have higher taxes on the wealthy and good healthcare. But to do that, the side that claims they want that and that they believe in "democracy" would have to not only post on Bluesky about it, they'd have to (A) vote, and (B) convince (rather than demonize) the moderates who are skeptical of them. We'll see in a while if they learned that lesson from 2024.
octo888 · 21h ago
> Just over a year old, GDS would serve as critical inspiration for the founding of USDS [0]
Really appreciate the 14 mentions of GDS and acknowledgment of the inspiration.
(The older but poorer cousin gets ahead of the younger, richer cousin for a change ;)
Kudos to everyone involved in this, it made a huge difference for this country, your service will be remembered.
krainboltgreene · 9m ago
The whole reason this website exists is because it won't be remembered.
zbentley · 8h ago
The example they set, and the systems and processes they put in place, are still alive.
In peril? Sure, frequently.
But the USDS, and the work they started, goes on, even today.
Interestingly, the executive order which changed USDS's name seems to consider that work important: it tasks the renamed United States DOGE Service (which is separate from the DOGE temporary organization or the DOGE agency teams, created with separate charters in the same executive order) with:
> a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems.
Whatever else you might think about DOGE or that executive order, it's interesting to note that the government tech improvement goal of the original USDS appears to have been underlined/re-emphasized, rather than crossed out, in this case.
dr_dshiv · 21h ago
I really wish these people the best. It’s humble, meaningful, high-impact, high-integrity work.
stefan_ · 20h ago
Truly humble. Makes sense to record some museum pieces thou, put it next to the Ruby On Rails section.
ForHackernews · 21h ago
This is sweet. The USDS and 18F did a lot of good before they were gutted.
i80and · 19h ago
I'm not sure which group was behind it, but login.gov is a genuine delight and I'm always chuffed to run into a government website that uses it.
EDIT: It was a joint effort between the two!
ronbenton · 17h ago
I thought it was mostly 18F. Interesting to hear USDS was involved in that one as well.
adfm · 18h ago
Since we’re celebrating an obviously positive advancement in infrastructure attributed to one side, I’d like to know about the obviously positive advancements from the other side (in all fairness).
I was a big fan of the USDSO at the origin, definitely it's previous iterations, but man was it so bad at getting their improvements any publicity. Then and now they (and Democrats) made the fatal mistake that the slow march of government would be enough for public support. This website too is from that same strategy: "If we simply show Americans the machine they'll understand what they've thrown away!" It's very Aaron Sorkin's West Wing.
The reality is that the average american doesn't give a shit about the machines. They want better lives and they haven't gotten that for a long time. Talk to some old guy at a diner about why they were a Democratic voter and you won't hear "The Social Security Administation got my checks on time." You'll hear about the New Deal, wage increases, and how they can retire.
pakyr · 21h ago
DirectFile was a material product that had a 94% satisfaction rate.[0] Within the remit of this organization, if making filing taxes free and easy doesn't count as making people's lives better, then I'm not sure what does.
I'm not sure how much control the USDS that developed DirectFile (or whatever was left of it) had over that given the reasons that article cites for the confusion
> The IRS deemphasized the program on its website, the report said, and the media coverage this filing season focused on the question of if the tool existed or would continue to in the future.
> Billionaire Elon Musk caused confusion in early February when he posted on X that the team powering Direct File was “deleted,” leading to headlines like “Elon Musk says he 'deleted' IRS Direct File. Can taxpayers still use the free service?” Direct File saw a drop in use after that.
To be honest, I'm impressed there was even a 16% traffic increase this year at all.
krainboltgreene · 12m ago
Ask yourself: Could this website have been written anytime in the last 8 years? If so, why wasn't it? Given where we are now, the stat I gave, and that only a small number of people are mourning something important speak to my point?
afavour · 18h ago
> It's very Aaron Sorkin's West Wing.
My completely unfounded theory is that the West Wing broke the brains of an entire generation of center left leaning Americans. Led them to believe that being noble and earnest brings you electoral rewards, that you should break bread with your opposition, who are fundamentally reasonable people capable of compromise.
I think Trump 2.0 might have finally finished that mindset off but good lord did it take a long time.
xp84 · 11h ago
> that you should break bread with your opposition
I was agreeing with you completely until I hit this phrase.
What Democrats have you seen "breaking bread with" their opposition? Most Democratic politicians and pundits (not saying voters) spend most of their effort on demonizing those they disagree with, on intentionally imputing the worst motives for their every opinion. If you don't support the most maximal definitions of every ideal they have, you're a bigot. If you didn't vote for Harris, you're a monster who must love Trump. etc.
The West Wing Dems could actually bring themselves to hold their noses and cut a deal with their Republicans that gave each side something important to them. To be fair, both parties now consider that practice to be basically treason.
It's the parties that are killing us.
afavour · 3h ago
> “ The thing that will fundamentally change things is with Donald Trump out of the White House. Not a joke,” Biden told reporters at a diner in Concord, New Hampshire. “You will see an epiphany occur among many of my Republican friends.”
> When it happens, I am hopeful that our Republican colleagues will resume working with us. And I talk to them. One of the places is in the gym. When you’re on that bike in your shorts, panting away next to a Republican, a lot of the inhibitions come off.
You seem to be making the common mistake of conflating online discourse with the reality in DC. Senior Democratic politicians have openly stated time and time again that they believe their Republican friends are going to come around, that they’re going to be sane and that this is all a fever that’s going to break.
> The West Wing Dems could actually bring themselves to hold their noses and cut a deal with their Republicans
They keep doing this? Look at the Senate approvals for Trump’s appointees. Democrats voted in favor of a ton of them thinking it was the bipartisan thing to do and got absolutely nothing in return for it. It’s only a recent phenomenon that Democratic voters are actually punishing them for it.
saagarjha · 6h ago
Democratic politicians. Their voters mostly hate them for it
ChrisArchitect · 21h ago
This wasn't that long ago. And it was very active in public ways over the Obama administrations etc. Sure you can find numerous discussions about various site launches and initiatives around here over the years. Definitely were discussions and fervent attention over in the Design community as things progressed. Why is everyone treating it like some forgotten Atlantis project?
The example they set, and the systems and processes they put in place, are still alive.
In peril? Sure, frequently.
But the USDS, and the work they started, goes on, even today.
eddieroger · 16h ago
Don't underestimate how quickly things end up in the memory hole - it's better to preserve stuff while it's recent than try to recreate it when it's stale.
We just need it, there’s no question of the benefits and there were no negatives to speak about.
Thank you President Barack Obama! A true leader and patriot.
I am not sure it works like that. Destruction is easy, building is hard.
This is not an official US government website.
This one down below is, tho
https://www.usds.gov/
Meanwhile, healthcare housing and education got way more expensive and taxes for the wealthy went down.
- History of the United States public debt: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_p...
- https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/jul/29/tweets/rep... (2019) :
> The deficit is the difference between the money that the government makes and the money it spends. If the government spends more than it collects in revenues, then it’s running a deficit.
> The federal debt is the running total of the accumulated deficits. [Or surpluses]
"Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] (FYFSD)" https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSD#
"Federal Surplus or Deficit [-] as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (FYFSGDA188S)" https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/FYFSGDA188S
We could have higher taxes on the wealthy and good healthcare. But to do that, the side that claims they want that and that they believe in "democracy" would have to not only post on Bluesky about it, they'd have to (A) vote, and (B) convince (rather than demonize) the moderates who are skeptical of them. We'll see in a while if they learned that lesson from 2024.
Really appreciate the 14 mentions of GDS and acknowledgment of the inspiration.
(The older but poorer cousin gets ahead of the younger, richer cousin for a change ;)
[0] https://usdigitalserviceorigins.org/timeline/
In peril? Sure, frequently.
But the USDS, and the work they started, goes on, even today.
Interestingly, the executive order which changed USDS's name seems to consider that work important: it tasks the renamed United States DOGE Service (which is separate from the DOGE temporary organization or the DOGE agency teams, created with separate charters in the same executive order) with:
> a Software Modernization Initiative to improve the quality and efficiency of government-wide software, network infrastructure, and information technology (IT) systems.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/esta...
Whatever else you might think about DOGE or that executive order, it's interesting to note that the government tech improvement goal of the original USDS appears to have been underlined/re-emphasized, rather than crossed out, in this case.
EDIT: It was a joint effort between the two!
The reality is that the average american doesn't give a shit about the machines. They want better lives and they haven't gotten that for a long time. Talk to some old guy at a diner about why they were a Democratic voter and you won't hear "The Social Security Administation got my checks on time." You'll hear about the New Deal, wage increases, and how they can retire.
[0]https://www.nextgov.com/digital-government/2025/06/direct-fi...
> The IRS deemphasized the program on its website, the report said, and the media coverage this filing season focused on the question of if the tool existed or would continue to in the future.
> Billionaire Elon Musk caused confusion in early February when he posted on X that the team powering Direct File was “deleted,” leading to headlines like “Elon Musk says he 'deleted' IRS Direct File. Can taxpayers still use the free service?” Direct File saw a drop in use after that.
To be honest, I'm impressed there was even a 16% traffic increase this year at all.
My completely unfounded theory is that the West Wing broke the brains of an entire generation of center left leaning Americans. Led them to believe that being noble and earnest brings you electoral rewards, that you should break bread with your opposition, who are fundamentally reasonable people capable of compromise.
I think Trump 2.0 might have finally finished that mindset off but good lord did it take a long time.
I was agreeing with you completely until I hit this phrase.
What Democrats have you seen "breaking bread with" their opposition? Most Democratic politicians and pundits (not saying voters) spend most of their effort on demonizing those they disagree with, on intentionally imputing the worst motives for their every opinion. If you don't support the most maximal definitions of every ideal they have, you're a bigot. If you didn't vote for Harris, you're a monster who must love Trump. etc.
The West Wing Dems could actually bring themselves to hold their noses and cut a deal with their Republicans that gave each side something important to them. To be fair, both parties now consider that practice to be basically treason.
It's the parties that are killing us.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/05/14/politics/joe-biden-republican...
And Schumer:
> When it happens, I am hopeful that our Republican colleagues will resume working with us. And I talk to them. One of the places is in the gym. When you’re on that bike in your shorts, panting away next to a Republican, a lot of the inhibitions come off.
https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/schumer-resign-bi...
You seem to be making the common mistake of conflating online discourse with the reality in DC. Senior Democratic politicians have openly stated time and time again that they believe their Republican friends are going to come around, that they’re going to be sane and that this is all a fever that’s going to break.
> The West Wing Dems could actually bring themselves to hold their noses and cut a deal with their Republicans
They keep doing this? Look at the Senate approvals for Trump’s appointees. Democrats voted in favor of a ton of them thinking it was the bipartisan thing to do and got absolutely nothing in return for it. It’s only a recent phenomenon that Democratic voters are actually punishing them for it.
Copied from my adjacent comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44208596):
The example they set, and the systems and processes they put in place, are still alive.
In peril? Sure, frequently.
But the USDS, and the work they started, goes on, even today.
https://youtu.be/_rzQeDOGDxI?si=7tO2yhAlvoYsGqu6