American towns are turning into living museums of bungled hedge fund investments.

Oh look, that’s where the Sears was. That used to be a Radio Shack. Joanns was in that huge building, and Rite Aid used to be in that vacant storefront too.

Tariffs on parts but not new devices? That’s a double standard. More people will choose replacement over repair. That means more e-waste, fewer domestic repair jobs, and more dependence on imported tech.

We need policies that fix the system, not punish fixers.

(Notwithstanding the rumored retaliatory tariffs, which are TBD.)

Full article: https://www.ifixit.com/News/110121/tariff-exemptions-are-terrible-news-for-electronics-repairability
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#iFixit #RightToRepair

This is from the executive director of the 18F, the digital services agency within the General Services Administration (GSA) that develops open-source tools to improve digital services across the federal government.

"I am the Executive Director of 18F and 18F’s longest running employee- I have been at 18F for 10 years. You may not have heard of us, but last night proved that we are powerful. The way the administration ran to get rid of us under the cover of night and shut us down without warning proves that they were scared. They are too afraid to even speak to us.

We, like our many allies, had the “radical” idea that the government should be responsive to the needs of real people. We assembled amazing teams of technology professionals from different specialities who could work together and learn from each other. We shared what we learned with everybody.

I saw, time and time again, where we stood up for partners who were getting taken advantage of by vendors, or just needed help turning a vision into reality. We could make a simple website or a complicated system, we would do what we needed to best serve the mission and the public. We didn’t upsell anyone, we tried to teach our partners how to do what we did. I see them still prospering years after working with us.

We have proven methods that could be replicated, so we helped even more people through guides and writing. Those people are still going. And I am cheering them on.

We were living proof that the talking points of this administration were false. Government services can be efficient. You can work with agencies as they are now and work with them to better manage their services.

This made us a target. People who own skyscrapers are afraid of 100 people who made websites better. Not because of the latest tech fad, but because we proved that the government can be fixed, the government can be made better and the government can work for the people."

https://fedscoop.com/gsa-shutters-18f-possibly-leaving-agencies-in-the-lurch/

Gregg is a former Marine and Forest Service ranger. He's saved the lives of hikers dangling off a cliff or going through cardiac arrest, and he's bravely fought forest fires to save small rural towns.

100% of his salary is paid by WA state.

Elon fired him. Share his story.

https://bsky.app/profile/murray.senate.gov/post/3liuhxyoimc2d