Amanda Kass

Last month I joined @goodjobsfirst.org as its research director. And while I’m still very much in learning mode, I had the chance to write a blog on how Lincoln is using TIF to help landlords weatherize and rehab buildings while keeping rents affordable goodjobsfirst.org/lincolns-exe...

Good for you!!!!

Even with the delay, Amtrak to DC is very pleasant

Gotta say, big perk of living on the east coast is Amtrak for travel. So much better than flying

also a bit more than the issue merely being “mishandling the public messaging”

I miss reply all. Will give that episode a listen

yup

you sure did!

Table of Contents for Publius: The Journal of Federalism 56 (1, 2026): The Future of Federalism in the United States Articles Introduction: The Future of Federalism in the United States Paul Nolette and Philip Rocco Can Federalism Protect Subnational Liberal Democracy from Central Authoritarianism? James A. Gardner Tools of Subnational Democratic Subversion: A Taxonomy and Research Agenda Andrea Louise Campbell and Andrew Karch Money Is Not Enough: The Temporary Impact of Pandemic-Era Aid on American Fiscal Federalism Amanda Kass Federalism and the Future of US Minimum Wage Policy Shanna Rose Climate Federalism at a Crossroads: From Compensatory to Coercive and Mitigation to Adaptation Scott Moore Who Benefits From Federalism Claims in Federal Court? Lisa L. Miller US Federalism and the Political Economy of Territorial Status: Evidence from Puerto Rico Mariely Lopez-Santana Federalism and Polarization: How Can Research Be More Relevant? Carol S. Weissert Is the Picket Fence Still Standing? Tracing Administrative Federalism in the States Matthew J. Uttermark From Variables to Mechanisms in Federalism Research Scott L. Greer

It has been a bracing moment for American federalism, with both unprecedented efforts to extend executive control over state and local govts, novel forms of subnational resistance. Where is federalism going? Paul Nolette and I have edited a new issue of Publius on that question. Short thread:

Money Is Not Enough: The Temporary Impact of Pandemic-Era Aid on American Fiscal Federalism Abstract. As part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US federal government sent an unprecedented amount of flexible aid to local governments. Wh

Turning to intergovernmental finance, @akass.bsky.social weighs in on how pandemic-era aid reshaped the local fiscal landscape. While ARPA represented a significant intervention, she argues, it did not represent a paradigm shift in American fiscal federalism. academic.oup.com/publius/arti...

Volume 56 Issue 1 | Publius: The Journal of Federalism | Oxford Academic The official journal of CSF Associates Inc. Publishes research relating to federalism, providing coverage of the latest developments, trends, and empirical and theoretical work on federalism and inter...

the journal Publius is out with a special issue on American federalism, just in time for your winter break reading. very excited to see my article out in print! academic.oup.com/publius/issu...

seems real bad

oh jeez, I’m sorry. I’ll send some recs next week

are you looking for resources that provide technical information and definitions? shoot me a message and I'd be happy to help suggest resources

like something as simple as "what places do governments set the levy versus mill rate?" isn't easy to answer.

ha, same!

With the property tax, a challenge is that how it works varies from place to place so how it works in Cook County isn't universal to other areas of the country.

This is great!

"The levy system used in Cook County means every taxing body collects 100 percent of the levy they set for the year" --such a key point!

Do I have book recommendations for municipal finance?

Yes, of course! But what kind of book are you looking for? History, textbook, muni market basics?

Cc @akass.bsky.social maybe?

Felt like that by 9am for me

there's a lot more backstory, but that'd be way too much to type!

Also, the intercept law wasn't really created with Harvey in mind. It was created as part of other changes to the pension law, including changing the funding target (reduced from 100% to 90%) and target year. Idea was that in exchange for those changes there'd be enforcement munis payments

yes, Harvey was! Shameless plug for some stuff I've written on this:

👉Article in Environment and Planning A: journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

👉White paper: gfrc.uic.edu/wp-content/u...

👉Blog: amandakass.blog/2018/04/15/t...

Mayor Brandon Johnson Calls for $617M in New Taxes to Close Budget Gap, Avoid Layoffs “The line to draw here is that we either are going to protect working people in Chicago from Trump’s cuts, or we are going to open up the floodgates and allow these individuals to be hurt and harmed f...

Mayor Brandon Johnson called for more than $617M in new taxes on the wealthiest Chicagoans and largest firms in order to blunt cuts imposed by the Trump administration while avoiding drastic cuts in city services and thousands of layoffs. news.wttw.com/2025/10/16/m...

It’s also being integrated into software and apps with an opt-out model rather than opt-in. We’re getting fed AI generated content without knowing it too

I really wonder what is going to happen. Some places are all in, some are hard no. Within a department it can vary from instructor to instructor. Then there’s the entire state government of PA that all in on AI (see the Governor’s EO www.pa.gov/content/dam/...)

was just forced to update to Windows11. Initial impression is I'm not a fan, but at least I don't think a bunch of AI is integrated

AAG 2026 CFP: Putting the ‘Con’ in Economic Geography AAG 2026 CFP: Schemes, Scams, and Flim-flam: Putting the ‘Con’ in Economic Geography Will B. Payne, Rutgers University Desiree Fields, University of California, Berkeley Jovan Scott Lewis, University ...

Along with Will Payne and Jovan Lewis, I'm organizing an AAG session on the economic geography of scams for the 2026 conference in San Francisco. Please share widely! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Thank you Chicago for greeting me with this horrible weather and losing my ventra card. It's good to be back

this was just horrifying to read. good for Block Club for doing the reporting