Nation & World Is it time to start cutting red tape on government programs? Journalist’s new book argues ‘administrative burden’ unfairly hits nation’s most vulnerable hardest, suggests solutions Christina Pazzanese Harvard Staff Writer September 22, 2026 9 min read Photo by Sharon Lehm Politicians are eager, especially at election time, to tout government programs intended to help their constituents, such as Medicare and Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, food assistance, or financial aid for low-income families with children. What they don’t talk about is how onerous it often is to obtain these benefits and services. There are complicated forms to fill out, lines to stand in, calls to make, and...