News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2018). Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2018) by tvanantwerp on Thursday November 01, 2018 @08:19PM (#18359719)
Is USDS doing any work with the IRS? I'm currently working at a tax policy think tank, and from what I can see I think the IRS could definitely use help on a number of fronts. Probably the biggest thing: they've got to finish rewriting their tax filing system to not be in assembly--don't know if they've made good progress on getting it into Java. Their SOI data could also use a better system for hosting/distribution along the lines of data.gov.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2018) by Matt_Cutts on Thursday November 01, 2018 @10:22PM (#18360224)
We have done some work with the IRS in the past, such as https://www.usds.gov/report-to-congress/2016/irs-secure-acce...

We don't currently have an engagement at the IRS/Treasury, but if we get more people to sign up, that would increase the odds. :)

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2018) by giggles_giggles on Thursday November 01, 2018 @08:53PM (#18359884)
Just FYI the IRS is hiring directly. I keep seeing them advertising open software engineering positions in Austin, TX, though I'm uncertain about other locations.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2018) by sbr464 on Friday November 02, 2018 @02:31AM (#18361061)
Please don’t help the irs.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2018) by 666lumberjack on Friday November 02, 2018 @02:45AM (#18361097)
Are you Libertarian or do you have a non-partisan objection to the IRS specifically?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2018) by tvanantwerp on Friday November 02, 2018 @12:48PM (#18364550)
In my experience, "starving the beast" just means you're locked in a room with a starving beast. Bureaucracies can be awful to deal with. But if you strip them of resources, the laws that dictate their mission are unchanged. Any hope of expedient resolution of issues is gone. People who, often through no choice of their own, must deal with these bureaucracies will receive worst treatment and outcomes. Unpopular though the IRS may be, an IRS that can't function correctly is more dangerous to individuals and society than one that can.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Who is hiring? (November 2018) by pc86 on Friday November 02, 2018 @10:40AM (#18363331)
I'm struggling to think of any legitimate objection to the IRS that could be non-partisan.
[ Parent | on HN ]