It's always a lot easier to operate a cartel when the government is maintaining the barriers to entry.

Not the biggest idea Biden talked about tonight, but getting rid of title insurance on mortgage refinancings backed by the federal government is a great idea. The product is basically worthless and absurdly expensive. Good riddance.

The Direct File site is open to the public for the first time right now. If you want to start your tax return: directfile.irs.gov

It won't stay open long, but it will eventually be back for good: washingtonpost.com/business/2024/…

If you plan to try it, I want to hear what you think!

How does Intuit have the money to run a Super Bowl ad? Because they make billions charging Americans for a “service” that in the much of the rest of the world is available for free.

nytimes.com/video/opinion/…

In New York Times Opinion

In most of the world, tax filling is free and painless — but in the U.S., it’s a multi-billion dollar industry. Why is that? Meet the company that profits from your tax season misery, in this video by Johnny Harris and Binyamin Appelbaum. nyti.ms/42BEOWb

In New York Times Opinion

In most of the world, tax filling is free and painless — but in the U.S., it’s a multi-billion dollar industry. Why is that? Meet the company that profits from your tax season misery, in this video by Johnny Harris and Binyamin Appelbaum. nyti.ms/496sj7c

Filing income taxes in the U.S. is a miserable experience, but don't blame the I.R.S.

The real villain is TurboTax.

nytimes.com/2024/02/06/opi…

Charles Littlejohn says he decided to leak Trump’s tax returns after reading my 2019 column arguing that tax records should be public records. He should not have broken the law, but we should all be trying to change it.

nytimes.com/live/2024/01/2…

Why is the US Economy doing so well but people think (until recently) it's going poorly? I spoke with Binyamin Appelbaum scott horsley Greg Ip & Heather Long on the EconoFactOrg podcast about the performance, perceptions, and prospects of the #economy
econofact.org/podcast/perfor…

New York is not a great city because of its buildings. It is a great city because it provides people with the opportunity to build better lives.

To preserve that, the buildings must change. nytimes.com/2023/12/30/opi…

In New York Times Opinion

“New York has erected layers of laws to protect existing buildings and to impede the construction of new ones. The result is a shortage of housing,” Binyamin Appelbaum writes. nyti.ms/3RI7o2L

Credit card rewards are bad.

nytimes.com/2023/11/21/opi…

This Thursday 10/12 we welcome Angus Deaton and his new book Economics in America: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality, in conversation with Binyamin Appelbaum. We welcome you too, Philly! Register: tinyurl.com/ysedhmcz

The byline on the Senate dress code story

nytimes.com/2023/09/27/us/…