Payroll, pins, and punch cards
About this episode
Patrick McKenzie discusses the challenges of public sector payroll modernization and the role of payroll providers in the economy.
In this episode of Complex Systems, Patrick McKenzie riffs on why public sector payroll modernization is even more likely to fail than the typical public software procurement project. He then goes into a wider discussion about payroll providers and their role as software, payment rails, and a sink for an enduring controversy in political economy. We want robust state capacity and hate income taxes. He breaks down the history of tax withholding as a state-deputized collection mechanism and explains how providers like ADP manage a lucrative "conveyor belt" of money to earn interest on the "float". Finally, he discusses how fintech innovations like Earned Wage Access (EWA) are providing a pro-social, daily-pay alternative to predatory payday loans. – Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/public-payroll/ – Presenting Sponsors: Mercury , Meter , & Granola Complex Systems is presented by Mercury—radically better banking for founders. Mercury offers the best wire experience anywhere: fast, reliable, and free for domestic U.S. wires, so you can stay focused on growing your business. Apply online in minutes at mercury.com . Networking infrastructure has…
Sponsors
Mercury, Meter, Granola
More episodes of Complex Systems with Patrick McKenzie (patio11)
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- Cash received is not revenue earned
- Your bank balance isn’t in the bank, and other alchemy
- Delve into compliance theatre
- Understanding consumer debt collections: the underbelly of finance
- Inference engineering and the real-world deployment of LLMs, with Philip Kiely
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