Hurrah for the USPS and USDS

If they have a fair bone in their bodies (a dubious proposition) the government haters will, this week, concede that the federal government CAN do something right. The free covid test kit web site did NOT melt down!

In part, that’s because of a government agency I’d never heard of, the U.S. Digital Service. A creation of Barrack Obama that Trump did not destroy, its goal, along with the U.S. Digital Corps is to bring computer-savvy people into government to improve its websites (among other things). Sort of a Peace Corps, connecting idealistic young people with government agencies instead of the world’s poor.

The Covid Test request site is, in my opinion, freaking brilliant. It is a joint effort between the US Postal Service and the USDS. It was crazy-smart to find the largest direct-to-consumer federal sales site―the post office―and tack a super-simple front end on it for requesting test kits. Color me impressed.