The United States government declared a "war on poverty" in 1964.  Some Americans say it hasn't helped.  Others say it has.  Both sides are correct.  That's because they're using different definitions of "poverty."  But one definition matters more than the

The 2018 Massachusetts ballot is a case study of American political dysfunction.  All 3 ballot measures are misguided and unnecessary.  At least 2 of them are outright perversions of democracy, with clearly destructive effects.  But all 3 Massachusetts ballot measures are flawed in the same vein.  They each fundamentally misunderstand

The United States government has developed a repugnant strategy for making traveling citizens cooperate with intrusive security measures.  Here's how it works: 1. It asks you to do something simple but invasive.  For example, TSA asks you to step inside a body scanner that saves a picture of

Central banking in the United States is a self-contradiction.  The Federal Reserve is antithetical to almost everything Americans claim to believe. Americans say they want de-centralized government.  They fought the Revolutionary War to separate from Britain's monarchy.  They established the first de-centralized government in modern history.  But over

The United States Federal Reserve was created by bankers, for bankers.  The most prominent man in their lobbying effort later acknowledged a fundamental deceit. In 1911, associates of JP Morgan Chase and John D. Rockefeller organized The National Citizen's League for a Sound Banking System.  This organization was

The famed science fiction writer Isaac Asimov wasn't impressed by George Orwell's 1984.  He considered Orwell's dystopian vision unrealistic, and therefore unfrightening.  He suggested a way to make it plausible, but dismissed that, too.  He shouldn't have.  The part that makes it

Australia's proposed spyware law would make Australia even more dystopian than China. In 2017, China started forcing citizens in Xinjiang province to install a "surveillance app" on their phones.  It's called Jingwang.  The Chinese government claims this app can "automatically detect terrorist and

You know how the government is supposed to kick people while they're down?  It has done a great job with Shared Responsibility Payments. The Affordable Care Act, also known as "Obamacare," requires that all Americans possess health insurance.  That's called the "individual mandate.

Remember that giant bailout of the banking industry by the U.S. federal government?  That was ten years ago.  At the time, it wasn't clear what was happening with those hundreds of billions of dollars.  Now we know a bit.  Not everything, but more.  And the story ain&