Category: Policy
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The system isn’t always designed for fairness
Many institutions optimize for efficiency, throughput, or risk reduction—not fairness. Recognizing the actual goal explains a lot of frustrating outcomes.
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The role of mandatory minimums
Mandatory minimum sentencing was sold as a tough-on-crime fix. Decades of data show it produced mass incarceration, racial disparities, and uncertain deterrent effect.
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Public universities became expensive because states stopped funding them
Tuition didn’t explode because colleges got greedy. It exploded because states cut per-student funding by half — and the bill got moved to families.
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The DMCA takedown system is censorship infrastructure
The DMCA was sold as copyright protection, but its takedown machinery has become the easiest tool for silencing critics, journalists, and competitors online.
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Short-term health plans should be illegal
Short-term health insurance plans look like a bargain, then leave patients stranded when they actually need care. The product is structured to fail you.
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The mortgage interest deduction is upper-middle-class welfare
The mortgage interest deduction is sold as help for homeowners. In reality, it disproportionately benefits high earners and inflates housing prices.