The Inner Monologue

Americans love the idea of affordable healthcare — until someone calls it “single-payer.” This is the paradox at the heart of U.S. health policy: a nation that believes in fairness, opportunity, and freedom of choice also maintains one of the least efficient, most expensive healthcare systems in the industrialized world. We tolerate $12,000 hospital bills…

Every generation produces a new frontier for capitalism. Once it was land. Then it was labor. Then it was data. The next — and last — great frontier is the American elderly. Yet standing in the way of this enormous opportunity are two stubborn relics of mid-century moralism: Social Security and Medicare. For decades, these…

There was a time in America when the death of a president felt like the dimming of a sacred flame. The passing of a commander-in-chief—whether beloved or controversial—was an occasion of shared reflection, an almost spiritual moment when the nation paused to consider not just the man, but the experiment he symbolized. In early America,…

Let’s be honest—you’ve spent your life working hard, saving, and making smart financial decisions. And now you’re thinking of just handing that money to your kids? Bold move. Let’s see how that plays out. Scenario 1: The Great Inheritance Blowout You die. Your grieving heirs receive a life-changing sum of money. What happens next? Three…

Let’s play a game. Open your favorite streaming service—Netflix, Hulu, Max, whatever digital landfill you prefer—and start scrolling. How many of those movies do you actually want to watch? Be honest. Three? Four? Maybe five if you’re feeling charitable? And of those, how many are rewatches of the same three films you’ve already seen a…

There is a bitter irony in American history that few wish to confront: that the sons and daughters of those who once suffered under the batons and boots of white police officers during the civil rights era now wear the same uniforms, enforcing the same kinds of policies — only against a different minority. It…

There’s a peculiar kind of corporate insecurity that expresses itself not in layoffs or mergers, but on the humble product label. You’ve seen it: “Brand X, a Brand Y company.” Sometimes it even goes a step further: “Brand X, a Brand Y company, part of the Global Z Group.” It’s the marketing equivalent of a…

An Op-Ed on How Entire Careers Can Be Built on an Unethical Simplicity There is a kind of genius in evil simplicity. Few strategies are as elegantly ruthless as this one: take credit for others’ success and blame others for your failure. It requires no vision, no invention, and no particular skill — except audacity.…

The story we love to tell about success is the story of decision. The entrepreneur “decides” to start a company. The athlete “decides” to outwork everyone else. The artist “decides” to chase their dream instead of settling for normalcy. It’s a neat moral narrative — one that makes achievement sound democratic, available to anyone willing…