Within the usually boring procedure of shepherding another massive infrastructure bill through Congress last month, a fiery debate erupted over the future of cryptocurrencies and digital assets. The Senate bill contained broad language to ensure tax and regulatory compliance on all cryptocurrency transactions, regardless of origin, as a revenue generator. However, traditional financial transactions cannot compare to […]
Dental Insurance Is the Next Industry That Badly Needs Reform
In the last decade, most debate and discussion on reforms related to healthcare have focused on Americans’ general health insurance plans and costs. And for good reason. And though our health system is convoluted and complicated, it gets even more complex when we examine what is happening with dental care. The intersection of hefty insurance […]
Biden’s $100 Billion Push for Broadband Equity Is No Panacea
In our pandemic age, high-speed internet has become a necessity. Whether paying utility bills, logging in for school, or sending job applications, the transition from paper and pen to browsers and email has been swift. It makes sense that President Joe Biden and the Democratic majority in Congress want major investments in internet development. “A […]
Are Consumers Getting the Short Stick on Data Privacy?
On a Monday, there is a data leak affecting half a billion Facebook accounts, by Tuesday a bot has scraped 500 million LinkedIn accounts. On Wednesday, Stanford University announces a hack that exposed thousands of social security numbers and financial details. Then Thursday, the world’s largest aviation IT company announces 90 percent of passenger data may have been accessed in a cyber-attack. And […]
Australia’s Attempted Blackmail of Facebook Shows the Pendulum Swings Back on Consumers
Imagine this scenario: At the behest of several large legacy news outlets, a government institutes a law requiring that every time a news story is linked to on social media, the social network must pay a fee to news outlets. In other words, to allow a newspaper column or celebrity gossip blog link to appear […]
Community Aggregation, or Community Operation? Your Electric Bill Could Hang in the Balance
When it comes to your electric bill, consumers looking to change utilities, or use different sources of power, face limited choices. To provide somewhat of an alternative, as well meet consumer demand for alternatives like solar and wind, many states have opted to allow local governments to purchase electricity directly, while still allowing utilities to […]
The storming of the US Capitol fueled by demagoguery and a threat to republican democracy
On Wednesday, we saw the worst passions of the American Republic storm through the doors of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. For hours, people around the world watched as marchers and protestors transformed into rioters who ransacked various congressional offices, posed for photos on the House floor, and terrorized hundreds of congressmen and women, […]
Biden Can Channel Libertarian Ideas to Woo Some of the Trump Coalition
The 2016 Donald Trump coalition was one for the ages. These were far from typical Republican voters, made up of disaffected liberals, libertarians, nationalists, run-of-the-mill conservatives and skeptics of adventurous foreign policy. Rhetoric on “dismantling” of the administrative state, promises of low taxes and cutting down on wars abroad convinced many moderates and libertarians who […]
Halting Targeted Advertising Kills Industries and Dumbs Down Tech
When we hear gripes about social media, one of the top concerns is targeted advertising. On any given day, this type of segmented advertising is used by the local hair salon searching for new clients, an environmental group asking for signatures on a petition and a city council candidate seeking your vote. These are all […]
Americans Need to Divorce Health Insurance From Our Jobs
In between the jabs during the first presidential debate, both President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden stumbled through their vision for healthcare reform. While Biden wants to expand a “public option,” a kind of Obamacare plus, Trump focused on his executive orders mandating cheaper drug prices and the congressional repeal of the […]