Author: Even that’s Odd

  • Angry Old Extremely Religious Christian White Man Yelling from His Porch Syndrome

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    Why You Can’t Debate Someone Who Just Wants to Watch You Lose Let me tell you what finally broke my brain. The Epstein files dropped. Years of QAnon. Years of “protect the children.” Years of Democrats running secret pedophile rings in pizza restaurant basements. The entire moral foundation of a movement — the thing they…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Make Less But Pay More Part 14: What We Could Have Instead

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    It Works Elsewhere For 13 parts, we’ve shown you how broken the American system is. How costs have been shifted onto workers. How the math doesn’t work. How both parties protect corporate interests. Now we need to show you something crucial: It doesn’t have to be this way. Other developed countries face the same global…

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  • Are We About to Come Full Circle on Who We Trust?

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    Is It Possible We All May Share The Same Reality Again Thanks To AI I was driving to yet another baseball tournament Saturday morning, half-awake, NPR on in the background, when a story about AI disinformation in the Iran conflict completely hijacked my brain for the next forty-five minutes. The segment was trying to walk…

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  • This New Old House — Part 17: Exterior, Siding, Roofing & Trim

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    In which we make some good choices, watch other people undo them, and develop strong opinions about PVC By the time we got to the exterior, the siding decision came down to two options in the Connor package: cedar or HardiePlank. Jennifer would have preferred the cedar — she always gravitates toward natural wood —…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 13: How We Got Here

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    50 Years of Deliberate Policy The system we’ve documented in Parts 1-12 didn’t happen by accident. It wasn’t natural market forces. It wasn’t inevitable. It was built. Deliberately. Over 50 years. By people with names. Who passed specific laws. Made specific court decisions. Implemented specific policies. Let’s trace exactly how it happened. 1971: The Corporate…

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  • Is the Iran War America’s Biggest Self-Own of Self -Owns?

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    How to Punch Yourself in the Face. Three and a half weeks in. That’s where we are. Twenty-four days of US and Israeli strikes on Iran, oil at $112 a barrel, 13 American soldiers dead, the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, and the administration scrambling to lift sanctions on the very country we’re bombing just…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 12: The Bipartisan Consensus

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    Both Parties Protect the System In Part 11, we showed you who profits from cost-shifting. Now we need to explain why this system persists regardless of which party controls Congress or the White House. The uncomfortable truth: Both parties protect corporate interests. Both parties enabled the cost shifts. Both parties take corporate money. This isn’t…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 11: Who Profits?

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    Following the Money We’ve shown you the costs. We’ve shown you they don’t add up. Now let’s follow the money. Emma from Part 10 pays out $71,564 per year in shifted costs—92.9% of her gross income. That money doesn’t disappear. It goes somewhere. Let’s trace every dollar Emma spends and see who collects it. Emma’s…

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  • WTF Is Up With MTG?

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    From QAnon True Believer to Stateswoman Cosplay — A Complete Profile Something strange happened to Marjorie Taylor Greene. The most reliably unhinged member of Congress — a woman who stalked a teenage shooting survivor through the Capitol, endorsed satanic murder conspiracy theories online, and appeared to call for the execution of Democratic politicians — suddenly…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make LessPart 10: The Compound Effect

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    When All the Costs Add Up We’ve spent nine parts examining individual cost categories. Banking fees. Credit card debt. Forced car ownership. Food monopolies. Phone and internet. Insurance. Fees everywhere. Each part showed how one sector shifted costs onto working Americans while profits soared. Now let’s see what happens when you add them all together.…

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  • What’s Wrong With the Democrats. What’s Wrong With the Republicans. It Doesn’t Matter.

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    Neither One Will Deliver for You.Here it is — the full body copy exactly as it was saved to the draft: Let me start with something that should be obvious but somehow never gets said out loud. Neither party won the last election. The other party just lost it more. That distinction sounds like splitting…

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  • How an Angry Old MacDonald Became a Protest Song

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    It started with a question: What is actually wrong with this country, and why do we seem so far apart? The division felt real. The anger felt real. But when you actually looked at the polling data, something didn’t add up. Americans agree on almost everything that matters. Healthcare. Wages. Campaign finance reform. Taxing the…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 9: Death, Taxes, and Everything In Between

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    The Fee Economy Lisa decided to track every fee she paid for one month. Not the big stuff—rent, car payment, insurance. Just the fees. The extra charges. The convenience fees. The service charges. The processing fees. All those little costs that companies tack on for doing business. She’s 29, works as a marketing coordinator in…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 8: Insurance

    Mandatory Purchase, Shrinking Coverage David is 38, lives in Tampa, Florida. He’s a physical therapist making $68,000 a year. He’s healthy, doesn’t smoke, exercises regularly, hasn’t had a car accident in 12 years. He’s the kind of customer insurance companies claim to want. Here’s what insurance costs him every year: Health insurance: $4,800/year Auto insurance:…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 7: Phone and Internet

    The Monopoly You Can’t Escape Rachel lives in suburban Atlanta. She works from home as a customer service rep for a health insurance company. Her job requires reliable high-speed internet—it’s not optional. She’s on video calls, accessing patient records, processing claims in real-time. When she moved into her apartment, she called to set up internet…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less Part 6: Food Monopolies

    Paying More While Farmers Make Less Let’s follow a gallon of milk from farm to your refrigerator. At the dairy farm in Wisconsin: Tom has been dairy farming for 30 years. He has 150 cows. He wakes up at 4:30 AM every day—no weekends, no holidays. Cows need milking twice a day, every day. His…

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  • The Metric System Makes Sense to Everyone: American Misguided Exceptionalism and a $327 Million Spacecraft. 

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    When I was a kid, we started learning the metric system in school. There was an actual plan. America was going to join the rest of the world and switch from the imperial system — you know, the one built on the length of some king’s foot — to a logical, base-ten system that scientists,…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make LessPart 5: The Auto Trap

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    Forced to Buy What You Can’t Afford Jennifer lives in Phoenix, Arizona. She’s a single mom with two kids, works as a pharmacy technician, makes $42,000 a year. Her shift starts at 7 AM at a CVS 8.5 miles from her apartment. She doesn’t own a car by choice. She owns a car because there…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Pay More But Make Less. Part 4: Credit Cards

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    The Debt Trap Jason is a high school teacher in Arizona. He makes $48,000 a year, which is about what teachers make there. He’s 32, married, has a two-year-old daughter. His wife works part-time as a medical records clerk, bringing in another $22,000. Combined household income: $70,000. They’re not living extravagantly. They rent a two-bedroom…

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  • How MTV Killed the Video Star (And Cable/Network Greed Finished the Job)

    I’m not a media analyst. Smarter people than me — like Evan Shapiro, who you should follow on LinkedIn immediately — dissect this industry for a living. But I spent years working inside broadcast television, and I’ve been chewing on this particular problem for over a decade. So here’s my humble, slightly obsessive take on…

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  • This New Old House, Part 16: Chim Chimney, Chim Chimney, Chim Chim Cherooh-Noo

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    Some mistakes cost money. Some cost time. The chimney cost both, repeatedly, for years. If you’ve been following along, you know that this build had its share of “we didn’t know what we didn’t know” moments. The windows. The spray foam learning curve. The drywall saga. But the chimney — the chimney was different. Those…

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  • Dress to Impress (Who, Exactly? The Fine People of Portugal Obviously.)

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    We just got back from Portugal and it was fantastic. Lisbon, Porto, the hills, the pastéis de nata, the Super Bock — loved all of it. I dress for the weather. I dress for the walking. I dress to stay dry and not have to check a bag. Apparently Portugal noticed. So did Jennifer. They…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Make Less But Pay More. Part 3: Banking Fees

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    The Poverty Tax Maria works two jobs. Monday through Friday, she’s a home health aide making $15/hour. Weekends, she works retail at Target for $16/hour. Between both jobs, she brings home about $2,400/month after taxes. It’s not much, but she manages. Carefully. On Friday, she deposited her paycheck from the home health agency—$680 for the…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Make Less But Pay More. Part 2: The Baseline Shift

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    Part 2: The Baseline Shift How “Basic Survival” Got Redefined as Luxury In 1970, Robert worked as a machinist at a manufacturing plant in Ohio. He made $9,400 a year—roughly the median income at the time. His wife, Linda, stayed home with their two kids. On that single income, they: Robert wasn’t exceptional. He wasn’t…

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  • This New Old House Part 15: Flooring – Wide Plank Heart Pine Dreams vs. Reality

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    After painting came flooring. And I had a very specific vision: wide plank flooring with exposed face nails, just like colonial homes from the 1700s. Old growth wood with character. Reclaimed if possible. The authentic historical look. The Connor Homes kit included flooring as an option. It was beautiful — I think it was reclaimed…

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  • So Close, Yet So Far: The Telo MT1 and the Small or Mini EV Pickup I’ve Been Waiting For

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    Let me set the scene. We’ve got a 2016 Audi Allroad that my wife loves — genuinely loves — and it’s somewhere north of 100,000 miles at this point, probably pushing 125k by the time we actually get around to replacing it. Comfortable, capable, goes anywhere, hauls everything. The problem is it’s aging out, and…

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  • Passing the Buck: Why We Make Less But Pay More. Part 1: The Impossible Math

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    Part 1: The Impossible Math When Median Income Meets Real Costs, America Fails Meet Sarah. She’s 34 years old, works as a registered nurse at a regional hospital, and makes $77,000 a year. That’s well above the median individual income in America ($59,228). She’s single, no kids, lives in a modest one-bedroom apartment in a…

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  • This New Old House Part 14: Painting – Or: Why I Hope I Never Have to Use a Paint Sprayer Again

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    After drywall came painting. And by “painting,” I mean painting literally everything in the entire house. Every wall. Every ceiling. Every piece of trim. Every window interior. Every door. All 27-28 of them. Both sides. Jennifer and I decided to do all the painting ourselves to save money. This seemed like a reasonable decision at…

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  • Americans Agree on Almost Everything—We Just Don’t Realize It

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    I Fact-Checked a Viral Infographic About What Americans Actually Agree On. Here’s What I Found. This infographic popped up on social media (which I know is evil but I use it to promote my ecom site) claiming Americans have overwhelming consensus on most major issues — Majority agreement across the board. Gun control, healthcare, abortion,…

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  • (Eventual) Well Tank Replacement: How I May Have Ignored an Obvious Problem for Years

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    January 9, 2026 The Signs I Missed Looking back, I think the well tank bladder had been broken since at least summer 2024. It might have been failing for a year or two before that. What I was noticing: the water pressure would drop a little, then go back up when the pump kicked in.…

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  • Rainy February Family Visit to Portugal with two kids 13 & 12

    February in Portugal: When Life Gives You Rain and Residency Appointments We had to go to Portugal in early February for an AIMA residency appointment (you don’t get to pick the date), so we figured we’d escape the sub-zero temperatures at home and make it a family trip. The kids would miss a week of…

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  • Central Air to Heat Pump Upgrade: When Guilt Leads to Questionable Decisions

    March-April 2025 If you read my previous post about the emergency boiler replacement, you know that Company PPH didn’t exactly shine during that crisis, while Company NCS stepped up and saved Thanksgiving. You also know that I felt guilty about the miscommunication and decided to give PPH the heat pump job to make it right.…

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  • Emergency Boiler Replacement: When Your Service Company Isn’t There When You Need Them

    November 2024 Planning Ahead (That Didn’t Matter) Our Triangle Tube Prestige Solo 110 boiler had been breaking down occasionally, and each service call was costing a minimum of $1,200. I got so frustrated with service companies that I learned to fix minor issues myself. But every technician told me the same thing: boilers have a…

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  • This New Old House Part 13: Drywall – The Most Boring Post (But There Are Lessons)

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    After spray foam insulation, plumbing disasters, HVAC complications, and window decisions I’d come to regret for the next fifteen years, we finally got to something relatively straightforward: drywall. Spoiler alert: this was one of the easier parts of the build. Which means it’s also one of the less interesting blog posts. But there are still…

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  • Do Unto Others Part 5: What This Means for Democracy

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    When Shared Reality Dissolves, Only Power Remains Introduction: The Foundation Is Cracking Democracy rests on three pillars that most Americans take for granted: Over the course of this series, we’ve documented how all three pillars are systematically eroding. Part 1 showed empathy has become transactional – Melissa Hortman gets “I don’t know who she was,”…

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  • Do Unto Others Part 4: Flooding the Zone

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    When Lies Work Better Than Truth After documenting transactional empathy (Part 1), Stage 2 moral reasoning (Part 2), and asymmetric hypocrisy (Part 3), one question remains: How does this actually work in practice? The answer is documented. It’s called the “firehose of falsehood,” and it’s a propaganda technique pioneered by authoritarian regimes. Specifically, Vladimir Putin’s…

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  • Do Unto Others Part 3: Both Sides Are Hypocrites

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    But the Hypocrisy Differs in Depth and Kind After two parts documenting transactional empathy and Stage 2 moral reasoning, a predictable objection arises: “Both sides do it.” This is true. Both parties exhibit hypocrisy. Both say one thing and do another. Both claim to represent working people while serving corporate donors. But the question isn’t…

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  • This New Old House Part 12: Insulation and Air Sealing – When Tight Isn’t Right (Or Is It?)

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    When we decided to build our Connor Homes kit house, we had visions of a super-efficient, modern home wrapped in the latest insulation technology. We’d read all about spray foam insulation, tight building envelopes, and energy efficiency. We were going to do this right. Spoiler alert: We sort of did. Maybe. I’m still not entirely…

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  • Do Unto Others Part 2: “My Own Morality”

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    When the Only Limit Is Yourself On January 8, 2026, President Trump sat down with The New York Times. Asked about constraints on his power, he gave an answer that deserves examination: “Yeah, there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me. I don’t need international…

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  • Term Limits: Why This Popular Idea Could Make Things Worse (And Who’s Really Pushing It)

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    I Used to Think This Was a Great Idea I’ll be honest: I was sympathetic to term limits. Like most Americans, I’m exhausted by career politicians who seem completely out of touch. The frustration is real: So term limits sound great, right? Fresh blood, new ideas, less corruption! But then I thought: With how things…

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  • VOTING REFORM: Analyzing Every Voting System We Could Find. Here’s What Might Actually Work to Break the Two-Party Stranglehold.

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    We’re All Trapped Voting AGAINST Candidates Instead of FOR Anyone When’s the last time you actually wanted to vote for someone? For most of us, voting has become damage control. We’re not voting FOR our candidate—we’re voting AGAINST the one that scares us more. About 70% of Americans think the country is heading in the wrong direction.…

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  • Do Unto Others Part 1: When Empathy Becomes Transactional

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    Who Deserves Sympathy? The Politics of Victimhood A Note Before We Begin If this feels like an attack on Trump, I need to address that upfront. I tried to write this like an outside observer would—documenting what happened without partisan spin. I looked for examples across the political spectrum. I stuck to things that actually…

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  • This New Old House Part 11: Windows – The Decision Where More Mistakes Were Made.

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    If you spend a fortune making your house air-tight with spray foam insulation, and then punch 27-29 holes in it and fill them with cheap windows, you’ve basically defeated the entire purpose of the exercise. This is the story of how we did exactly that. The Window Budget Reality By the time we got to…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 10: The Freedom Fraud: Crime, Corporations, and Schools

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    When “Freedom” Means Government Control American conservatives claim to champion freedom. Small government. Individual liberty. Free markets. Get government out of our lives. Don’t tread on me. But look at what’s actually happening in Republican-controlled states: Governments telling businesses who they can hire and how they can operate. Governments dictating what teachers can teach and…

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  • The Argument over ICE and Alex Pretti is bait. Don’t take it.

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    Before you react to this, before you decide whether you agree or disagree with me, I want you to understand what’s happening to you right now, psychologically. Research shows that the conformist instinct in your brain happens automatically. You’re literally unaware of it. You think your political beliefs accurately reflect reality, but they’re actually being…

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  • This New Old House Part 10: HVAC – The Radiant Floor Mistake?

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    Or: How Warm Floors Can’t Save You From Bad HVAC Decisions Winter 2009-2010 After the plumbing nightmares, it was time for HVAC. We installed radiant floor heating throughout the house—hot water running through tubes in the floors, heated by our Triangle Tube boiler. It’s actually very nice to have warm floors in the winter. Walking…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 9: Cancel Culture and “Woke”: Who’s Really Being Silenced?

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    What the Data Shows About Who Gets Canceled and Why Everyone claims they’re being canceled. Conservatives say they can’t speak freely without facing mob attacks. Progressives say they face consequences for standing up for justice. College professors say students are too sensitive. Students say professors refuse to update outdated views. Comedians say they can’t make…

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  • When GPS Dog Fencing Becomes Psychological Warfare: A $600 Lesson in Canine Trauma

    PetSafe Guardian GPS Connected Customizable Fence Review – Or: How I Accidentally Taught My Dog to Fear the Outdoors Rating: 2/5 StarsPurchased: September 18, 2023Price: $600Duration of Use: 2-3 months before abandoning in defeat Let me tell you about the time I spent $600 to give my dog an anxiety disorder. Hobbes is our bernedoodle…

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  • This New Old House Part 9: Plumbing – PEX, Paying Twice, and Poisoned Septic Tanks

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    Or: How I Paid Two People to Do One Job and Discovered Water Lines Don’t Make Sense Winter 2009-2010 After electrical was complete, it was time for plumbing and HVAC. My friend, who had been coordinating most of the work, had apprenticed to learn plumbing and HVAC. But because of all the equations for sizing…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 8: Voter Fraud: Solving a Problem?

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    What the Data Actually Shows About Fraud and Election Integrity After the 2020 election, allegations of widespread voter fraud dominated conservative media and Republican politics. Dozens of lawsuits were filed. Investigations were launched. Audits were conducted. Millions of dollars were spent searching for evidence of fraud that would explain Donald Trump’s loss. What did they…

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  • This New Old House Part 8: Electrical – The One Thing We Got Mostly Right

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    Or: How an Electrical Engineer Wired Our House (and What We Still Got Wrong) Winter 2009-2010 After framing was complete, it was time for electrical. This is where having a friend with an electrical engineering degree really paid off. Actually, let me rephrase: this is where we got more things right than wrong, which for…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 7: Climate Change: The Profit Model of Denial

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    What Fossil Fuel Companies Knew—And When They Knew It For eventhatsodd.com – What Is Wrong With Us? In 1977, a senior scientist at Exxon named James Black briefed company executives on carbon dioxide and climate. His message was clear: burning fossil fuels was increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, this would cause global warming, and the…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 6: Immigration: The Wedge That Doesn’t Have to Be

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    Facts, Myths, and Solutions Beyond the Culture War For eventhatsodd.com – What Is Wrong With Us? No issue in American politics generates more heat and less light than immigration. Every election cycle, we’re told it’s a crisis. Caravans are invading. Criminals are pouring across the border. Or alternatively, we’re told that opposing illegal immigration is…

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  • This New Old House Part 7: Framing a Kit House (and the Ruts We Left Behind)

    Or: How Pre-Fabricated Walls Met Our Clay Field Fall – Winter 2009 With foundation complete and the Connor Homes kit ready to ship, it was time for framing. This is where our decision to act as our own general contractor would really be tested. We had a choice: our realtor’s brother was a professional builder…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 5: Public Media: What’s Actually at Stake

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    Beyond the Bias Debate, Here’s What NPR and PBS Actually Do In April 2023, a coordinated campaign to defund NPR and PBS reached fever pitch. Republican lawmakers introduced legislation to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting. Conservative media outlets ran wall-to-wall coverage of supposed liberal bias. Social media influencers urged followers to stop donating. Corporate…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 4: CRT, DEI, and Trans Rights: Manufactured Crises or Real Concerns?

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    How Three Issues Became Culture War Flashpoints—And What’s Actually Happening In 2021, Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist, publicly explained his strategy on Twitter: “We have successfully frozen their brand—’critical race theory’—into the public conversation and are steadily driving up negative perceptions. We will eventually turn it toxic, as we put all of the various cultural…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 3: Guns: What the Data Shows About Violence and Solutions

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    Regardless of Where You Stand on the 2nd Amendment, Here’s What Actually Reduces Gun Deaths Gun ownership is deeply woven into American culture. For millions of Americans, guns represent self-reliance, personal protection, and a constitutional right they hold dear. Many families have hunting traditions going back generations. In rural areas where police response times can…

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  • This New Old House Part 6: Foundation, Basement, and Future Regrets

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    Or: How “We’ll Finish It Later” Became Our Most Persistent Lie Fall 2009 With septic and well in place, it was time to dig a hole and pour concrete. The foundation is literally the base of everything, so naturally this was where we’d make some decisions that would haunt us for years. Jennifer had specific…

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  • Oh My Goodness, I really like some of these G-Rated Burns

    For those of you that like to argue on social media Ankles.(I had to dig to find what this one means) Thanks for helping. It was like doing it by myself, but harder. Cootie queen, lint licker As per my last email… Hope your pillow is always warm on both sides. Who ties your shoes…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 2: Abortion: What Happens After the Laws Change

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    Regardless of Where You Stand, Here’s What the Data Actually Shows For eventhatsodd.com – What Is Wrong With Us? The abortion debate is deeply personal. People hold strong moral and philosophical beliefs about when life begins and what rights should take precedence. Those beliefs are legitimate and deserve respect, even when we disagree. But regardless…

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  • This New Old House Part 5: Water Wars – The Filter Saga

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    Or: How I Became an Accidental Expert in Water Treatment Through Sheer Desperation 2010-2026 So we had a well. It produced water. The lab said the water was safe. We were good to go, right? Reader, we were not good to go. The lab test for your certificate of occupancy checks for bacteria and major…

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  • Divided We Fall Part 1: The Culture War

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    The Manufactured Outrage Economy Every morning, millions of Americans wake up angry. Not about their own lives necessarily, but about something they saw online, something Tucker Carlson said, something AOC tweeted, or some university policy they read about in a viral post. The outrage is real. The threat feels immediate. But the machinery creating and…

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  • This New Old House Part 4: Septic Systems and Well Disasters

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    Or: How We Learned That Clay Soil Is God’s Way of Saying “This Will Be Expensive” Beginning Summer 2009 With our land purchased and our house design finalized, it was time to deal with the unglamorous but absolutely critical underground infrastructure. When you’re building off the municipal grid, you need two things before you can…

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  • Pella Architect Series Windows: The Review I Should Have Posted 14 Years Ago

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    Why I Will Never Buy Pella Windows Again Product: Pella Architect Series Double-Hung Windows Specification: Double pane, E-glass coating, wood interior, primed Installation: 2009-2010 Review Date: January 2026 (15+ years of use) Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ (1/5 stars – and that’s generous) Note: I should have written this review 14 years ago. Maybe I could have saved…

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  • Let’s Stop Screaming at Each Other: How the Division Machine Keeps Us Fighting While Our Pockets Get Picked

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    The Name-Calling Trap Libtard. Right-wing nut. Snowflake. MAGA moron. Commie. Fascist. We’ve all heard it. Many of us have said it. And every time we do, someone wins – but it’s not you, and it’s not the person you’re yelling at. Americans have become increasingly polarized by design. When you’re pissed off, it’s hard to see…

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  • Mamdani Madness: More of The Same From the System

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    So Zohran Mamdani was sworn in on January 1st as New York City’s first democratic socialist Muslim mayor, and the outrage machine on both sides has been in full swing. Actor Michael Rapaport has already announced he’s running for mayor in 2029 to “save NYC” from what he’s calling “Zohran the moron.” And I’m sitting…

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  • 450′ Gravel Driveway: A 15-Year Journey of Expensive Mistakes

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    Plus an Ariens Sno-Thro 926053 Hydro Pro 28 Review The last few days of snow and clearing the driveway stirred up this memory… We built our new old house back in 2009 and, in what seemed like a great idea at the time, set it at the back edge of a small hay field. This…

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  • This New Old House Part 3: Land, Surveys, and Driveway Drama

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    Or: How “Temporary” Became Permanent and 14 Acres Got Divided Three Ways Spring-Summer 2008 With our house design settled, we needed the actual, you know, land to put it on. The Land Hunt Finding land was actually easier than finding an existing house, probably because land doesn’t have a leaky roof that sellers are trying…

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  • Broken By Design Part 25: The Bottom 90% Agenda – How We Fix This

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    We started this series with a simple question: What is wrong with us? Why does the richest country in human history rank 44th in life expectancy? Why do we spend twice as much on healthcare as other developed countries but get worse outcomes? Why can’t people afford housing even though we have more vacant homes…

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  • Broken By Design Part 24B: Rebuilding Worker Power – Why Unions Are the Key to Everything

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    We’ve spent 24 parts documenting how the bottom 90% are systematically extracted from: Healthcare, housing, education, prisons, military spending, taxes, monopolies, public service sabotage, media manipulation, environmental destruction, gig economy exploitation, financial system predation, and trade deals that ship jobs overseas. Every system is rigged against workers. Now here’s the question: How do workers fight…

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  • Broken By Design Part 24A: The Environmental Extraction – They Profit Today, We All Pay Forever

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    How Systems Are Rigged Against the Bottom 90% In 1977, Exxon’s own scientists warned executives that burning fossil fuels would cause catastrophic climate change. The company had some of the best climate research in the world. They knew. In 1988, they stopped their climate research program and started funding climate denial instead. Not because the…

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  • Broken By Design Part 23: The Efficiency Lie – How Technology Could Make Public Services Better Than Private (And Why They Don’t Want You To Know)

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    “Government is inefficient.” You’ve heard this your entire life. From politicians, from think tanks, from media, from your uncle at Thanksgiving. “The private sector does it better.” “Government can’t run anything efficiently.” “DMV wait times prove government doesn’t work.” “Only competition and profit motive create efficiency.” This has been repeated so many times, by so…

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  • In Defense of Smart People (And Against Shopping Cart Abandoners)

    I’m not the smartest person. Not even close. But I’m also not the dumbest person. I think. Maybe. The jury’s still out, and frankly, I’m not smart enough to serve on that jury. But here’s the thing: I really, really like smart people. I like people who understand quantum physics even though there’s absolutely no…

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  • Broken By Design Part 22: Media Consolidation and Capitulation – Why You Don’t Know Any Of This

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    We’ve spent 21 parts documenting how the bottom 90% are systematically extracted from: • Healthcare monopolies charging you double what other countries pay (Parts 1-6) • Housing financialization pricing you out of homeownership (Part 7) • Student debt trapping you in economic servitude (Part 8) • Employer-based insurance making you afraid to leave your job…

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  • Broken By Design Part 21: Coordinated Sabotage—How They Break Public Services Then Blame Government

    Let me start with the USPS example as the opening, since it’s the clearest case of deliberate sabotage. In 2006, a Republican Congress and a Republican President did something remarkable. They passed a law requiring the United States Postal Service to do something no other government agency, and no private company in America, has ever…

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  • This New Old House Part 2: Kit House Dreams – Discovering Connor Homes

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    Or: How We Learned That “Kit” Just Means All Your Problems Arrive at Once in a Truck Spring 2008 After deciding to build, I went down the research rabbit hole. This was 2008, so the internet existed but wasn’t quite the resource it is today. There was no YouTube showing you every possible mistake you…

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  • Broken By Design Part 20: Corporate Socialism

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    The Monopoly Scam Everyone Hates (But Both Parties Protect) You know what socialism looks like? It’s when the government picks one company to serve your area, eliminates all competition, and you’re forced to pay whatever they charge. You can’t shop around. You can’t choose. You can’t leave. You take what they give you or go…

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  • This New Old House Part 1: The Impossible House Hunt

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    Or: How We Learned That “Fully Renovated” Means “We Painted Over the Problems” Late 2007 – Early 2008 My wife Jennifer and I had been living in NYC apartments for years—the kind where you develop an intimate relationship with your neighbors’ arguments and learn to sleep through sirens like they’re lullabies. We were ready for…

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  • Broken By Design Part 19: The Corporate Tax Dodge

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    How Corporations Profit from Our Tax Investment While Avoiding Theirs You’ve heard the story a thousand times: we need to cut corporate taxes to incentivize job creation. Lower the rates, reduce regulations, and watch the jobs flow. The “job creators” need their freedom and their profits, and if we just get out of their way,…

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  • Broken By Design Part 18: The Rigged Tax Code

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    Taxation Without Representation (For the Bottom 90%) Why Billionaires Pay Less Than Teachers, and How We Let Them Write the Rules In 2007, Warren Buffett—then the second-richest person in the world with a net worth of $52 billion—made a bet with his office staff. He offered to pay anyone $1 million if their tax rate…

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