“In an era of high prices for fuel, food, and housing, an extra $4,000 could make a life-saving difference for many families. But instead, that’s what the average household had to shell out for the Pentagon last year. That’s right: The average U.S. taxpayer in 2025 had over $4,000 taken out of their paychecks to fund the Pentagon, according to the National Priorities Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. In the coming years, that amount is set to rise as Congress considers a $1.5 trillion war budget for 2027. For the growing number of working poor in the United States, that money can mean the difference between making rent or falling behind, or between being able to afford an emergency trip to the doctor or going without care.” (07/20/26)
“Zhuangzi, sometimes referred as Zhuang Zhou, remains one of history’s most fundamentally subversive thinkers. As a writer in the chaotic period of Warring States of ancient China around the 4th century, Zhuangzi positioned himself not as a revolutionary for the improvement of government but as an opponent to the idea of such an entity altogether. Instead of giving his opinion on how the governing body could be improved, he tore apart the legitimacy of its authority by means of sarcastic criticism aimed primarily at Confucianism. He maintained that the desire to rule is the main evil of mankind, which destroys the whole hierarchy of power within the ruling elite. The other philosophers of his era attempted to offer advice to the kings on how to manage their states, but Zhuangzi considered the rulers themselves to be one of the major sources of chaos in the world.” (07/20/26)
“Revolutionary optimism is a skill that you learn over time. Like any other skill, it takes practice to get good at it. Like any other skill, it can seem very difficult when you first start trying.” (07/20/26)
“NATO members are finally taking more responsibility for their own defense. Using those security commitments to squeeze trading partners threatens markets and undermines diplomacy.” (07/20/26)
“Drone warfare does not make American foreign policy right. It merely offers another venue for politicians to cause instability abroad without facing domestic consequences. The technology that promised precision has instead produced permanent war waged in shadows. The United States must return to a non-interventionist foreign policy that focuses on internal affairs rather than constantly stoking tensions across the globe. Twenty years of drone strikes have not made America safer. They have rendered war invisible and accountability impossible.” (07/20/26)
“Back in 1970, the average professional footballer in England earned the equivalent of $28,000 a year, with star players earning the equivalent of $100,000. Training sessions stopped for cigarette breaks. It was the dawn of color TV, and the sport had yet to begin its transformation into the global commercial behemoth it has since become. ‘Daddy,’ the 12 year old says after a while, ‘this game is super, super boring!’ I can’t quite disagree.” (07/20/26)
“Americans have endured 50 years of this springing forward and falling back. I’m sick of it. It’s like some old relic, all coming from wartime, an anachronism proving yet again that government intervention knows no bounds. Times have changed, agricultural methods have improved, and everyone has technology to light their way, whether driving to work or getting to school. The United States has never been more energy dominant and independent, so concerns about fuel costs and availability don’t matter anymore. To go with Standard Time or Daylight Saving Time is now a matter of preference. Lots of interest groups are going to be happy or unhappy either way, so let’s put aside their discomforts.” (07/20/26)
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by George Ford Smith
“When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton reportedly said, ‘Because that’s where the money is.’ That wasn’t necessarily a wisecrack, and Sutton denied having said it, though late in life he admitted, if he had been asked, that likely would be his reply. Success for some is measured by the amount of money they have, and banks are known to have lots of it. For a bank robber, it’s a matter of switching ownership of it through a threatened act of violence. Sutton, though, was not a violent man and never killed anyone. … You can rob a bank and take ownership of the money you take. Or you can control a central bank and steal the money’s purchasing power from under our noses. Willie Sutton was a thief. And Alan Greenspan?” (07/20/26)
“While they’re not as common as reviews for cafes and dry cleaners, reviews have poured into Google Maps by the thousands for the growing network of jails operated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The reviews have come from internet users sharing their often harrowing experiences in the detention facilities. Google then purges these reviews and blocks the ability to write new ones, according to newly published research.” (07/20/26)
Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Jake Scott
‘At the end of June 2026, Brazil’s National Treasury published a document forecasting the nation’s fiscal future, though it read more like a confession of failure than anything else. The eighth edition of the Fiscal Projections Report, first issued just over three years ago, was phrased in the usually dry government statements of routine transparency: reference scenarios for fiscal projections, sensitivity exercises on macroeconomic parameters like interest rates and inflation, a box on how oil prices are predicted to hit federal revenue, and so on. The headline fact, however, was clear: the government’s own fiscal targets are unreachable beginning in 2028. The government’s arithmetic shows that it is no longer able to reach these goals, and what makes matters worse is that there is no permissible measure capable of closing the fiscal gap that yawns beneath the target.” (07/20/26)
