Government debt is junk investment, but the markets treat it as gold. That is because government greases the skids, keeping its paper from the market discipline that private investments experience.

Few Americans today realize that until the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913, US senators were appointed by their state legislatures, not by popular vote. This development had an unfortunate effect upon US politics, further damaging the original federalist governing arrangement.

Few Americans today realize that until the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913, US senators were appointed by their state legislatures, not by popular vote. This development had an unfortunate effect upon US politics, further damaging the original federalist governing arrangement.

What if the affordability crisis is not a failure of markets at all? What if it is the predictable outcome of how modern governments finance themselves?