The latest episode of Government Shutdown Theater did not go according to the usual script.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has long had a reputation for embodying inefficient government bureaucracy. The agency was rife with waste and inefficiencies, a condition that earned it the California Golden Fleece® Award in 2019, a project of the Independent Institute aimed at investigating and reforming the worst examples of government failure, misallocated resources, and bureaucracy in California’s state and local governments.

The Supreme Court has announced that it will hear arguments related to the controversial TikTok ban. The Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit previously upheld the law banning the social media platform if it is not sold to a competitor, and TikTok’s request for an injunction while it works on a response was denied. An important point to note is that the media coverage has largely misunderstood the Supreme Court’s announcement, which pertains specifically to the injunction at this time, rather than the constitutionality of the ban itself. It is an encouraging development and likely a precursor for the high court reversing the lower court’s decision. The bill is nothing less than an attack on free expression and the rule of law and sets a dangerous precedent for presidential overreach.

Government spending is going through the roof as the outgoing Biden-Harris administration cements its fiscal legacy of failure.

When Javier Milei assumed office a year ago, skeptics saw three potential risks. One, he might take an authoritarian turn, subverting liberal democracy. Two, his libertarian agenda could stall under the constraints of an opposition-controlled Congress and powerful and socialist unions, that his libertarian agenda would stall. Three, the pain of shock therapy would destroy his popular base, leaving him politically neutered.

To the surprise of many, Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election handedly. Even more are surprised by his rapid—and sometimes head-scratching—nominations ahead of taking office again.

One week before Thanksgiving, the U.S. government’s total public debt outstanding surpassed $36 trillion for the first time ever.

Feast and football. That’s what many of us think about at Thanksgiving. Most people identify the origin of the holiday with the Pilgrims’ first bountiful harvest. But few understand how the Pilgrims actually solved their chronic food shortages.

It’s that time of year again. Thanksgiving is upon us. Tomorrow, millions of us will join together with friends and family to celebrate the Holiday. The day after, “Black Friday,” kicks off the holiday shopping season with a variety of sales.

The U.S. government got off to a very bad start for its 2025 fiscal year. The U.S. Treasury Department reported that the federal government spent $257 billion more than it took in as revenue in October 2024. That is the second-worst figure ever recorded for the first month of the fiscal year. Only October 2020 has seen a bigger deficit.