Home - Common Sense

10/22/25

Why isn’t there a law that prevents government shutdowns through automatic continuing resolutions?

It seems like common sense!

A law that would trigger an automatic continuing resolution to avoid government shutdowns has been proposed multiple times under both Republican- and Democratic-led Congresses.

So why hasn’t it passed?

1. Loss of leverage. Shutdowns are used—by both parties—as a tactic to force concessions during high-stakes budget negotiations. If an automatic CR kicks in, there’s no pressure to negotiate or compromise quickly.

2. Political calculations. Some members of Congress believe shutdowns are politically beneficial for their side.

Both of these reasons prioritize politics over the American people. If you want to dictate how the country is run—win elections, don’t hold the government hostage.

Congress should pass a law that provides automatic temporary funding to prevent government shutdowns and end these dangerous brinkmanship games.

10/15/25

Reduce division in America by fixing our election process!

This includes implementing ranked-choice voting, open primaries, and ending gerrymandering. One major benefit of ranked-choice voting and open primaries is that candidates are forced to be less polarizing, as they must appeal to a much broader audience. Instead of focusing solely on the most extreme voters in their party, they must also consider the opinions of moderate voters. Gerrymandering, on the other hand, artificially diminishes the voice of minority voters, results in non-competitive races, favors incumbents, and contributes to the election of more extreme candidates.

10/08/25

Fix the Immigration System Now!
We should reform the immigration system so that individuals who want to come to America, work hard, and pay taxes can do so legally.

A straightforward path to the American Dream could include the following steps: registering through a U.S. embassy, being connected with a sponsor, passing a criminal background check, and undergoing a health screening.

It’s important to dispel the “lump of labor fallacy”—the mistaken belief that there is a fixed number of jobs in the economy. In reality, immigration can offer a wide range of benefits, including job creation, economic growth, innovation, diversity, entrepreneurship, labor market flexibility, and the attraction of global talent.

10/01/25

Gerrymandering is bad for America because it undermines democracy by allowing politicians to manipulate electoral district boundaries for their own gain. Instead of voters choosing their representatives, representatives choose their voters, often ensuring one party stays in power regardless of public will. This leads to unfair elections, wasted votes, and uncompetitive races. It deepens political polarization by creating “safe” districts where candidates cater only to their base, ignoring moderate or opposing views. Minority voices can be diluted through tactics like “cracking” (splitting communities) or “packing” (overloading one group into a single district), reducing their influence.
Gerrymandering erodes public trust in the system, making citizens feel their votes don’t matter. Ultimately, it weakens accountability, representation, and the legitimacy of democratic institutions. A healthy democracy requires fair maps that reflect genuine communities and shifting public opinion—not ones rigged to preserve power. Ending gerrymandering is essential for restoring political fairness and voter confidence.

We should end gerrymandering by establishing non-partisan redistricting commissions.

9/22/25

The Broken Window Fallacy, coined by economist Frédéric Bastiat, is an economic concept that shows why destruction doesn’t benefit the economy, even if it appears to create jobs or stimulate spending. For example, while a broken window may benefit the glazier, it overlooks the lost opportunity for the shopkeeper to spend the money on something more productive. The fallacy occurs when people focus only on the immediate, visible benefits and ignore the unseen opportunity costs. Bastiat’s “seen and unseen” concept stresses the importance of considering both direct and indirect effects of economic actions. Ignoring the unseen consequences can lead to faulty conclusions about the true costs and benefits of a situation.

A clear example of the broken window fallacy in real life is War and Military Destruction. The Fallacy: “War helps the economy because it increases demand for weapons and rebuilding.” The Reality: War causes massive destruction of life and infrastructure. The money spent on war could have been used for healthcare, education, or technological innovation.

9/14/25

The absurdity of government job programs: If we need more jobs, give workers shovels instead of bulldozers. If we still need more jobs, give them spoons instead of shovels.

In the 1960s, while traveling in Asia, Nobel Prize–winning economist Milton Friedman visited a worksite where a new canal was being built. He asked the government bureaucrat why the workers were using shovels instead of bulldozers. The government bureaucrat responded, “You don’t understand. This is a jobs program.” Friedman replied, “Oh, I thought you were trying to build a canal. If it’s jobs you want, then you should give these workers spoons, not shovels.”

Of course, the point was satirical—Friedman was highlighting the absurdity of such government interventions. His argument was that simply creating jobs through inefficient means (like hiring people to dig ditches with spoons) doesn’t improve the economy; instead, it wastes resources and reduces our standard of living.

8/20/25

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8/10/25

No, war is not good for the long-term economy of a country. While war can lead to short-term economic activity, such as the need for military production and reconstruction efforts, the long-term effects are harmful. The destruction of infrastructure, loss of life, and disruption of trade and productivity can severely damage a country’s economic potential.

Additionally, the resources that go into waging war—money, labor, and materials—are diverted from more productive uses, such as education, healthcare, or infrastructure development. Post-war economies often face high levels of debt, inflation, and a loss of human capital due to casualties, displacement, or emigration.

In contrast, peaceful economies tend to experience more sustainable growth because resources can be used to create new technologies, improve living standards, and foster international trade, all of which contribute to long-term prosperity. Therefore, while war may create some economic activity in the short term, it tends to be highly destructive and reduces overall long-term wealth and well-being.

7/31/25

The Jones Act significantly increases shipping costs in the U.S. and must therefore be repealed!

Enacted in 1920, the Jones Act mandates that goods shipped between U.S. ports must be transported on vessels that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, and U.S.-crewed. While it aims to protect U.S. maritime industries, several major issues are associated with it, including significantly higher shipping costs and limited fleet capacity.

Shipping costs are much higher than they should be because the Jones Act limits competition by restricting foreign vessels from participating in domestic shipping. U.S.-flagged vessels are generally more expensive to operate due to labor and construction regulations. On average, the cost to build a ship in the U.S. can be four or more times higher than the world price. These increased costs are often passed on to consumers. Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and Alaska, which rely heavily on shipping for goods, are particularly affected by the high shipping costs caused by the Jones Act. Furthermore, the Jones Act makes it prohibitively expensive to transport natural gas, gasoline, and wind turbine components from the Gulf Coast or other U.S. ports to the Northeast. As a result, Northeast states often purchase foreign natural gas instead of domestic U.S. natural gas due to the Jones Act.

Additionally, because the Jones Act reduces demand for U.S.-built ships, the U.S. merchant fleet is small, limiting the availability of vessels for domestic trade. This lack of capacity can lead to supply chain disruptions, especially during emergencies or periods of increased demand. Moreover, the law has been criticized for limiting the development of a more diverse and efficient fleet, as restrictions on vessel ownership discourage innovation and modernization in the U.S. shipbuilding industry. Incredibly, in 2022, the number of ships built globally was as follows: China 1,734, South Korea 734, Japan 587, Europe 319, and the United States just 5.

Finally, the Jones Act’s restrictions on shipping inadvertently lead to greater reliance on land transportation, which increases road congestion and greenhouse gas emissions, undermining efforts to reduce both environmental and logistical inefficiencies.

4/21/25

The Jones Act significantly increases shipping costs in the U.S. and must therefore be repealed!

4/14/25

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3/24/25

84% of Americans believe that “special interest groups and lobbyists have too much say in what happens in politics,” and 72% believe “there should be limits on the amount of money that can be spent on campaigns,” according to a September 2023 Pew survey. Special interest groups raise costs for consumers, make our economy less efficient, waste scarce resources, and lower our standard of living! What if our government were run by common sense rather than by special interest groups? We need to vote for politicians who commit to reducing the influence of special interest groups in Washington through lobbying and campaign donations. Read more…

2/17/25

70% of American adults think marijuana use should be legal, according to an October 2023 Gallup poll. We need to vote for politicians who commit to legalizing marijuana and ending the unreasonable practice of jailing people for using it. Additionally, the lack of traditional banking services often forces cannabis businesses to rely on cash transactions, which are less secure and more expensive to manage. Furthermore, federal restrictions can limit the scope and scale of research on cannabis, hindering medical advancements. View the poll…

1/27/25

College costs can be reduced by 95% by removing regulatory barriers that prevent students from obtaining accredited degrees through independent study and testing out of college courses. Several non-profit organizations already offer free or almost free college credit by exam, allowing students to study independently and test out of a significant number of courses at many universities. Unfortunately, most universities limit these non-traditional credits to 25% or less, leaving students to pay full price for the remaining credits. Read more and sign the petition…

1/10/25

The Jones Act significantly increases shipping costs in the U.S. and must therefore be repealed!

1/3/25

According to the December 2024 HUD release, ‘The number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024 was the highest ever recorded.’ A total of 771,480 people, which is 18.1% higher than in 2023 and 19.2% higher than in 2007, when data was first collected. Additionally, 152,585 individuals experienced chronic patterns of homelessness, an increase of 27% over 2007. Read the report here: HUD Report.

*Note: If the cost to supply emergency bedding per year is $5,000 per bed, the cost to supply an additional 771,480 beds would be less than $4 billion. The total government spending for the most recent year, according to the Federal Reserve, is $10.4 trillion, yet the government has failed to address homelessness.

12/20/24

An accredited bachelor’s degree for only $3,000!

11/29/24

10/25/24

9/27/24