Remembering the Costs of War

April marks the time when the guns of war began to fall silent across the South in 1865, after four years of war. On April 9, General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia. General Nathan Bedford Forrest stood down his cavalry on May 9. By June 23, General Stand Watie had surrendered the last of the Confederate soldiers still fighting, the First Indian Brigade which included his own Cherokee Braves.

How Government Debt Reshapes the Economy

Government debt is no longer a distant policy problem—it is a present economic reality shaping everything from inflation to interest rates. The United States continues to run massive deficits year after year, with total debt climbing into levels that would have once been considered unthinkable. Yet, despite the scale of the problem, political incentives remain unchanged: spend more, borrow more, and push the consequences into the future.