Our Debt, the Hapsburg Empire, and Economic Illiteracy

The US government debt debate matters to everyone but especially to generations unborn and those worried about the near future. The $36 trillion or so of red ink—and that is the government’s self-assessed number that I believe is based on questionable accounting standards—should frighten everyone who has any wealth in dollars or who cares about his or her children. That’s because governments can and have gone broke, unleashing painful long-term inflation.

Startup Success Isn’t a Formula; It’s an Emergent Order

Some startup ideas are so obviously bad that no one questions passing on them. Others, though, sit in a strange space — outliers that don’t fit the conventional mold. These are the ones that, at first glance, seem weird but intriguing. Maybe your friends and family think you’re crazy for considering them. Maybe even you hesitate, wondering if you’re wasting your time, because not every outlier is a breakthrough, many are just noise.