What makes Ha-Joon Chang’s new book, 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism, such a joy to read, is not the challenge it poses to the bad economics that undergirds global finance, though it does precisely that. Just as Thomas did nearly 40 years ago, Chang’s book succeeds, fundamentally, because it challenges the dead language that is used to market as progress our growing political discontent.

With states across the country facing serious budget deficits, it is important to remember our country’s tough marijuana laws aren’t just unnecessarily cruel to people who break them, but they are also devastating to our states’ budgets.

In Oklahoma, we have a mom who got sentenced to ten years in prison for a $31 pot sale.

George Will threw some ill-informed mud at President Obama’s economic agenda this morning. Fortunately for Will, his pieces run in the fact-free zone of the Washington Post.

Alan Simpson is just the most visible of the deficit hawks who don’t have a clue about the issues they are discussing.

Senator Simpson is not just sexist and rude, he seems to know next to nothing about Social Security. Even worse, he shows no interest in learning.

The country is suffering from an unemployment crisis caused by the collapse of the housing bubble. However, we are being told that we have a deficit crisis and therefore have to cut Social Security, which is not even part of the budget.

The Washington Post is complaining about the “maddening strategy” of Social Security supporters in an editorial that may lead readers to believe they have gone off the deep end.