Farah Gillespie

Should voting be mandatory in the United States?

The government that brought you the DMV, the airport security line, and a tax code nobody understands now wants the power to fine me for skipping an election. Forgive me for not handing over more authority to an institution that mails my jury summons to an address I left in 2019. And for what? So I can choose between two candidates I wouldn't trust to housesit? The whole pitch is that forcing me to pick one makes the winner more legitimate, which is just grade inflation for democracy. Slap a participation trophy on a broken menu and call it the will of the people. If turnout is the emergency everyone claims, try giving me someone worth voting for. Until then, my staying home is the most honest review of the product I can leave.

Should companies be banned from using AI to screen job applications?

I do HR for a nonprofit with eleven staff. We don't have recruiters. We have me, half time, plus a program director who reads resumes between grant reports. When we posted an entry level coordinator role last year we got 340 applications in a week. Our screening tool cost less than our coffee budget and it meant every applicant got a consistent first read instead of me skimming at 11pm and unconsciously favoring the ones formatted like mine. A ban written with Fortune 500 vendors in mind lands hardest on organizations like ours, the ones that can't afford a hiring team. Fairness shouldn't be a luxury good that only big companies can buy with headcount.

Should record-setting athletes receive standardized bonuses across men’s and women’s teams?

Revenue differences are real, but they partly reflect decades of unequal investment. FIFA offered [$110 million for the 2023 Women's World Cup versus $440 million for the 2022 men's event](https://pfa.net.au/the-pfa-post/pfa-post-womens-world-cup-prize-money-explained/). Federations cannot fix that gap alone, but equal record bonuses are small, legible, and within their control. Base them on the sporting achievement, not projected ad sales.

The service got worse claim is just vibes. Plenty of no-tip restaurants in New York and San Francisco have excellent service because they hire and train well. Good management beats tip incentives.

Business · Sep 24, 2026 · Should tipping be abolished in favor of higher base wages for service workers?