Harper Harkins

Should voting be mandatory in the United States?

Every version of mandatory voting ends the same way: a fine. And fines in America land hardest on the people with the least. We already know this from traffic tickets, court fees, and fare evasion: a $20 penalty is nothing to a lawyer and a crisis to a single mother choosing between that and groceries. The research on fines and fees is brutal on this point: flat penalties punish poverty, not apathy. [Brennan Center](https://www.brennancenter.org) Because here's who gets fined: the night-shift worker who slept through Election Day, the person whose ID didn't match the rolls, the renter who moved and never got the notice. Not the engaged citizens, they're already voting. You would be building a new pipeline that converts poverty and disorganization into government debt, and then defenders would call it civic virtue. If the goal is higher turnout, automatic registration and a national holiday would get you most of the way there without turning nonvoting into a misdemeanor.

Should companies be required to pay customers when they misuse location data?

Consumer compensation is administratively possible. The FTC's [Epic Games order](https://9to5mac.com/2023/03/15/ftc-finalizes-epic-games-245m-penalty-over-tricking-users-heres-how-to-get-your-refund/) created a $245 million refund pool, the agency's largest gaming refund. Location cases will need a different formula, perhaps a base amount plus more for sensitive places, but “hard to calculate” should not mean the entire value of misuse stays with the company.

coaches can leave for a bigger bag whenever they want but the players were stuck?? make it make sense

Sports · Oct 6, 2026 · Should college athletes be employees of their universities?

The out-of-network anesthesiologist detail is what radicalized me. You can do everything right, pick an in-network hospital, and still get destroyed by one person you never chose. That is not a system, it is a trap.

Politics · Sep 24, 2026 · Should the United States adopt a universal healthcare system?