Reason Magazine

Despite 16 years and billions of dollars, California high-speed rail has yet to transport a single passenger. With total costs now over $128 billion, maybe it’s time for Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to step in. Lawmakers have increased calls to end what @kevinpkiley has called “the most wasteful project in U.S. history.” Head to the link in bio for more about the underperforming project, exactly where this money has gone, and whether it’s time to pull the plug. 🎨: Lex Villena #california #governmentspending #trains #transportation #highspeedrail #elonmusk

In 2012, Texas implemented an awareness campaign by displaying crash death totals on highway message boards. Turns out, in order to read these messages passing motorists must look away from the road. Watch the full episode of Unintended Consequences at the link in our bio. #Texas #travel #cars #history #historyfacts #historytime #comedy

@joebiden issued a broad pardon to his son Hunter, leading clemency experts and civil liberties groups to ask the obvious question: What about everyone else? While Biden has previously announced pardons of low-level federal marijuana offenders, his administration still frequently disappointed criminal justice advocates who were hoping for more based on his campaign platform. After years of inaction from Biden, the pardon of his son stands out even more. Recently, a coalition of hundreds of current and former law enforcement officials, families of homicide victims, business leaders, civil liberties and criminal justice groups, and religious organizations released letters to Biden urging him to commute the sentences of death row inmates to life in prison. Head to the link in bio for more about Biden’s criminal justice campaign promises, stories of people with pending petitions, and where advocates feel Biden has most fallen short. 🎨: Lex Villena #joebiden #hunterbiden #government #criminaljustice #whitehouse

Stories of outrageous government abuse often fly under the mainstream media's radar. There are people who fell behind on their property taxes—so the state seized their homes, sold them, and kept the profits. There are innocent people whose houses were blown up by law enforcement and who were then left with nothing. There are peaceful people who are prosecuted and jailed for exercising a constitutional right, simply because they didn't get a stamp of approval from bureaucrats. Here at Reason, we’re proud to tell these stories and to shine a light on injustices that sometimes go ignored by the mainstream press. These are stories that unite—not divide—people. The monopoly on force and power should not be able to crush the little guy. Swipe through for examples of @billybinion’s work reporting on government injustices. Then head to the link in bio to donate to our annual Webathon and help fund more of this journalism in 2025. We're grateful for support from free-minded readers like you! 🎨: Lex Villena #homeequitytheft #governmentabuse #government #SCOTUS #criminaljustice #homes #homeownership #journalism #media #FBI #policeabuse

A federal appeals court has ruled that the federal government can force @TikTok to either sell itself to an American owner or be banned. After the social media app and its holding company ByteDance sued the initial order, a three judge panel ruled against them, finding “the government’s justifications are compelling.” Now, In order to continue operating in the U.S., the social media app must sell itself to an American company by January 19, 2025. Claiming that Congress has the authority to force a company to sell one of its holdings simply because they don't like how it could be used in the future is plainly unconstitutional. Head to the link in bio for more about the lawsuit, what TikTok and ByteDance’s options are, and what this means for digital free speech. 🎨: Lex Villena #freespeech #tiktok #government #socialmedia

Reason wraps 2024! We published over 3,200 articles this year and covered everything from minimum wage to the nanny state. Our YouTube channel surpassed one million subscribers, where 416,000 people watched Glenn Greenwald and Alan Dershowitz debate Iran. @BessByers’ car spying video went viral with 13 million views and our Unintended Consequences series is an audience favorite. We couldn’t receive 44 million page views without your support. Donate to Reason’s annual webathon at the link in bio and help advance free minds. 🎨: Lex Villena #wrapped #yearinreview #2024 #content #news #journalism #yearrecap #endofyear

If there’s lessons to be drawn from the past two presidential elections, it’s this: the president has too much power. Republicans reacted in horror to Joe Biden’s win in 2020, and Democrats did the same with Donald Trump back in power. Perhaps it’s a sign the Executive Branch has grown far too powerful? No matter which party is in office, we always need those willing to question the government and shine light on potential abuses of that power. Head to the link in bio to donate to our annual Webathon and help support journalism that holds those in power accountable. #president #government #uspolitics #meme #memestagram

Was 2024 the year legacy media finally died? In the face of long-term, largely self-inflicted industrial collapse, mainstream journalists have mostly accelerated their own oblivious marginalization, blaming audiences and the general public for their demise. But Reason's journalists, while happily opinionated, will never be canvassers knocking on doors. Nor will we blame voters for not sharing our interpretations of facts. Head to the link in bio to support our annual Webathon and help Reason maintain our outsider legacy while the legacy media landscape fades away. #media #MSM #news #journalism #CNN #MSNBC #ABC

Experts have known for a long time that the cold medicine you can get on pharmacy shelves doesn’t really work. So why do they even make it? 🎨: Lex Villena #reels #health #healthcare #medicine #science #government #FDA

Imagine you need a job and somebody's hiring. But when payday arrives, before you can even take your earnings to the bank or the bar, someone else swoops in with an outstretched hand and demands his "cut"—or else. A mob boss? A pimp? Nope: the IRS. With a tax code that gets longer and more complicated each year, maybe it’s time to rethink a system in which Americans waste 6.5 billion hours a year where the government gets to claim a portion of each paycheck merely as a matter of course. Reason’s annual Webathon is back on! Now more than ever, Reason needs your help to abolish everything from the IRS to the income tax and beyond. Head to the link in bio to learn more about what an IRS-less country might look like, and to join the Webathon and support open independent journalism. 🎨: Lex Villena #AbolishEverything #IRS #taxes #incometax #tax

With just weeks left in office, @joebiden pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, for all federal crimes he may have committed during the span of more than a decade. This goes against the President’s previous statements that he would not issue such a pardon Head to the link in bio for more about President Biden’s decision, the history of presidential pardons, and what the pardon means for Hunter Biden. 🎨: Lex Villena #joebiden #hunterbiden #president #executivepower #government #politics #biden #whitehouse #criminaljustice

In New York City, 32 percent of all McFlurry machines are broken. In San Antonio, it’s 20 percent. In D.C. 13 percent of McFlurry machines are currently broken. What’s happening? It turns out for decades, McDonald’s franchise owners haven’t been allowed to repair their own machines. Instead, they are legally obligated to call up the manufacturer of these machines, the Taylor Company, to send over their technicians—even if the machines only needed simple repairs. This has led to a massive backlog of broken machines. 🎨: Lex Villena #food #foodstagram #instafood #technology #McDonalds #copyright