Social Security is unique among federal programs. It receives near-universal support, on the right and the left, so it easy to score political points by vilifying any proposed reform. The last major reform to the program took place nearly four decades ago. Still, all is not well with the much-beloved program.

British historian Niall Ferguson is urging Australia to avoid the mistakes of US and European regulators who sought, in the aftermath of the 2008 crisis, to regulate "with great specificity every single aspect of a bank's operation."

Philip Howard details how government-worker unions impede rational decision-making.