Society
Exploring "Why" questions about Society
481 articles
Why don’t they run political debates like competitive debating, with rules and a panel of judges who deduct points for logical fallacies, factual errors, etc?
Because the candidates would not agree to that. They're not obligated to debate at all, they do so because they think it's an opportunity to show the voters how great they are. No candidate would agre
why do people say that we are violating the constitutional rights of illegal immigrants? Don’t the constitutional rights only apply to U.S. citizens??
Often described as a "living document," the Constitution has repeatedly been interpreted by the U.S. Supreme Court, federal appeals courts and Congress in order to address the ever-changing needs and
Why does the death penalty cost tax payers more than life without parole?
All of the appeals that are allowed before the sentence is carried out. Court costs
Why is immigration such a hot button topic in UK politics at the moment? What effects are immigration having on the economy right now?
Mostly, it's a non-issue. However, trying to remove freedom of movement is an effective way for parties to appeal to their more authoritarian supporters.
Why is the Australian dollar so weak against the British pound?
No, the Aussie dollar is pretty strong against the pound, currently sitting at 55 pence. It is always a mistake to compare currencies absolute values, as these are a result of history. The difference
Why do businesses seem to be stingy with ten-dollar bills?
Often they have few if any to give. The thing is, fives are more versatile since they can break tens or twenties, but tens can only break twenties or higher. Higher than twenties the next up is fifty
Why do people think that US income tax is unconstitutional? If so, why isn’t this bigger news?
> Why do people think that US income tax is unconstitutional? Because people don't want to pay income tax, so they grasp at straws to try to find a way out of it. For instance, some people claim th
Why was cannabis ever made illegal in the first place?
There are lots and lots of urban legends and rumors surrounding this impetus of the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act, including pressure from pharmaceutical companies and the paper industry. Although these indu
Why are terrorists in Mexico as crazy as ever but the US has to police the middle east like it’s our own backyard?
Because an unstable middle east fucks up *everyone's* economies and has knock on effects on a lot of national securities (eg the major choke points for shipping and oil and gas). Whereas Mexico is muc
Why are the republican/democrat debates called debates? There’s hardly any debating going on.
They're mostly called debates to lend some gravitas to the situation. What they are these days, however, is joint press conferences. It would be nice to have actual debates, but that would require pol