Society
Exploring "Why" questions about Society
480 articles
Why don’t we have to pay sales tax on items from vending machines?
The markup includes the relevant tax. It gets paid, they just don't break it down for you.
why do governments hire Private Military Contractors
They are already ex-military most of the time plus Govt doesn't get the "official responsibility" for any mishaps. Google Raymond Davis Pakistan for an example. There must be hundreds other as well bu
Why is Judge an elected position?
Perhaps not the answer you're looking for, but electing judges (and a few other legal professions, such as district attorney) is an almost uniquely American habit. Much of the rest of the world (certa
Why do TV shows use fake bills with small amounts of money?
On the Breaking Bad Insider Podcast they talk about how showing real money on TV is illegal. The reasons for this are complicated and strange but basically they'd be showing real serial numbers which
Why is medical knowledge not part of the standard educational curriculum?
Next you will want to teach them about budgets, savings, diets, exercise and sex. It is hard enough to get them to learn the basics like greek gods, cursive and algebra I am not sure we can squeeze in
Why do we still have court reporters?
Transcripts. Every legal action is based on a transcript, the written word of what happened in court, and also at depositions (witness interviews taken under oath outside the courtroom). So anytime a
Why do people say I hope they have a good lawyer so they can get less time? How do people get less time even though it was obvious they committed the crime?
A lawyer can find loopholes and argue given the evidence to such a degree that even if they can't get you charged with a lesser offence, they can get you a reduced sentence.
why does being drunk mean you are incapable of consenting to sex, yet you are fully responsible for any crimes you commit while drunk?
The difference is that one is the victim of a crime and the other is a perpetrator. Being drunk does not give you a free pass to commit crimes. It also doesn't give other people a free pass to victimi
Why does our electoral system have “super delegates” who don’t have to cast votes matching the popular vote of their district?
It's not really "our electoral system", it's the Democrats' nomination process that has it. Technically, those people don't have to cast votes based on anything, but the majority are almost certainly
Why do companies care about the price of their stocks?
A share of stock is literally a small piece of the company. If the stock value is high, the company is worth a lot of money, meaning the company has leverage to buy things, build offices, take over ot