Institutional Fragility
Why institutions fail and what that means for people who depend on them.
This Isn't Collapse Theory: The Case Against Doom
If you have read the previous eight articles in this series, you might reasonably feel alarmed. Banks can evaporate in a weekend. Hospitals bankrupt t
The Pattern: Why All Institutional Fragility Looks the Same
A bank collapses in forty hours. A hospital system bankrupts the patients it treats. A university saddles graduates with debt that exceeds the value o
Supply Chain Theology: The Religion of Just in Time
In the spring of 2020, the wealthiest nation in the history of the world could not reliably supply its citizens with toilet paper. Within a year, the
The Sovereign Response: What to Actually Do About Fragile Institutions
This series has spent nine articles on diagnosis. We have mapped the fragility of banks, hospitals, universities, pensions, supply chains, the electri
Pension Promises and Empty Vaults: The Retirement Fragility Crisis
The most expensive assumption most Americans make is that the retirement system will function as described when they need it. Public pensions are unde
Healthcare by Spreadsheet: When the Hospital Becomes the Risk
The American healthcare system spends more per capita than any system on earth — roughly $13,000 per person per year as of 2022 — and delivers outcome
The Grid Is a Single Point of Failure
In February 2021, a winter storm settled over Texas and the electrical grid collapsed. Not partially. Not in isolated pockets. The Electric Reliabilit
Digital Infrastructure and the Platforms You Don't Own
Your email, your files, your customer list, your payment processing, your social media reach, your cloud storage, and your online storefront all share
The Bank That Ate Itself: What SVB Revealed About Modern Finance
On the morning of Thursday, March 9, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank was a well-capitalized, federally regulated financial institution with $209 billion in
The $1.7 Trillion Lesson: How Education Became a Debt Machine
The total outstanding student loan debt in the United States exceeds $1.7 trillion. That number is larger than all outstanding auto loan debt and all