Even when New York City refuses to directly defend a cop in a lawsuit, the city does so indirectly through a special fund paid by the city.

A tendency to oversensitivity to "what might someone possibly mistakenly criticize?" is pushing society into increasingly rigid self-censorship.

If you're worried that the US national debt is too big, keep in mind that patent and copyright monopolies (especially patents) have the same effect and much bigger.

Any continuing monopoly will tend to have the same effect, even if no law prohibits more competition from arising. Having insufficient competition will do the same thing, though to a lesser extent. Ask the diabetics that can barely afford the insulin they need to live.

Some right-wing judges want to weaken the criteria for judgments of libel. If they succeed, criticizing the wealthy would become very risky.

*Big Chunks of Corporate Tax Cuts End Up in Executives’ Pockets.*

This was supposed to "trickle down", but it didn't, because that never really happens.