> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://themoralalgorithm.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ordered Liberty - 2027 - URL: https://themoralalgorithm.com/ordered-liberty-2027/ - Published: 2026-11-06T13:31:51.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-06T13:50:10.000Z - Description: After the 2026 midterms, how do Americans secure real freedom? Ordered Liberty maps a nonpartisan path: restore lawmaking to Congress, adopt the Hawaii and Montana corporate power reset in every state, and build AI fast while owning it broadly and protecting human rights. - Author: Darin Lawson Hosking - Tags: 2027, Policies, Politics, Solutions, USA Securing Human Liberty from Corporate AI 0:00 /1402.6478 1× [Ordered Liberty After the 2026 MidtermsOrdered Liberty After the 2026 Midterms.png2 MBdownload-circle](https://themoralalgorithm.com/content/files/2026/11/Ordered-Liberty-After-the-2026-Midterms.png "Download") TL;DR The 2026 midterms shifted power in Washington but not necessarily in America. Ordered Liberty asks whether ordinary people have reasoning skills, economic stake, and protection from domination. Hawaii and Montana show states how to stop corporations from spending in elections through charter powers. The plan calls for restoring lawmaking to legislatures, resetting corporate power at its source, and building AI that is broadly owned and accountable to people. The goal is institutions that protect freedom even when political opponents hold power. Nov 6, 2026 · @Darin Lawson Hosking *A path toward a self-governing republic, written for citizens of every party.* ## The short version The 2026 midterms changed who holds power in Washington. They did not, by themselves, change who holds power in America. That deeper question is the one [Ordered Liberty](https://themoralalgorithm.com/ordered-liberty/) asks: do ordinary people have the tools to reason, a foundation to act from, and protection from anyone who would dominate them? This article reads the year's biggest political events through that test. It then lays out a path forward built on three moves: 1. **Restore the rules.** Put lawmaking back with lawmakers, and make enforcement equal for everyone. 2. **Reset corporate power at the source.** Hawaii and Montana just showed every state how to stop artificial persons from spending in elections. This is the most promising reform of the year. 3. **Build AI fast, own it broadly, and make it answer to the people.** Artificial intelligence is advancing at an exponential pace. Ordered Liberty leans toward that progress, but insists the gains be widely owned and that human rights come with it. Along the way, this article engages two of the most ambitious visions of the AI future in a spirit of conversation, not combat: Peter Diamandis and Alexander Wissner-Gross's [*Solve Everything*](https://www.solveeverything.org/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), and Salim Ismail's [*The Organizational Singularity*](https://openexo.com/organizational-singularity?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) (ExO 3.0). Both get a great deal right. Ordered Liberty adds one question to each: *progress owned by whom, and answerable to whom?* The goal is not to pick a party. It is to describe institutions that would still protect your freedom if your fiercest political opponent were running them. ## Ordered Liberty in brief Ordered Liberty holds that a free society lasts only when three things are true at once. Every person has: 1. **Cognitive tools.** The ability to gather facts, test arguments, and act on sound reasoning. The classical name for this loop is the Trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric. 2. **An economic foundation.** Enough real stake in the economy to act, not merely survive. The preferred route is *predistribution*: spreading ownership before gains pile up at the top, rather than taxing the pile afterward. 3. **Protection from domination.** No government, corporation, or concentration of wealth can take away or withhold the conditions of participation. The goal is **equality of standing, not equality of outcome**. Ordered Liberty secures where people begin, then leaves them free to succeed or fail. Two older ideas hold the structure together: - **Res Publica**, the public thing. Government is a *trustee* of a narrow commons (land's unimproved value, natural resources, spectrum, water, the atmosphere's capacity to absorb waste). A trustee cannot sell the trust or shut its owners out. The commons claims the resource rent, never the value created by the work of extracting it: "the rent, never the barrel." - **Lex Publica**, the public law. Rules are general, equal, and knowable. They define property, contract, liability, and the limits of force. Authority sets those rules, enforces them equally, and then steps back. The three conditions form a stack, not a menu. Educated citizens without a stake become clever spectators. A broad stake without reasoning citizens gets captured. Reasoning, invested citizens still lose to corporations larger than nations. Remove any one layer and the other two decay. One more idea matters for everything below. A corporation is not a natural person. It exists only by **public charter**, and its powers (limited liability, perpetual life, capital at scale) are grants from the public. Grants can carry conditions. The full framework is at [themoralalgorithm.com/ordered-liberty](https://themoralalgorithm.com/ordered-liberty/). ## What just happened The past year moved power in three directions at once: toward voters, toward courts, and toward money. Here are the events that matter most for Ordered Liberty, newest first. | Date | Event | Why it matters | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Nov 3, 2026 | [Democrats win both chambers of Congress](https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-midterm-election-results-maps-show-how-democrats-took-congress?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), producing divided government for Trump's final two years. Democrats flipped seven Senate seats ([Yahoo/AP tally](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/live/midterms-2026-election-results-and-latest-updates-mississippi-votes-still-being-counted-in-senate-nail-biter-after-democrats-take-control-of-congress-200037541.html?ref=themoralalgorithm.com)), with Mississippi and Alaska still counting. | [89% of voters](https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/house-election-results-2026/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) called cost of living a major factor. The mandate is about standing, not ideology. | | Nov 3, 2026 | Montana passes [Initiative 194, "The Montana Plan"](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/06/montana-initiative-194-corporate-spending.html?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), with about 65% of the vote, barring artificial persons from election spending. | A deep-red state endorsed the corporate-charter theory at the heart of Ordered Liberty. | | Aug 4, 2026 | Missouri voters [reject Amendment 4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%5FMissouri%5FAmendment%5F4?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) about 80% to 20%. It would have required citizen-initiated amendments to win in every congressional district. | Voters across parties defended their own rule-making power. | | Jul 14, 2026 | New York's governor [orders the first statewide data-center moratorium](https://stateline.org/2026/02/05/with-electricity-bills-rising-some-states-consider-new-data-center-laws/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) by executive order. | The backlash against AI infrastructure reached state government. | | Jun 30, 2026 | [*NRSC v. FEC*](https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/insights/publications/2026/07/supreme-court-strikes-down-limits-on-political-party-coordinated-expenditures?ref=themoralalgorithm.com): the Supreme Court, 6 to 3, strikes down limits on party spending coordinated with candidates. | The statutory road to limiting political money keeps narrowing. | | Jun 2026 | FERC [requires large power users, including data centers, to cover the full cost](https://capacityglobal.com/news/trump-renews-ratepayer-protection-pledge-ai-data-centres/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) of grid connections they trigger. | A binding, general rule: the one who causes the cost pays it. | | May 2026 | Hawaii's governor [signs SB 2471](https://abcnews.com/Politics/after-languishing-state-legislatures-country-approach-curtailing-money/story?id=133151163&ref=themoralalgorithm.com), the first law limiting corporate election spending through charter powers. | Proof the reform can pass a legislature, not only a ballot. | | Mar 20, 2026 | The White House [asks Congress to preempt state AI laws](https://law360.com/articles/2455662?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). An earlier [executive order](https://whitecase.com/insight-alert/state-ai-laws-under-federal-scrutiny-key-takeaways-executive-order-establishing?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) (Dec 2025) created a DOJ task force to sue states. | Preemption without a federal standard would leave a rule vacuum. | | Mar 4, 2026 | The [Ratepayer Protection Pledge](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ratepayer-protection-pledge?ref=themoralalgorithm.com): hyperscalers promise to supply their own power and pay for grid upgrades. | A good principle, but a voluntary pledge rather than law. | | Feb 20, 2026 | *Learning Resources v. Trump*: the Supreme Court, 6 to 3, [strikes down the emergency-powers tariffs](https://webiis08.mondaq.com/unitedstates/international-trade-investment/1754096/the-us-supreme-court-rejects-ieepa-tariffs-refund-opportunities-and-uncertainty-emerge?ref=themoralalgorithm.com); the Court held unanimously that tariff power is a [core taxing power of Congress](https://www.mondaq.com/uk/international-trade-investment/1772100/update-on-ieepa-tariff-refunds?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). About [$100 billion in refunds](https://www.businesstoday.in/world/us/story/us-pays-out-100-billion-in-tariff-refunds-after-supreme-court-struck-down-trumps-ieepa-duties-547521-2026-08-06?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) followed. | The clearest restoration of Lex Publica this year. | The incoming House majority has said it will start with five affordability working groups (housing, healthcare, gas and utilities, groceries, and caregiving), plus [measures to reverse the tariffs and new war powers votes](https://political.org/2026/10/13/house-democrats-plan-first-100-days-agenda-on-affordability-and-oversight-if-they-win-majority-in-november-midterms/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). With a presidential veto in place and no two-thirds majority, most of that will require negotiation. Cost of living, immigration enforcement, and the war with Iran were the [other leading voter concerns](https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-midterm-election-results-maps-show-how-democrats-took-congress?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). ## Reading the year through Ordered Liberty Scored against the framework, 2026 strengthened the rules, weakened the guardrails on money, and exposed how thin most families' economic foundation has become. ### Lex Publica: the rules came partly home The tariff ruling returned a taxing power to Congress, where general and knowable rules are supposed to come from. That is a win regardless of anyone's view of tariffs. A tariff set by a vote is accountable; a tariff set by emergency declaration is not. The refunds show the work left undone. Refunds go to importers of record, while much of the cost was passed on to households. Equal enforcement means asking who actually paid. The AI preemption push runs the other way. It tries to displace state rules through lawsuits and funding pressure rather than a statute passed by Congress. Even analysts sympathetic to a national standard note that [executive preemption without legislation rests on contested ground](https://www.stateof.ai/predictions/federal-vs-state-ai-regulation?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). ### Protection from domination: money gained ground, voters pushed back *NRSC v. FEC* continued a long line of decisions widening the channels for political money. A dissent flagged [base contribution limits to parties as the next target](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/supreme-courts-nrsc-v-fec-ruling-impact?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). For anyone hoping Congress could limit corporate political spending by ordinary statute, the door is nearly closed. That is exactly why Hawaii and Montana matter. They did not try to limit speech. They changed what powers the state grants to the artificial persons it creates. The next section argues this is a model for all fifty states. ### Economic foundation: the election was a referendum on standing When nine in ten voters name cost of living, they are describing a floor too low to act from. Ordered Liberty traces this to a break that began around 1979, when typical pay stopped rising with productivity. Housing, healthcare, and education then rose faster than wages. The framework also offers a caution to the new majority. The fastest-sounding fixes (price controls, open-ended subsidies, rent control) are levers, not boundaries. They manage outcomes. Ordered Liberty prefers measures that widen ownership and let people stand on their own. ### Cognitive tools: a mixed signal Missouri's 80% vote to protect the initiative process suggests citizens of both parties recognized a rule change that would have diluted their standing. Meanwhile, mid-decade redistricting fights continued in several states, with [three related measures on November ballots](https://www.ncsl.org/news/details/in-this-years-bevy-of-ballot-measures-fiscal-issues-lead-the-way?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). Both parties increasingly treat district lines as weapons. A reasoning citizen would ask one question of every map: would I accept it if my opponents drew it? ## The Corporate Power Reset: a model for every state Hawaii and Montana found a way to take artificial persons out of elections without overturning *Citizens United*, and every state can follow. This is the most promising structural reform of 2026. ### How it works Corporations, LLCs, nonprofits, and similar entities exist only because state law creates them. State law also lists the powers they receive. The reform simply [issues a new list of powers that does not include spending in politics](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/resources/human-rights/2026-september/corporations-creatures-of-the-state/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). The American Bar Association's human rights journal calls it the "Corporate Power Reset." Three features make it work: - **It reaches everyone doing business in the state.** When the home state shortens the list of powers, [out-of-state corporations operating there lose the same power](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/resources/human-rights/2026-september/corporations-creatures-of-the-state/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). - **It covers every kind of artificial person.** Montana's version applies to [corporations, LLCs, unions, nonprofits, and other entities spending treasury funds](https://www.pccjournal.com/montana-voters-approve-i-194-the-montana-plan-to-end-corporate-and-dark-money-spending-in-elections/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) on candidates or ballot measures. It is not aimed at one side. - **People keep their rights.** Under Hawaii's law, [the individuals who form a corporation may still spend](https://www.salon.com/2026/05/28/a-battle-over-dark-money-is-brewing-in-hawaii-and-montana/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com); only the artificial entity cannot. Supporters note that no Supreme Court case has decided [whether a state must grant political spending power in the first place](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/addressing-questions-surrounding-hawaiis-bold-move-to-undo-citizens-united/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). Every prior case assumed the corporation already had it. ### Two proven routes | Hawaii | Montana | | | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Route | Legislature (SB 2471) | Citizen initiative (I-194) | | Vote | [Overwhelming bipartisan majorities](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/resources/human-rights/2026-september/corporations-creatures-of-the-state/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) | [About 65%](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/06/montana-initiative-194-corporate-spending.html?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) in a state Trump won by nearly 20 points | | Effective | [Enforced in 2027](https://abcnews.com/Politics/after-languishing-state-legislatures-country-approach-curtailing-money/story?id=133151163&ref=themoralalgorithm.com) | [January 1, 2027](https://montanafreepress.org/2026/11/04/three-montana-ballot-initiatives-pass-by-large-margins/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) | | Endorsers | Signed by Democratic Gov. Josh Green | [Former Sen. Jon Tester (D), former Gov. Marc Racicot (R), former Gov. Steve Bullock (D)](https://montanafreepress.org/2026/11/04/three-montana-ballot-initiatives-pass-by-large-margins/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) | | Legal status | [Suits by the Grassroot Institute and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce](https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/montana-ballot-initiative-takes-aim-at-corporate-political-spending/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) | [Federal suit filed the day after the vote](https://dailymontanan.com/2026/11/05/lawsuit-challenges-newly-passed-initiative-to-limit-corporations-political-spending/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) | Montana is not new to this idea. It [banned corporate election spending in 1912](https://dailymontanan.com/2026/06/17/hawaii-enacts-law-modeled-on-montana-plan/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) and kept that ban for a century. Bills like Hawaii's have been [introduced in 14 states](https://prospect.org/2026/05/18/hawaii-state-legislature-citizens-united-corporations-politics/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), and the group behind the Montana Plan is [working with organizers in other states](https://www.pccjournal.com/montana-voters-approve-i-194-the-montana-plan-to-end-corporate-and-dark-money-spending-in-elections/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). ### Why Ordered Liberty endorses it The reform is the third condition, protection from domination, applied at its source. A public charter is a grant from the people. A grant can carry conditions, and one reasonable condition is that the creature does not spend the public's own grant to command its creator. It also passes the reciprocity test. Because it covers unions and nonprofits as well as businesses, no party gains a structural edge. Voters from Trump country and from a deep-blue state reached the same answer. The business world's own thinkers point the same direction. Salim Ismail's [*The Organizational Singularity*](https://openexo.com/organizational-singularity?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) argues that as AI collapses coordination costs, the firm survives mainly as an "accountability shell": a legal container and holder of fiduciary duty. If that is right, the charter becomes the public's main lever over corporate power, and charter conditions become more important every year. ### A model for all fifty states States can choose the legislative route (Hawaii) or the ballot route (Montana). Either way, a strong model law would: 1. **Redefine the powers** granted to every artificial person formed or doing business in the state, leaving out spending to influence elections and ballot measures. 2. **Protect people.** Leave individuals free to spend their own disclosed money, alone or through voluntary political committees governed by existing law. 3. **Define "election spending" narrowly.** Exclude ordinary research, news, and publishing to answer the overbreadth concern head-on. 4. **Pair it with public financing and disclosure**, such as Hawaii-style clean elections, so small donors and candidates without wealthy backers can compete. 5. **Include severability**, so a court ruling against one clause leaves the rest standing. ### The best arguments on the other side Fair readers should weigh the objections seriously: - **Freedom of association.** The U.S. Chamber of Commerce argues the law [infringes Americans' right to band together](https://www.washingtonsun.com/campaigns/montana-ballot-measure-corporations-results-2026?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) through organizations to make their voices heard. - **Overbreadth.** The Frontier Institute's president agrees political spending is a problem in Montana but says the [law is too broad](https://dailymontanan.com/2026/11/05/lawsuit-challenges-newly-passed-initiative-to-limit-corporations-political-spending/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) and could reach research and voter communication. - **Limited reach.** The measure [does not stop individual megadonors](https://www.washingtonsun.com/campaigns/montana-ballot-measure-corporations-results-2026?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). Its own founder acknowledges it mainly targets dark money, which was [about $2 billion of roughly $15 billion in 2024 outside spending](https://www.salon.com/2026/05/28/a-battle-over-dark-money-is-brewing-in-hawaii-and-montana/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). Ordered Liberty's response: individuals remain free to speak and to associate through committees made of people. Narrow drafting can cure overbreadth. And a reform that solves part of the problem while respecting individual rights is worth more than a perfect one that never passes. The courts will now test the theory, and that test is exactly how a republic should settle the question. ## AI's exponential rise: three visions in conversation Artificial intelligence is improving faster than our institutions can adapt, and the first costs are landing on young workers. Ordered Liberty leans toward progress, but asks who will own it and whom it will answer to. The early labor signal is a closing door rather than a wave of layoffs. Stanford research found a [13% relative employment decline for early-career workers](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/category/college-grads-ai/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) in AI-exposed roles. Imperial College's David Shrier estimates about [19 million "phantom jobs" in the United States](https://openexo.com/organizational-singularity?ref=themoralalgorithm.com): roles that normal growth would have created but that never appeared. That figure comes from a counterfactual model, so treat it as an estimate. Three serious visions describe where this leads. Each deserves a fair hearing. ### Vision one: *Solve Everything* [*Solve Everything: Achieving Abundance by 2035*](https://www.solveeverything.org/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), by Alexander Wissner-Gross and Peter Diamandis, is the boldest case for acceleration. Its core claim is that fields become "solved" once progress depends on computing power rather than rare human genius. Its tools are published targets, payment for verified outcomes, shared robotic labs, and compute held in escrow until a team proves results. There is a lot here Ordered Liberty welcomes: - **A floor and a toolkit.** Its "New Abundance Contract" pairs Universal Basic Capability with a citizen "Compute Wallet" of processing power and open models, so there is no divide between AI haves and have-nots. - **Anti-monopoly design.** It calls for interoperable "Open Rails," a "Two-Source Rule" requiring two independent AI systems for high-stakes decisions, and neutral data trusts open to anyone solving a public problem. - **Visible reasoning.** Its "Decision Records for AI Systems" are permanent logs of why an AI made a choice. Its "Civic Intelligence Literacy" teaches citizens to query, audit, and challenge machines. That is the Trivium in modern dress. - **Rights by design.** Its moonshots include protections for mental privacy, local-only processing to prevent surveillance, revocable consent, and fairness floors built into every target. Ordered Liberty would gently add three questions: 1. **Outcomes chosen by whom?** The book treats bureaucracy as "The Muddle" and tells ministers that "the data, not the politics" should drive budgets. Paying for outcomes is wise. But in a republic, the people choose which outcomes count, through their legislatures. A metric can inform that choice; it cannot replace it. 2. **Who owns the rails?** The book advises investors to own the "toll roads" all the fast trains must run on. Ordered Liberty would treat essential rails (targeting platforms, data trusts, audit tools) as commons or common carriers. Toll roads on essential infrastructure are where private domination hides. 3. **A floor of services, or a stake?** Universal Basic Capability guarantees access to AI tutors and doctors. Ordered Liberty prefers ownership: a stake in the productive capital itself, so independence does not depend on a provider's continued generosity. The authors describe their timelines as theoretical, not guaranteed. Read them as the optimistic end of the range. ### Vision two: ExO 3.0 and *The Organizational Singularity* Salim Ismail's [*The Organizational Singularity*](https://openexo.com/organizational-singularity?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) (the ExO 3.0 model, also packaged as a [Claude skill for redesigning firms](https://openexo.com/resource-hub/exo-30-claude-skill?ref=themoralalgorithm.com)) describes what AI does to the company. Its argument begins with economist Ronald Coase: firms exist because coordinating through markets is expensive. When AI drives coordination costs toward zero, the old firm breaks. What remains is an accountability shell, a purpose, and an "Intelligence Stack" of AI agents. Much of its machinery is Lex Publica for machines, and Ordered Liberty can adopt it directly: - **Four Pillars of governance.** Continuous testing against known cases, searchable logs, the ability to roll back any agent, and a human review queue for anything touching money, legal text, or a customer. - **The "Fiduciary Wedge."** A named human stands behind consequential decisions; "the algorithm decided" is never a final answer. - **Six questions every piece of data must answer**, including "what happens if it's wrong?" and "how is a dispute resolved?" - **Human flourishing as a binding constraint.** One of its five required design conditions is a planned and funded transition for affected workers, with dignity treated as a design parameter. - **The missing junior loop.** Automate all entry-level work and you destroy the pipeline that produces senior judgment. - **Own your loop and your logs.** Firms should own their data, orchestration, and agent logs rather than rent them from a vendor. The book quotes Microsoft's Satya Nadella: a future where a few models capture all value has "no societal permission." Ordered Liberty would extend the conversation in four places: 1. **Who owns the "intelligence density"?** The book's headline metric is revenue per employee. A firm that once needed 500 people may need 50\. Ordered Liberty asks where the other 450 stand, and answers with predistribution: employee ownership, shared capital funds, and citizen dividends. 2. **The "codifier's curse."** The book candidly notes that workers who help capture their own knowledge are building their replacement. It recommends transparency and transition support funded from 10% to 15% of the savings. Ordered Liberty would add a stake: people whose knowledge becomes the firm's most durable asset deserve a share of it, and a public floor that does not depend on any one employer. 3. **Governance for whom?** The book frames its control plane as protecting the balance sheet. Ordered Liberty frames the same tools as protecting the people affected: the applicant denied a loan or a job deserves notice, a readable record, and a named human to appeal to. 4. **Speed in government.** The book's lead public-sector case is the UAE, which it notes benefits from executive authority. In a republic, the guardrails should be legislated, published, and open to public challenge. The book's own cautionary tale supports care: it reports that a recent federal workforce cut eliminated positions without redesigning workflows, and that independent analysis estimated it raised net costs. Its advice applies: cut workflows, not just headcount. ### Vision three: "Our Hardware. Our AI." The Moral Algorithm's own thesis, [*Our Hardware. Our AI. Our Right to Participate*](https://themoralalgorithm.com/our-hardware-our-ai-our-right-to-participate/), starts from the citizen. It holds that liberty in an AI economy requires three conditions: open model weights people can run themselves, strong encryption, and repairable hardware no one can switch off remotely. Without them, participation becomes a subscription someone else can cancel. Its answer is a "sovereign hybrid." Routine AI work runs on hardware households own. Deep work runs on systems owned by cooperatives, libraries, universities, and municipal utilities. Frontier data centers remain, but as the exception, required to pay their full costs and share benefits with host communities. ### Where the three converge Read side by side, these visions agree on more than they differ. All three ask the same question at different scales: **who owns the loop, the log, and the rails?** | Question | *Solve Everything* | ExO 3.0 | Ordered Liberty | | --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | | Main actor | Targeting authorities and builders | The firm and its CEO | The citizen and the republic | | What must be owned | Open, interoperable rails | The firm's own learning loop and logs | Household and community AI, plus shared capital | | Safety tools | Decision records, two-source rule, automatic slow-down | Four Pillars, Fiduciary Wedge | Both, framed as rights of the people affected | | The floor | Universal Basic Capability and a Compute Wallet | Funded worker transition | Ownership stake plus a limited enabling floor | | Who chooses the goals | Published targets and outcome markets | The firm's purpose statement | The people, through their legislatures | Ordered Liberty's synthesis fits on one line: **build fast, own broadly, and answer to the people.** ## Data centers: build them, pay the full rent, answer to the people Ordered Liberty would let data centers be built, but under general rules: the builder pays every cost it causes, pays rent for the commons it uses, and wins real local consent. That path favors progress more than moratoria do and protects households more than voluntary pledges do. ### The scale and the backlash As of July, the United States had [1,214 operating data centers needing up to about 55.5 gigawatts, with 1,719 more planned that would add about 370 gigawatts](https://www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-tech/artificial-intelligence/trump-administration-touts-more-support-for-reducing-datacenter-power-costs?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). Communities have noticed. - **States are busy but cautious.** One tracker counted [486 data-center measures in 2025 and 2026, with only 42 becoming law](https://www.quorum.us/policy-pulse/quorum-tracked-486-data-center-measures-in-2025-2026-only-42-became-law/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). No state has enacted a moratorium by statute; Maine's legislature passed one and the governor vetoed it. Ten states, from Oklahoma to California, passed laws on data-center rates or utility costs instead. - **Local voters are restricting.** In the first local data-center ballot measures of 2026, [voters chose greater restrictions in all four](https://news.ballotpedia.org/?p=50391&ref=themoralalgorithm.com). The same tracker counted 33 recall efforts targeting 58 officials over data-center projects. - **Secrecy fuels anger.** In St. Charles, Missouri, [city staff signed nondisclosure agreements and the end user was hidden](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/425254?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) until reporters tied the project to Google. In nearby Festus, [four council members lost reelection](https://secretlifeofmom.com/?p=90895&ref=themoralalgorithm.com) after approving a $6 billion data center. ### Pledge versus rule In March, major AI and cloud companies signed the [Ratepayer Protection Pledge](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ratepayer-protection-pledge?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), promising to build, bring, or buy their own power and pay for grid upgrades. The principle is right. But the pledge [has no enforcement mechanism](https://dc.fortune.com/2026/03/06/trump-data-centers-big-tech-hyperscalers-need-some-pr-help-affordability?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), and ratepayers cannot verify compliance. In June, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission went further, [requiring large power users to cover the full cost of grid connections they trigger](https://capacityglobal.com/news/trump-renews-ratepayer-protection-pledge-ai-data-centres/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). That is the difference between a promise from the powerful and Lex Publica: a general rule, applied equally, that binds everyone. ### What *Solve Everything* gets right here *Solve Everything* imagines data centers as "schedulable compute": facilities that ramp up when power is plentiful and throttle down at peak demand, acting like a giant battery for the grid. That is a genuinely good idea. A data center that sells flexibility back to the grid can lower costs for everyone. Ordered Liberty would make it a condition of the hosting deal rather than a hope. ### Ordered Liberty's hosting principles 1. **The cost-causer pays.** Write the pledge's terms into statute and utility rate rules. Large new loads pay for the generation and grid upgrades they require, whether or not they use the power. 2. **Pay rent for the commons.** Water drawn, grid capacity reserved, and carbon emitted draw on resources no one produced. The facility pays their full value, and the proceeds go to a permanent fund or citizen dividend, not the general budget. 3. **Sunlight before siting.** Ban nondisclosure agreements on public approvals once a project crosses a size threshold. Residents deserve to know who is coming before they are asked to decide. 4. **Local consent, not a blanket veto.** Above a defined size, require a public vote or a supermajority of the local governing body. A citizen petition in Massachusetts proposes [a two-thirds local vote](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/08/13/massachusetts-initiative-would-require-local-voter-approval-and-other-conditions-for-data-center-permits-the-second-statewide-proposal-following-ohio/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) for the 2028 ballot; states can calibrate the threshold. 5. **Flexibility in exchange for rates.** Facilities that agree to throttle during peak demand earn better rates, turning the *Solve Everything* idea into a contract. 6. **Benefits the host can see.** Enforceable community-benefit agreements, financial guarantees, and local access to computing time, as proposed in the Data Center Community Fairness Act outlined in [*Our Hardware. Our AI.*](https://themoralalgorithm.com/our-hardware-our-ai-our-right-to-participate/) These rules are boundaries, not levers. They do not pick winners or freeze an industry. They make sure that when a community supplies the land, water, and power, it is a partner in the result rather than a cost absorbed by someone else's balance sheet. ## Progress with standing: human rights in the AI age Ordered Liberty protects human rights in the AI age by securing standing, not by slowing the technology. Each right below shapes how AI is deployed without stopping it, and each draws on tools the three visions already propose. A careful distinction keeps this list honest. Ordered Liberty separates rights that require others to *refrain* (do not surveil me, do not lock my device) from goals that require others to *provide* (training, a capital stake). The first kind are firm protections. The second are limited public purposes, justified because they enable participation, and bounded so they never become permanent management of people's lives. | Right | What it means in practice | Where the idea comes from | | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **A named human and a readable record** | Anyone denied a job, loan, home, or benefit by an automated system gets notice, an explanation, and appeal to an accountable person. | ExO 3.0's Fiduciary Wedge; *Solve Everything*'s Decision Records; Ordered Liberty's due process | | **To run your own AI** | Lawful use of open models on hardware you own, with no remote kill switch. | *Our Hardware. Our AI.* | | **Privacy of data and mind** | Strong encryption with no mandated backdoors; mental privacy for brain-computer interfaces. | *Our Hardware. Our AI.*; *Solve Everything*'s neurorights | | **Portability** | Your data, your work, and your agents' logs can leave with you. | ExO 3.0's "own your logs"; *Our Hardware. Our AI.* | | **The first rung** | Funded apprenticeship paths so AI amplifies new workers instead of erasing their training ground. | ExO 3.0's junior loop; Ordered Liberty's Trivium reskilling | | **A stake in the gains** | Shared capital accounts and dividends from commons rents and automation gains. | Ordered Liberty's predistribution; *Solve Everything*'s Compute Wallet | | **Community consent** | Host communities know who is building, consent above a size threshold, and share in the benefits. | Ordered Liberty's data-center principles | ### A tier for systemic AI firms The largest AI firms raise a different question: what happens when a private entity commands an essential resource at national scale? Ordered Liberty answers with duties that rise with the privileges the state grants. Firms past roughly $1 billion enter an enhanced-duty tier. A narrower "systemic entity" tier is defined by measures that move with the economy, including share of GDP, market concentration, and control of AI training compute relative to the frontier. Scale only ever adds duties; it never buys an exemption. This matters because, under current law, an AI-directed enterprise can incorporate in the most permissive state and grow larger than nations with no federal charter designed for that scale. A national charter for systemic entities closes that gap. ### Why this leans toward progress None of these rights requires a pause in research or a license to build. They are general rules, written once and applied to everyone, which is what lets builders move fast with confidence. The alternative, case-by-case permission from regulators, is slower and invites capture. Both *Solve Everything* and ExO 3.0 make a version of this point: good guardrails are what let a system go faster safely. ## The path forward The path runs in four overlapping phases, ordered so that fair rules come before big economic changes. With a presidential veto and no two-thirds majority in Congress, much of the action will happen in the states, which is where reform usually proves itself first. This borrows a lesson from ExO 3.0\. Ismail advises firms not to transform the core directly, but to build a new version at the edge, prove it works, and then migrate. For a republic, the states are the edge. Hawaii and Montana are the first proof. ### Phase 1: Restore the rules (now through spring 2027) - **Codify the tariff ruling.** Require a vote of Congress for new tariffs, and make emergency declarations expire unless Congress renews them. Members of both parties have backed versions of this before. - **Publish who paid.** Account openly for who bore the struck-down tariffs and who received the refunds. - **Authorize or end military operations by vote.** Sustained operations, including in Iran, should rest on a clear authorization with periodic review. - **Answer AI preemption with a floor.** Offer a federal standard that preempts state law only where it actually regulates, so preemption never creates a rule vacuum. - **Keep oversight impartial.** Investigations should follow evidence and published standards, applied the same way to allies and opponents. ### Phase 2: Reset power in the states (2027 legislative sessions and ballots) - **Adopt the Corporate Power Reset** by statute or initiative, using the model elements above, paired with public financing and disclosure. - **Enact the data-center hosting principles:** cost-causer pays, commons rent, no secret approvals, local consent, flexibility for better rates, and enforceable benefits. - **Protect the people's rule-making tools.** Defend citizen initiatives and adopt independent redistricting, regardless of which party a given map favors this cycle. ### Phase 3: Widen ownership (2027 through 2029) - **Homestead Ladder.** Tie federal housing dollars to local zoning and permitting reform, so supply grows and first-time buyers can build equity. - **Land value tax pilots.** Fund state and local pilots, with protections for cash-poor homeowners during transition. - **A commons dividend.** Route federal resource rents (spectrum auctions, mineral and energy royalties) into a permanent fund that pays every citizen a share, modeled on the [Alaska Permanent Fund](https://themoralalgorithm.com/ordered-liberty/). It is a return on jointly owned property, not welfare. - **Postal banking pilot.** Offer basic, low-cost financial services through the Postal Service where private access is thin. - **Employee and community ownership.** Make it easier for workers to buy into their firms, and seed cooperative, library, and municipal AI computing nodes. - **Score it first.** Every dividend or fund should face an independent estimate of revenue, cost, and sustainability before any amount is promised. ### Phase 4: Make it durable (2028 onward) - **A national charter for systemic entities**, with duties that rise with scale and no escape ceiling. - **An AI rights law** codifying the rights in the table above. - **Trivium-based civic education.** Viewpoint-neutral grants to schools, libraries, and community colleges that teach people to check facts, test arguments, and audit machines. - **A constitutional amendment on corporate political spending**, as the long-term backstop if courts strike down the state approach. ### The test for every step Before adopting any new power, ask: **would we still support this if our most determined political opponents held it?** A reform that passes that test belongs in Ordered Liberty. One that fails it is just another weapon waiting to change hands. ## How we will know it is working Success means more people can say no to a bad deal without losing the ability to participate. These proposed indicators track that, one or two per condition. They are proposals, not existing official statistics; each needs public definitions, a baseline, and independent reporting. | Condition | Indicator | What it shows | | -------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Cognitive tools | Civic reasoning assessments | Whether adults can tell evidence from assertion | | Cognitive tools | Learning gain per hour (from *Solve Everything*) | Whether AI tutoring actually builds lasting skill | | Economic foundation | First-time homeownership and median net worth | Whether ordinary households are building a stake | | Economic foundation | Citizen capital ownership | How widely productive assets and dividends are held | | Economic foundation | Rent-free work share (from *Our Hardware. Our AI.*) | Share of everyday digital work done on owned or cooperative hardware | | Protection from domination | Market concentration and barriers to entry | Whether new firms can still compete | | Protection from domination | Successful appeals of automated decisions | Whether the right to a named human is real | | Protection from domination | Human-override rate in public AI systems (from ExO 3.0) | Whether AI earns its authority or merely assumes it | | Commons stewardship | Resource rents collected, fund assets, and distributions | Whether the commons is paying its owners | | Lex Publica | Share of major policy set by statute rather than emergency order | Whether lawmaking stayed with lawmakers | No single number measures liberty. Wealth can rise while freedom shrinks. The scorecard works only as a set, and only if it is audited by people who do not run the programs it measures. ## Risks, objections, and open questions The program can fail in three predictable ways, and each has a guard. 1. **Ordered Liberty becomes a partisan identity.** If its principles are aimed at only one party, it loses its point. The guard is the reciprocity test, applied out loud to allies first. 2. **The foundation becomes permanent management.** A floor that enables participation can grow into a system that directs people's lives. The guard is firm statutory limits, transparent funding, and a preference for ownership over services. 3. **Corporate reform becomes state favoritism.** Raising duties on firms while leaving regulators wide discretion invites the capture it means to prevent. The guard is general rules, judicial review, and duties tied to measurable thresholds rather than officials' judgment. One principle unites all three: **every reform must limit the discretion of the people carrying it out, not just promise they will use it well.** ### Honest open questions - **Will the courts uphold the Corporate Power Reset?** The Hawaii and Montana cases will decide whether states may decline to grant election-spending power. A loss would make the constitutional amendment route essential. - **How fast is AI really moving?** *Solve Everything* projects solved mathematics and biology within a decade; skeptics see a jagged frontier where AI excels at some tasks and fails at adjacent ones. Policy should work under both scenarios. - **Where does the commons end?** Land, minerals, spectrum, and water are clear. Data and compute are contested. Ordered Liberty names the solid cases and leaves the hard ones to open debate. - **How high should the floor be?** An enabling floor needs a boundary that adapts without becoming open-ended. That line has to be drawn in public, by elected representatives. - **Can divided government deliver?** Some Phase 1 reforms may pass; many will not before 2029\. That is a reason to build in the states now, not to wait. ## Conclusion: winning the election is not the same as rebuilding the republic The 2026 midterms were a verdict on cost of living. A verdict is not a design. The deeper work is to build institutions that protect freedom no matter who wins the next election. This year offered real signs of that work. The Supreme Court returned a taxing power to Congress. Voters in Missouri defended their initiative rights. Hawaii and Montana, a blue state and a red one, showed every state how to take artificial persons out of elections. And three serious visions of the AI future, from abundance engineers, from organizational designers, and from citizens who want to own their tools, are converging on the same question: who owns the loop, the log, and the rails? Ordered Liberty's answer is simple to say and hard to do. **Build fast. Own broadly. Answer to the people.** Make the rules general and equal. Spread ownership before the gains concentrate. Keep every artificial creation, corporate or computational, answerable to the public that made it possible. The measure of success is not which faction controls the government. It is whether ordinary Americans no longer need to win control of the government to feel secure in their freedom. *Released under GPLv3 by* [*The Moral Algorithm*](https://themoralalgorithm.com/)*. For the full argument, see* [From Moral Algorithm to Ordered Liberty: A Citizen's Pathway](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H78WDRG5?ref=themoralalgorithm.com). ## Sources **Primary frameworks** - [Ordered Liberty: The Framework for a Self-Governing Republic](https://themoralalgorithm.com/ordered-liberty/), Darin Lawson Hosking - [Our Hardware. Our AI. Our Right to Participate](https://themoralalgorithm.com/our-hardware-our-ai-our-right-to-participate/), Darin Lawson Hosking (Nov 5, 2026) - [Solve Everything: Achieving Abundance by 2035](https://www.solveeverything.org/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Alexander D. Wissner-Gross and Peter H. Diamandis - [The Organizational Singularity (ExO 3.0), v25](https://openexo.com/organizational-singularity?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Salim Ismail with contributors, OpenExO - [ExO 3.0 Claude Skill](https://openexo.com/resource-hub/exo-30-claude-skill?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) and its [installation guide](https://openexo.com/claude-skill-how-to-guide?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), OpenExO **Elections and courts** - [How Democrats Flipped Congress](https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2026-midterm-election-results-maps-show-how-democrats-took-congress?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), U.S. News - [2026 House midterm results](https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/house-election-results-2026/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), CBS News - [Midterms results and latest updates](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/live/midterms-2026-election-results-and-latest-updates-mississippi-votes-still-being-counted-in-senate-nail-biter-after-democrats-take-control-of-congress-200037541.html?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Yahoo News - [House Democrats' 100-days agenda](https://political.org/2026/10/13/house-democrats-plan-first-100-days-agenda-on-affordability-and-oversight-if-they-win-majority-in-november-midterms/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Political.org - [2026 Missouri Amendment 4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026%5FMissouri%5FAmendment%5F4?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Wikipedia - [Learning Resources v. Trump analysis](https://webiis08.mondaq.com/unitedstates/international-trade-investment/1754096/the-us-supreme-court-rejects-ieepa-tariffs-refund-opportunities-and-uncertainty-emerge?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), A&O Shearman via Mondaq; [refund update](https://www.mondaq.com/uk/international-trade-investment/1772100/update-on-ieepa-tariff-refunds?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Mondaq; [$100 billion in refunds](https://www.businesstoday.in/world/us/story/us-pays-out-100-billion-in-tariff-refunds-after-supreme-court-struck-down-trumps-ieepa-duties-547521-2026-08-06?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Business Today - [NRSC v. FEC](https://www.mayerbrown.com/en/insights/publications/2026/07/supreme-court-strikes-down-limits-on-political-party-coordinated-expenditures?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Mayer Brown; [ruling impact](https://modeldiplomat.com/story/supreme-courts-nrsc-v-fec-ruling-impact?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Model Diplomat - [2026 ballot measures overview](https://www.ncsl.org/news/details/in-this-years-bevy-of-ballot-measures-fiscal-issues-lead-the-way?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), NCSL **Corporate Power Reset** - [Corporations: Creatures of the State](https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/resources/human-rights/2026-september/corporations-creatures-of-the-state/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), American Bar Association - [Hawaii law becomes first of its kind](https://abcnews.com/Politics/after-languishing-state-legislatures-country-approach-curtailing-money/story?id=133151163&ref=themoralalgorithm.com), ABC News - [Hawaii Just Found a Way to Keep Corporations Out of Politics](https://prospect.org/2026/05/18/hawaii-state-legislature-citizens-united-corporations-politics/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), The American Prospect - [Questions about Hawaii's move](https://www.americanprogress.org/article/addressing-questions-surrounding-hawaiis-bold-move-to-undo-citizens-united/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Center for American Progress - [A battle over dark money in Hawaii and Montana](https://www.salon.com/2026/05/28/a-battle-over-dark-money-is-brewing-in-hawaii-and-montana/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Salon - [Montana votes to ban corporate political money](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/06/montana-initiative-194-corporate-spending.html?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), CNBC - [Three Montana ballot initiatives pass](https://montanafreepress.org/2026/11/04/three-montana-ballot-initiatives-pass-by-large-margins/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Montana Free Press - [Lawsuit challenges I-194](https://dailymontanan.com/2026/11/05/lawsuit-challenges-newly-passed-initiative-to-limit-corporations-political-spending/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com) and [Hawaii enacts law modeled on the Montana Plan](https://dailymontanan.com/2026/06/17/hawaii-enacts-law-modeled-on-montana-plan/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Daily Montanan - [Montana voters approve I-194](https://www.pccjournal.com/montana-voters-approve-i-194-the-montana-plan-to-end-corporate-and-dark-money-spending-in-elections/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Montana Plan PAC release - [Montana voters approve limits](https://www.washingtonsun.com/campaigns/montana-ballot-measure-corporations-results-2026?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), The Washington Sun - [Montana ballot initiative explainer](https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/law-and-life/montana-ballot-initiative-takes-aim-at-corporate-political-spending/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), FindLaw **AI policy and data centers** - [Executive Order 14365 takeaways](https://whitecase.com/insight-alert/state-ai-laws-under-federal-scrutiny-key-takeaways-executive-order-establishing?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), White & Case - [White House pushes Congress to override state AI laws](https://law360.com/articles/2455662?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Law360 - [Federal vs. state AI regulation](https://www.stateof.ai/predictions/federal-vs-state-ai-regulation?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), State of AI - [Ratepayer Protection Pledge](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/ratepayer-protection-pledge?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), The American Presidency Project - [Hyperscalers need some PR help](https://dc.fortune.com/2026/03/06/trump-data-centers-big-tech-hyperscalers-need-some-pr-help-affordability?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Fortune - [Trump renews Ratepayer Protection Pledge; FERC rule](https://capacityglobal.com/news/trump-renews-ratepayer-protection-pledge-ai-data-centres/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Capacity - [Data center counts and power demand](https://www.scrippsnews.com/science-and-tech/artificial-intelligence/trump-administration-touts-more-support-for-reducing-datacenter-power-costs?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Scripps News - [486 data-center measures, 42 laws](https://www.quorum.us/policy-pulse/quorum-tracked-486-data-center-measures-in-2025-2026-only-42-became-law/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Quorum - [With electricity bills rising, states consider data center laws](https://stateline.org/2026/02/05/with-electricity-bills-rising-some-states-consider-new-data-center-laws/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Stateline - [Local data-center measures and recalls](https://news.ballotpedia.org/?p=50391&ref=themoralalgorithm.com) and [Massachusetts local-approval initiative](https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/08/13/massachusetts-initiative-would-require-local-voter-approval-and-other-conditions-for-data-center-permits-the-second-statewide-proposal-following-ohio/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), Ballotpedia - [Missouri wants AI data centers. Communities want answers](https://www.newsfromthestates.com/node/425254?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), States Newsroom - [Festus election reckoning](https://secretlifeofmom.com/?p=90895&ref=themoralalgorithm.com) - [The vanishing first rung](https://lonelyentrepreneur.com/category/college-grads-ai/?ref=themoralalgorithm.com), summarizing Stanford Digital Economy Lab data ## Frequently Asked Questions What is Ordered Liberty? Ordered Liberty is a framework holding that a free society needs three things for every person: cognitive tools to reason, an economic foundation to act from, and protection from domination by government or concentrated wealth. It aims for equality of standing, not equality of outcome. How did Montana and Hawaii limit corporate spending in elections? Both states changed the list of powers granted to corporations through their state charters, removing the power to spend treasury funds on elections. Hawaii passed this through its legislature with SB 2471, while Montana passed it by citizen initiative with about 65% voter support. Does this corporate spending reform overturn Citizens United? No, it works within Citizens United by relying on the fact that states create corporations and can define their powers. No Supreme Court case has decided whether a state must grant political spending power to corporations in the first place. What did the Supreme Court decide about tariffs in 2026? In Learning Resources v. Trump, the Supreme Court struck down emergency-powers tariffs by a 6-3 vote, and unanimously held that tariff power belongs to Congress as a core taxing power. This led to about $100 billion in refunds, though most went to importers rather than the households who bore the cost. What do voters see as the biggest issue after the 2026 midterms? 89% of voters named cost of living as a major factor in their vote, signaling a referendum on economic standing rather than ideology. Immigration enforcement and the war with Iran were other leading concerns. ## Related Articles - [Rebuilding the Economy](https://themoralalgorithm.com/rebuilding-the-economy-2/) - [The Moral Algorithm](https://themoralalgorithm.com/the-moral-algorithm/) - [The Moral Algorithm: One Message United](https://themoralalgorithm.com/the-moral-algorithm-one-message-united-2/) - [Dismantling the Republic for Corporate-Authoritarianism](https://themoralalgorithm.com/dismantling-the-republic-for-corporate-authoritarianism/)