United States

NAEP reading scores for 17-year-olds were 285 in 1971 (before DoEd) and 287 in 2020 (40 years after DoEd) — a statistically insignificant 2-point gain. Meanwhile, inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending increased 280% since 1960. SAT verbal scores dropped from 466 in 1967 to 424 in 1980 and never recovered to pre-DoEd levels. The US ranked 11th out of 12 countries in the 1964 international math test — it has never been at the top.

New drug introductions dropped from ~43/year (pre-1962) to ~16/year (post-1962). Drug development time went from ~7 months to over 10 years. Cost per new drug rose from $179M (1970s) to $2.6B (2010s) in constant dollars. An estimated 21,000-120,000 lives lost per decade from delayed access. Countries with faster approval (UK, France) had similar drug safety withdrawal rates (~3-4%), suggesting no safety benefit from the delay.

Drug overdose deaths went from 2.5 per 100,000 in 1968 to 32.6 per 100,000 in 2022 — a 13x increase. The rate was stable or slightly declining in the 1970s (when the DEA was new), then began an exponential increase that continues to this day. Over 1.1 million Americans died from drug overdoses between 1968 and 2020, with 85% of those deaths occurring after 1999. The DEA budget went from ~$75M in 1973 to $3.5B in 2024 — a 47x increase — while the problem got 13x worse.

Workplace fatalities were ALREADY declining steeply before OSHA. Manufacturing injury rates dropped from 24.2 per million man-hours in 1926 to 15.2 in 1970 — a 37% decline BEFORE OSHA existed. Workplace deaths went from ~14,000/year in 1970 to ~5,283/year in 2023, but the pre-OSHA trend (driven by mechanization, safety engineering, and liability law) was already achieving similar rates of decline. Coal mining injury rates fell from 89.9 in 1931 to 42.6 in 1970 — a 53% reduction without OSHA.

Defense spending consumed 1-2% of GDP from 1900-1916, spiked to 22% in WWI, 41% in WWII, 14.6% at the Korean War peak, and has been declining from ~10% (Cold War) to ~3.5% today. US wars have killed ~623,000+ US military personnel and millions of foreign combatants and civilians. The post-9/11 wars cost over $8 trillion and killed an estimated 900,000+ people (Brown University Costs of War Project).

From 1774 to 1900 (126 years, no Fed), there was only 4.09% total inflation. From 1900 to 2025 (125 years, with Fed from 1913), there was 3,858% inflation. The dollar lost 97% of its purchasing power since the Fed was created. The CPI was essentially stable from 1800 to 1913 (fluctuating between CPI 25 and 51) but exploded from 29.7 in 1913 to 967.5 in 2025. The acceleration after 1971 (end of gold standard) was particularly dramatic: CPI 40.5 in 1971 to 967.5 in 2025 — a 24x increase in 54 years.

Life expectancy was increasing FASTER before Medicare/Medicaid. From 1900-1965: gain of 23 years (47.3 to 70.2). From 1965-2024: gain of only ~7 years (70.2 to 77.6), and it actually DECLINED after 2014. Meanwhile, per-capita healthcare spending went from $146 (1960) to $15,474 (2024) — a 106x increase. The US now spends more per capita than any other country and ranks ~40th in life expectancy. Singapore spends about a quarter of what the US spends and its citizens live 6 years longer.

Border apprehensions peaked at 1.6M in 2000 and were already declining before DHS existed. They dropped to 340K by 2011, then surged to 2.5M by 2023 — despite the budget tripling.

US incarceration rate was flat at ~100 per 100K from 1925-1972. After mandatory minimums, it exploded to 531 per 100K — the highest in the world. Violent crime dropped at the same rate in states that did NOT increase incarceration.

Air quality was already improving from the Clean Air Act of 1963 and 1967 — both passed 3-7 years BEFORE EPA existed. The trend continued at a similar pace after EPA was created. EPA's main contribution was enforcement capacity, not the original legislation.

Murder clearance rate was 93% in 1965. It has been declining for 60 years and accelerated after the 2001 CT pivot, reaching 52% by 2022. Nearly half of all murders in America go unsolved.

VA budget increased 622% ($45B to $325B) while veteran suicides remained flat at ~6,200-6,400 per year. In 2014, the VA wait-time scandal revealed veterans were dying while waiting for appointments — and officials falsified records to hide it.

Domestic terrorism incidents were already declining through the 1980s and 1990s. The major pre-TSA attacks (1993 WTC, 1995 OKC) were NOT prevented by the security that existed at the time. Post-TSA, GAO red teams got 67 of 70 test weapons through checkpoints (95% failure rate).