I Believe

Would You Volunteer to Pay Higher Property Taxes?

Our property-tax statement came with instructions for applying for a homeowner exemption. Should I claim it, or willingly pay more? From William the Conqueror’s geld and the Domesday Book to Shays’ Rebellion and modern Wyoming, I look at taxation, consent, and what government owes the people who fund it.

What should property taxes buy? I ask how we measure results in schools, emergency response, and affordable housing, and weigh the trade-offs of shifting taxes from property to sales.

Before asking me to forgo relief, show me what it buys, what it costs, and what breaks without it.

Read the full essay

Abortion, bodily autonomy, and the oath of office: a believer’s argument for a woman’s liberty and the responsibility of leaders who swear in God’s name. What does an oath made in God’s name require of public officials? I look at the Ten Commandments, the Constitution’s promise of liberty, and the difference between killing and murder to explain why the decision about a pregnancy belongs to the woman. Full essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/10/22/so-help-me/

Affordability, inflation, and tariffs in a Wyoming ranch town: what elected leaders owe working families, and why tax cuts alone cannot settle that obligation. Private aircraft at the airport in Saratoga, Wyoming, raise a question about whose welfare counts. I examine the costs borne by families, workers, and businesses, and the responsibility of elected leaders to explain how their choices serve justice, general welfare, and the country’s other national goals. Full essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/10/20/private-jets-and-ranch-towns/

Who should pay on the first date—and what are two people trying to build together? As my wife and I approach twenty-five years of marriage, I consider shared finances, unpaid work, changing responsibilities, and the good fortune behind a fiftieth anniversary. John Boyd’s ideas about orientation and adaptation offer another way to think about a shared purpose when life changes.

Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/10/15/first-dates-and-fifty-years/

Where does responsibility for climate change begin, and where does it end? Boulder’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Suncor leads me to consider the choices of oil companies, consumers, and governments, along with wildfire management and our dependence on useful energy. Shared responsibility does not mean equal responsibility—or letting a company off the hook if it lied.

Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/10/13/the-pickup-didnt-fill-itself/

What would it mean for Democrats to become the party of the people again? Ahead of the 2026 midterms, I examine political accountability, wages, housing, healthcare, and the difference between helping people become independent and making them dependent on government. Rural Americans need a voice in party leadership, and people who cannot support themselves still need direct, reliable help.

Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/10/08/the-party-that-forgot-the-people/

Can public assistance respect both compassion and independence? A walk in the park leads me to questions about Christian giving, taxes, poverty, and work. I consider the difference between meeting an immediate need and restoring someone’s ability to support a life—and why cutting aid without addressing low wages can leave both workers and employers dependent on the same system.

Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/10/07/poverty-work-and-dependency/

Does equal access to a military role imply equal obligation? I recall an Air Force lieutenant whose breastfeeding needs conflicted with a thirty-six-hour alert duty, and consider compassion, mission requirements, and the burden carried by fellow officers. The history of women’s military service and W. D. Ross’s competing duties frame a question every commander must face: what rule could we defend for everyone?

Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/10/06/equal-access-equal-obligation/

How do we prepare for artificial intelligence without spending our lives fearing tomorrow? From Halley’s Comet to nuclear war and climate change, I consider the difference between worry and useful preparation. John Stuart Mill’s harm principle and Sartre’s account of responsibility frame my argument for freedom to innovate, reasonable safeguards, and accountability when people or companies cause foreseeable harm.

Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/09/30/the-forethought-of-grief/

Picking hops in the yard gives me time to think through four questions: why ranchers sell the heifers needed to rebuild the cattle herd, what Persian history can teach us about Iran, how NATO might respond to Russian pressure, and when college is worth its cost. From Wyoming’s livestock market to Kaliningrad and Finland, I consider incentives, patience, geography, and the value of making your own decision.

Read the essay and sources: https://joelkdouglas.com/2026/09/29/four-things-this-week-from-a-bucket/