The Political Dysfunction Tax

This report introduces the Political Dysfunction Tax ($T_{pd}$): the implicit levy paid to entropy through governance inefficiency. By constructing a Waste Ledger (military overspend, administrative friction, incarceration costs) and an Opportunity Ledger (suppressed health innovation, migration restrictions, lead poisoning), we calculate a Global Governance Efficiency Score of 30-52%. Current governance destroys $101 trillion annually in unrealized potential, including $34T from delayed cures, $57T from migration restrictions, and $6T from lead exposure, suggesting civilization operates far below its technological possibilities.

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Publication Details

Journal
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Published
2026-02-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18447494
Primary Topic
Politics, Economics, and Education Policy
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

The Political Dysfunction Tax

Mike P. Sinn
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Politics, Economics, and Education Policy
article

The Political Dysfunction Tax

Mike P. Sinn
article en

Abstract

This report introduces the Political Dysfunction Tax ($T_{pd}$): the implicit levy paid to entropy through governance inefficiency. By constructing a Waste Ledger (military overspend, administrative friction, incarceration costs) and an Opportunity Ledger (suppressed health innovation, migration restrictions, lead poisoning), we calculate a Global Governance Efficiency Score of 30-52%. Current governance destroys $101 trillion annually in unrealized potential, including $34T from delayed cures, $57T from migration restrictions, and $6T from lead exposure, suggesting civilization operates far below its technological possibilities.

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Accelerated Medical Diagnostics (United States) (US)
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 71%
Politics, Economics, and Education Policy
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