The U.S. flag features 50 stars of equal size, one for each state. In reality, states are so unequal that just nine of them comprise about 51% of the United States’ population.

Think about what that means for the United States Senate: slightly less than half of voters elect 82 of 100 senators.

The Senate is the body tasked with confirming federal judges and the U.S. president's cabinet members. It's also de-facto the more powerful of America's two legislative houses, thanks to senators' longer terms of office and their willingness to enforce the filibuster (a rule the Senate basically just made up to make itself more powerful).

"Equal" representation of states in the Senate might be the #1 reason the federal government is so screwed up. Ever feel like your voice doesn't really matter at the federal level? If you live in one of these nine states, maybe it doesn't!

When I was a kid growing up in California public schools, I remember being made to perform the song "Fifty Nifty United States" with my elementary school classmates. Maybe if we let present-day schoolchildren just focus on the nine states where the majority of Americans live, the song could be a lot shorter:

California, Texas, and Florida
They're the biggest states.
New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois
Are also pretty great.
Ohio, Georgia, and North Carolina
That makes nine.
There are forty-one others
And we're sure they're fine.

If you are a schoolteacher and you want to teach your kids this song, go for it! Please take a video and send it to director@ic.institute so we can post it on our YouTube channel. Thank you!