When I tell people that my syndicated column is in over 100 newspapers, some people seem to think that means I’m making the big bucks (No, no I tell them, I’m making the big bucks because of my successful line of Liberal Fascism talking alarm clocks. “Holy Statolotry, Benito! It’s Time To Wake Up!”). I try to explain that 100 newspapers really isn’t that big a number. Worse, opinion journalism has become commodified because of the internet and technological advances generally. And, with the decline of competitive newspaper markets the price of a column (i.e. what editors pay for them) has plummeted. Editors just don’t feel the need or desire to pay much for commentary. If you want a sense of how bad it is out there, apparently the New York Times pays $75 a piece for guest op-eds from Charles Murray!