To keep toddlers happy, we throw pennies at a wall and keep score in their heads. Then we try nickels. Once we had to quit and Fletcher, a little towhead, cried, “I learned to count by fives for nothing.” Pitching coins is more productive than throwing money at some government programs. Some increase inequality, or cause bigger forest fires, and the feedback loop from effectiveness to budgeting has been broken for generations. When all the coins in my purse are thrown, we play a game to pick up coins – fast! Effective parents pick up toys that way at bedtime....