I disagree strongly with this article for the following reasons:

1. When you use a single-layer VPN (the most common use case) your ISP cannot snoop on your traffic. Your ISP is the first place the government goes to get your browsing history and internet activity, and your ISP is the party most likely to sell your personal information. A VPN might do all of these things, too, but the hostile actor would have to know which VPN you subscribe to in order to get your data. If the government wants to build profiles for all "political radicals," the government would first ask your ISP (who wouldn't know anything) and then the government would have to ask each VPN provider you are likely to be using in order to get your data. This process is not only costly, but it is also more likely to generate public backlash, because at least one VPN service is going to publish the government's request online for the lulz.

2. A dual-layer VPN solution counters most of the complaints in the article. In a dual layer VPN solution, the first VPN knows your IP address and that all of your traffic is routed to another VPN service. The second VPN can read all of your web traffic, but does not know your originating IP address or who you are. (Make sure the second layer is purchased with bitcoin or the like.) This solves most of the problems described by the original article.