Top recent posts by Economists and Policy Experts on Bluesky

The federal government is dictating what speech is permitted. *DISNEY SAYS 'JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE' TO BE PREEMPTED INDEFINITELY

American elites are deeply corrupt scum. Dimon fluffing the GOP Senate caucus today was a perfect example of it.

Honestly, this is pretty strong. What's striking about it, to me, is that he specifically describes what Kirk's ideas were. That may be a low bar, but an awful lot of people have failed to clear it.

Trump-aligned billionaires owning all the social media platforms is a really big deal

Klein sad defense of his piece happening on the same day Trump run a comedian off the air with threats against his employer. ::chef's kiss::

🚨FED CUTS INTEREST RATES 0.25% MIRAN DISSENTS FOR 0.5% CUT

Truly hate to see this all happen to my country. I don’t have the words to say anything someone else hasn’t already said, so I’ll just say I’m legitimately sad.

Republicans literally took food away from poor children in the same bill that allowed this by supercharging funding for hiring and retaining ICE agents

The bicameral Democratic alternative CR has a lot of really outstanding language that both goes after impoundments & partisan rescissions packages. Great stuff here from @delauro.house.gov and @murray.senate.gov, showing a caucus that is actually serious about confronting Trump budget lawlessness.

I think a lot about Saruman lately. He claims to join Sauron becuase it’s impossible to resist the might of Mordor, he’s simply powerless against him etc, but then it’s Saruman, not Sauron, who causes almost all the problems for the fellowship in the first two books.

Americans' access to life-saving pharmaceuticals must be governed by the best, widely accepted scientific research. Our lives are not a plaything for disinformation-soaked ideologues and their cronies.

Guy has absolutely lost a step. *DIMON: TRUMP SAYS FED SHOULD BE INDEPENDENT, I'M NOT CONCERNED

We will miss Powell when he’s done as Chair.

There is a new one of these every year. Understand that there are hundreds of rich boomers left, right and center and folks regularly pitch new institutes to them to relieve them of their money.

Trump's numbers on inflation continue to plunge, which is hard to do:

US hiring rates remain stuck at 3.3%—hovering near their lowest readings since the start of the COVID—but vary dramatically from state to state DOGE-hit DC has the lowest hiring rate at 1.7%, while Wyoming, Montana, & Idaho have some of the highest hiring rates at 4.5% and above

It's really unfortunate how the high school history treatment of the Great Depression gives people very bad intuitions about how the business cycle works.

Just just did this. The kids will miss Bluey but it had to be done.

Residential construction for August was not good, not good at all. Single family and multifamily both broadly declining while the South saw a HUGE flush lower for permits that looks unsustainable. Still this is the key source of new US supply and it's very weak.

GDP/capita makes it clear how much of the EU's growth is now concentrated in the East Excluding Ireland's pharma-tax-shifting, all the fastest-growing countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Croatia, Lithuania, & Latvia) are in the East. Spain is the only Western country growing above 1%

When I worked at Senate Budget, every single year, I would go through the copious errors in Rand Paul's budget. Tyler was my replacement when I left (follow him). What's so amazing about the Paul budget is both that he has some of the same errors each year & that there are new ones every year too.

Fed decision for September in 10 minutes. Policy statement and projections will post at 2:00p ET (not before, don't bother clicking yet). Statement: www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/p... Projections: www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypoli...

Universal free child care in NM proves what’s possible when gov't invests in people. As @lbilik.bsky.social says in a new @usatoday.com piece, “child care is a cost of living issue.” Families everywhere deserve child care as a public good. #GoodLife www.usatoday.com/story/money/...

I hadn't quite realized how much China's exports to the US have fallen recently. Prior to the pandemic, the US deficit with China was on the order of 2 percent of GDP. Now it's down to half a percent.

I am available to give a talk on the underappreciated virtues of D&D 4th edition. I will not be silenced!

New FOMC projections: Higher GDP Growth Lower Unemployment Higher Inflation Lower Interest Rates

Behold the first past the post single member district system in all its glory.

I think we can get some money for this.

Building permits in the South:

Here's that Gallup poll btw. news.gallup.com/poll/659534/...

What can policy-oriented social scientists do in this moment? POTUS has remade the GOP coalition anew in his image. Lines of conflict & opposition coalitions are scrambled. He's taking apart long-standing institutions & conventions, making the future is more fluid than ever in my lifetime....

Trump’s New York Times lawsuit would be a joke if its ultimate goal wasn't so serious, says @timobrien.bsky.social

Me, reading the year of birth of my students

Just saw Miran’s clown 2025 dot.

*CRUDE OIL INVENTORIES FELL 9.29 MLN BARRELS, EIA SAYS Analysts were looking for a build of a bit over 1mm, this is the biggest draw ever for this week of the year.

CBRL clearly not hurt too bad by the controversy... *CRACKER BARREL 4Q REV. $868.0M, EST. $854.7M ...but omg that's not good *CRACKER BARREL SEES 2026 REV. $3.35B TO $3.45B, EST. $3.52B

"Monetary policy is not on a preset course. FOMC members will make these decisions, based solely on their assessment of the data and its implications for the economic outlook and the balance of risks. We will never deviate from that approach." Powell last month in Jackson Hole speech. Ages ago.

All of the usual caveats about issue polling apply, but a Data for Progress poll shows Dem voters willing to shut the government down unless the GOP makes changes: www.semafor.com/article/09/1...

Hah hah fuck poor people just trying to survive, an I right?

Don't need a tank to think when you have a thinking Tankus

I'd like to see an argument as to why this is a bad focus. "Stop health care prices from going up" does not seem obviously the wrong play to me?

Life is expensive—but for women of color, it’s even more so. In her new book 'The Double Tax', Roosevelt Graduate Fellow @itsafronomics.bsky.social shows how racism + sexism compound everyday costs, from wages to hair care. Read our interview with Anna ⬇️ rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/intervi...

Canada cuts 25 bps as expected, but removes forward guidance on cuts from the policy statement.

A fun thing about being in a very particular demographic is you know your audience:

US mortgage apps +29.7% in the week ending September 12, could be an SA issue there around timing of Labor Day this year but maybe not. Purchase apps +2.9% WoW, refis +57.7% (!).

Forget The New York Times or The Washington Post Subscribe to The Verge instead Their coverage of the Trump administration has been stellar

He suggests boycotting among other things.

A corollary of this is that you should judge policies based on whether they are likely to make people’s lives noticeably better when adopted, as opposed to how they sound to focus groups in the abstract.

Reasons markets might not like the “risk management cut” language: -Suggests a floor of 3% Fed Funds rather than a base case of 3% -If you’re worried about the labor market/recession, the Fed doesn’t share your concern yet

Do you promise? Do you promise to make them regret this?

This Money Stuff newsletter is one of the sharpest, bare-knuckled newsletters I’ve seen. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/news...

I can't tell how many people think this is a real thing versus a funny joke.

Do other folks have a lanyard grave yard or, I guess shrine, where they keep the dozens they acquired from years of conferences and events?

Need someone to study this.

There’s the pop in refi applications:

What a bleak time this is.

Everyone has their explanation for the last US election result. Whatever yours is, confront it with this —>

Idea: massive anti-trust initiative. Just all out, making Brandeis blush, anti-trust.

October 18th is too far away.

My father-in-law is an evaluator. It is difficult to get his attention in an analysis because he is lost in wonder. We were in 20 year TAA evaluation together years ago and I asked him what it would cost to build it today. I will never forget his answer… 'We can’t, we don’t know how to do it.

Get Skocpilled. Can't emphasize enough how much of our present dysfunction derives from the shifts she documents.

The Federation absolutely provides guns to civilizations that are being occupied by FTL capable civilizations. See "A Private Little War".

New recent lows for 30-year yields:

Worst D&D cosplayers I have ever seen.

Conservative and Liberal Americans demand a health policy driven by science, not loyalty to a cabal, because our lives depend on it.

Being locked out of my uni account, seemingly for no reasons, 30 minutes before teaching a class wasn't the best experience to be honest

The gap between productivity and pay has increased dramatically since 1979. What happened? Intentional policy decisions to undercut workers, like deregulation, deunionization, and tax cuts for the rich. Learn more: www.epi.org/blog/the-wid...

A startup might bring the dodo bird back, in case you were dooming about a lack of dodo birds in the world: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Fed Day is not the same without our playlist 🎶 Here’s what to listen to before today’s expected rate cut: open.spotify.com/playlist/2Iw...

My wife and I met the old-fashioned way - as activists in our respective graduate employee unions.

The 2026 SEP/dots are a mess, throw those into the trash.

My goal in life is to get the word "shkrelling" into circulation. It means talking about something in a way that is ostensibly about how evil and terrible it is, but is really marketing for it.

More seriously it is really bad and it is not getting the coverage it should. I know it's hard to focus on long term damage when there is so much immediate damage but we are going to be paying for this for a long time.

They’re basically running back the 2024 cuts even though the setup is different.

“A *clearly* restrictive level” -Powell

Stephen A. Smith now makes $40 million/year and is focused on moving into politics: www.nytimes.com/athletic/663...

Huh, Lyft/Waymo partnership in Nashville (Waymo will still be hailed via its native app). www.businesswire.com/news/home/20...

Big news for the Leo/PTA hive:

ostrich chicks !!! youtu.be/ydYDqZQpim8

I just searched “Slack” on Xitter, as the chat app It took somewhere between five to ten posts for the search results to show me a far right post threatening to kill muslim people 1. What the fuck? 2. Why are people still using this landfill, especially academics, politicians, and journalists?

This is a really insightful piece from several months ago that you should read if you missed it at the time.

I actually think there’s a chance we can pull Tucker. This is not the first wobble we’ve seen from him. Not sure we should try to court Karl Rove however, an orders of magnitude worse person

My longstanding refusal to give The Mouse any of my money is looking pretty good today

LIVE NOW: It’s Fed Day, and a rate cut is expected! But where does the central bank go from here? 🎥 Tune in for analysis with @jonathanjlevin.bsky.social, Allison Schrager and @kedseconomist.com:

turning and turning? in this economy?

This is where open and decentralized protocols will play a key role They’re not a silver bullet, but they help build the kind of resilience that the current system completely lacks

Today is a great day to read about the Levering Act en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leverin...

Here is a simple—but profound—and positive vision for the role of policy analysts at this historical moment. In short, time to get creative. Thank you for this thread @aaronsojourner.org —>

Here is a simple—but profound—and positive vision for the role of policy analysts at this historical moment. In short, time to get creative. Thank you for this thread @aaronsojourner.org —>

Incidentally, I noticed this while updating an assignment that asks students to estimate how much China's currency would have to appreciate to achieve bilateral trade balance with the United States. The answer used to look a lot crazier than it does now.

DRAFT: A Small, Intensive, Data-Sciencey Seminar in Long-Run Economic History I have decided on my teaching next semester: two things that are half-courses (half of grad student intro to economic history, and the economic-history outside-speakers seminar)… braddelong.substack.com/p/draft-a-sm...

Influence it the bad direction.

Status: sitting in car 6, seat 7 on the train and texting my tween daughter "6 7!" to annoy her.

Check out our @voxeu.org piece on our new research on AI and trust in media. cepr.org/voxeu/column...

Spring sky in Australia

Proposes new federal funding to allow states to expand access to childcare vouchers to working parents with higher incomes & to facilitate payments to childcare staff. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Few events have a chokehold on society like Fed Day, but the final episode of “The Summer I Turned Pretty” gives the central bank a run for its money. Read @jesskarl.bsky.social on why the overlap between the FOMC and TSITP cannot be overstated:

I am also in that stage of my life as anyone who has worked with me can confirm.