Matt Darling
@besttrousers.bsky.social
Was Trump caused by experience rating? 👀
one way the media really fucked us over when it came to trump was portraying him as a big-time, powerful exec who had a ton of world class executive experience, when in reality he was an LLC king who got most of what he had by ripping off people he hired to do the work and cheating on his taxes
he went from having never held any office at any level straight to the presidency. he’s never even run a very large company — all of the trump org scams have been tightly held with a pretty small number of actual employees, they’ve always farmed everything to contractors who they then ripped off
December 10, 2025 at 12:33 AM
Was Trump caused by experience rating? 👀
Reposted by Matt Darling
December 9, 2025 at 7:40 PM
"It's my turn" is, as far as I can tell, not something Clinton Actually Said.
“It’s my turn” came across as elitist entitlement to many (“I’m a Clinton so it’s just my turn to be POTUS”).
I recall when Bill first ran there was a “you get 2 for the price of 1” message that landed poorly and turned off some voters (since she was neither a nominee nor on a ballot).
I recall when Bill first ran there was a “you get 2 for the price of 1” message that landed poorly and turned off some voters (since she was neither a nominee nor on a ballot).
December 9, 2025 at 11:26 PM
"It's my turn" is, as far as I can tell, not something Clinton Actually Said.
Reposted by Matt Darling
1.59 American employee quit their job for each employee fired by their boss in Oct, lowest level since Jan 2018 outside pandemic
This #LaborLeverageRatio proxies for employee bargaining power in jobs cuz workers ⬆️ quits when their outside options improve & bosses ⬆️ firings when theirs do
This #LaborLeverageRatio proxies for employee bargaining power in jobs cuz workers ⬆️ quits when their outside options improve & bosses ⬆️ firings when theirs do
December 9, 2025 at 3:38 PM
1.59 American employee quit their job for each employee fired by their boss in Oct, lowest level since Jan 2018 outside pandemic
This #LaborLeverageRatio proxies for employee bargaining power in jobs cuz workers ⬆️ quits when their outside options improve & bosses ⬆️ firings when theirs do
This #LaborLeverageRatio proxies for employee bargaining power in jobs cuz workers ⬆️ quits when their outside options improve & bosses ⬆️ firings when theirs do
Reposted by Matt Darling
"Cookie cutter" housing is good. It's good when cities pre-approve designs, making it easier to add more housing. www.berkeleyside.org/2025/12/09/t...
This backyard ADU from Type Five is pre-approved by the city
Berkeley's OK means this customizable home — from a local company — can be built quickly and more easily.
www.berkeleyside.org
December 9, 2025 at 6:47 PM
"Cookie cutter" housing is good. It's good when cities pre-approve designs, making it easier to add more housing. www.berkeleyside.org/2025/12/09/t...
Reposted by Matt Darling
hot take is that chatgpt parenting advice probably mostly regurgitates the consensus of medical and child psychology experts and is therefore a much better source of parenting advice than social media and other internet black holes that promote potentially-dangerous stuff (esp wrt newborns)
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
December 9, 2025 at 5:01 PM
hot take is that chatgpt parenting advice probably mostly regurgitates the consensus of medical and child psychology experts and is therefore a much better source of parenting advice than social media and other internet black holes that promote potentially-dangerous stuff (esp wrt newborns)
Reposted by Matt Darling
My biggest disappointment of the year was failure to get media attention on this. Everyone was too busy with the crisis of the day. Understandable but there will be long run impacts here that more people should understand.
Right (and I'll point to @socio-steve.bsky.social's great piece on this: rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/the-irr...)
The Irreparable Damage Being Done to Federal Policy Research and Evaluation - Roosevelt Institute
Though their goals obviously differed, Republican and Democratic administrations have for decades relied on the work of social scientists both within and outside the government to conduct research on ...
rooseveltinstitute.org
December 9, 2025 at 3:30 PM
My biggest disappointment of the year was failure to get media attention on this. Everyone was too busy with the crisis of the day. Understandable but there will be long run impacts here that more people should understand.
Reposted by Matt Darling
#JOLTS is back from shutdown with Oct report today including Sep + Oct data:
-Hires rate 3.2%, down from 3.4% in Sep flat from Aug
-Quits rate down to 1.8% from 2.0% in Sep, 1.9% in Aug
-Openings up to 7.67m from 7.66m in Sep, 7.23m in Aug
-Layoffs jump to 1.85m from 1.78m in Sep, 1.73 in Aug
1/
-Hires rate 3.2%, down from 3.4% in Sep flat from Aug
-Quits rate down to 1.8% from 2.0% in Sep, 1.9% in Aug
-Openings up to 7.67m from 7.66m in Sep, 7.23m in Aug
-Layoffs jump to 1.85m from 1.78m in Sep, 1.73 in Aug
1/
December 9, 2025 at 3:05 PM
#JOLTS is back from shutdown with Oct report today including Sep + Oct data:
-Hires rate 3.2%, down from 3.4% in Sep flat from Aug
-Quits rate down to 1.8% from 2.0% in Sep, 1.9% in Aug
-Openings up to 7.67m from 7.66m in Sep, 7.23m in Aug
-Layoffs jump to 1.85m from 1.78m in Sep, 1.73 in Aug
1/
-Hires rate 3.2%, down from 3.4% in Sep flat from Aug
-Quits rate down to 1.8% from 2.0% in Sep, 1.9% in Aug
-Openings up to 7.67m from 7.66m in Sep, 7.23m in Aug
-Layoffs jump to 1.85m from 1.78m in Sep, 1.73 in Aug
1/
I don't need to do this (I'd recognize Gurney by his footsteps).
It's amazing that there are guys out there who *have* to sit somewhere with sightlines to the exits in restaurants like they're some sort of Operator but it's guys that read books that are called performative.
December 9, 2025 at 12:58 PM
I don't need to do this (I'd recognize Gurney by his footsteps).
Reposted by Matt Darling
lol my least favorite social media post ever is big headlines making a claim and not a single citation in sight.
It'll be something like:
PILLOW CASES CAN MAKE YOUR TEETH FALL OUT
*16,000 likes
It'll be something like:
PILLOW CASES CAN MAKE YOUR TEETH FALL OUT
*16,000 likes
December 9, 2025 at 2:33 AM
lol my least favorite social media post ever is big headlines making a claim and not a single citation in sight.
It'll be something like:
PILLOW CASES CAN MAKE YOUR TEETH FALL OUT
*16,000 likes
It'll be something like:
PILLOW CASES CAN MAKE YOUR TEETH FALL OUT
*16,000 likes
Reposted by Matt Darling
My #EconJMP, “The Labor Market Returns to Customized Job Training”, examines how subsidized firm training that aligns skill supply with skill demand affects workers and whether subsidies generate benefits that justify public investment.
Website: nataliemillar.net
Website: nataliemillar.net
December 8, 2025 at 7:38 PM
My #EconJMP, “The Labor Market Returns to Customized Job Training”, examines how subsidized firm training that aligns skill supply with skill demand affects workers and whether subsidies generate benefits that justify public investment.
Website: nataliemillar.net
Website: nataliemillar.net
Reposted by Matt Darling
[new draft post] When is the economy good or bad? https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2025/12/08/when-is-the-economy-good-or-bad/index.html
December 8, 2025 at 9:19 PM
[new draft post] When is the economy good or bad? https://drafts.interfluidity.com/2025/12/08/when-is-the-economy-good-or-bad/index.html
Reposted by Matt Darling
I think there is a lot of trying to dress up one's feelings as science and logic in certain corners, but that is more of a science last approach.
December 8, 2025 at 9:16 PM
I think there is a lot of trying to dress up one's feelings as science and logic in certain corners, but that is more of a science last approach.
I see this sentiment a lot and I would not generally describe either politics or economic policy taking a big "science first" approach.
I think the mistake is we, as a society, have bought whole cloth into the idea that both politics and economics are wholly scientific endeavors.
December 8, 2025 at 9:15 PM
I see this sentiment a lot and I would not generally describe either politics or economic policy taking a big "science first" approach.
(this actually seems pretty reasonable? It's one of several examples he is giving about potential grant proposals airports could submit.)
Duffy on what he's doing to improve the airport experience for travelers: "Maybe I want a workout area where people might get some blood flowing doing some pull ups or step ups in the airport."
December 8, 2025 at 9:09 PM
(this actually seems pretty reasonable? It's one of several examples he is giving about potential grant proposals airports could submit.)
Would be funny if going forward two term Presidencies become a rarity.
Vibecession's not so fun when you're in office!
BRENNAN: When Trump says "affordability is a con job," his approval on the economy is down to 36%. Don't you need to show you feel the pain?
BESSENT: HE's frustrated by the media coverage
BRENNAN: The polling is of average Americans
BESSENT: Average Americans hear a lot of it from media coverage
BESSENT: HE's frustrated by the media coverage
BRENNAN: The polling is of average Americans
BESSENT: Average Americans hear a lot of it from media coverage
December 8, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Would be funny if going forward two term Presidencies become a rarity.
Reposted by Matt Darling
@dsquareddigest.bsky.social and I had a NYT piece on this and have more coming soon www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/o...
December 8, 2025 at 1:26 PM
@dsquareddigest.bsky.social and I had a NYT piece on this and have more coming soon www.nytimes.com/2025/05/23/o...
Reposted by Matt Darling
The comparison I always like to make is that G'Kar from BABYLON 5 is who Gul Dukat would be if he was really as complex and nuanced as he likes to *think* he is.
December 7, 2025 at 6:12 PM
The comparison I always like to make is that G'Kar from BABYLON 5 is who Gul Dukat would be if he was really as complex and nuanced as he likes to *think* he is.
Reposted by Matt Darling
I spoke with Any Lucía López Belloza, the Babson College student who was on her way to surprise her family for Thanksgiving when ICE deported her.
"My 5-year-old sister still believes that I might go home for Christmas," she tells me.
www.thecut.com/article/any-...
"My 5-year-old sister still believes that I might go home for Christmas," she tells me.
www.thecut.com/article/any-...
I Wanted to Surprise My Family on Thanksgiving. ICE Deported Me Instead.
How the Trump administration turned a college freshman’s life upside down.
www.thecut.com
December 5, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I spoke with Any Lucía López Belloza, the Babson College student who was on her way to surprise her family for Thanksgiving when ICE deported her.
"My 5-year-old sister still believes that I might go home for Christmas," she tells me.
www.thecut.com/article/any-...
"My 5-year-old sister still believes that I might go home for Christmas," she tells me.
www.thecut.com/article/any-...
Reposted by Matt Darling
Imagine thinking that people come to America to "access unlimited welfare for life"
December 6, 2025 at 9:40 PM
Imagine thinking that people come to America to "access unlimited welfare for life"
Reposted by Matt Darling
As awful as this, the focus on whether the woman was complying obscures the more important issue: in a democracy, there should not be armed agents demanding to see papers of every passing person.
“Traumatized, humiliated, degraded.”
The nurse, a US citizen, 4’11”, 85 lbs, says she was following orders when she was dragged out of her car by masked immigration agents in Florida.
It was the 3rd time she had been stopped and told to produce ID.
Free link ⤵️
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
The nurse, a US citizen, 4’11”, 85 lbs, says she was following orders when she was dragged out of her car by masked immigration agents in Florida.
It was the 3rd time she had been stopped and told to produce ID.
Free link ⤵️
www.miamiherald.com/news/local/i...
Exclusive: Woman detained by feds in Keys says she was following agents’ orders
“This is not the America that I grew up in, and this is not the America that we represent.”
www.miamiherald.com
December 6, 2025 at 3:27 PM
As awful as this, the focus on whether the woman was complying obscures the more important issue: in a democracy, there should not be armed agents demanding to see papers of every passing person.
Reposted by Matt Darling
If citizenship rights are not secure, they’re not secure. Full stop. The admin has admitted it wants mass politicized denationalization. Nullification of birthright citizenship is indeed a form of that, and there will be ever new forms after it
December 6, 2025 at 3:38 PM
If citizenship rights are not secure, they’re not secure. Full stop. The admin has admitted it wants mass politicized denationalization. Nullification of birthright citizenship is indeed a form of that, and there will be ever new forms after it
Reposted by Matt Darling
“She showed up as scheduled, and when she arrived, officers were asking everyone what country they were from, and if they said a certain country, they were told to step out of line and that their oath ceremonies were canceled.”
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2... @gbhnews.bsky.social
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2... @gbhnews.bsky.social
Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
Trump administration is pausing naturalizations for immigrants from 19 countries.
www.wgbh.org
December 5, 2025 at 10:56 PM
“She showed up as scheduled, and when she arrived, officers were asking everyone what country they were from, and if they said a certain country, they were told to step out of line and that their oath ceremonies were canceled.”
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2... @gbhnews.bsky.social
www.wgbh.org/news/local/2... @gbhnews.bsky.social
Reposted by Matt Darling
A thorough review of the issue.
One missing part that economists don't seem to see is that since 2008 the problem isn't that NYC is expensive. It's that Ypsilanti is now also getting more expensive.
Vibecession: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
www.astralcodexten.com/p/vibecessio...
One missing part that economists don't seem to see is that since 2008 the problem isn't that NYC is expensive. It's that Ypsilanti is now also getting more expensive.
Vibecession: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
www.astralcodexten.com/p/vibecessio...
Vibecession: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
...
www.astralcodexten.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:37 AM
A thorough review of the issue.
One missing part that economists don't seem to see is that since 2008 the problem isn't that NYC is expensive. It's that Ypsilanti is now also getting more expensive.
Vibecession: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
www.astralcodexten.com/p/vibecessio...
One missing part that economists don't seem to see is that since 2008 the problem isn't that NYC is expensive. It's that Ypsilanti is now also getting more expensive.
Vibecession: Much More Than You Wanted To Know
www.astralcodexten.com/p/vibecessio...
Reposted by Matt Darling
When people lose their jobs, a host of different state laws can prevent them from being eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. One barrier is the labor dispute disqualification.
Flannery O'Rourke @nelp.org explains why states should get rid of this roadblock: s27147.pcdn.co/insights-res...
Flannery O'Rourke @nelp.org explains why states should get rid of this roadblock: s27147.pcdn.co/insights-res...
Why Lawmakers Must Remove the Labor Dispute Disqualification from Unemployment Insurance - National Employment Law Project
This brief reviews how labor dispute disqualification came about in state Unemployment Insurance laws, and why it must go.
s27147.pcdn.co
December 5, 2025 at 7:21 PM
When people lose their jobs, a host of different state laws can prevent them from being eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. One barrier is the labor dispute disqualification.
Flannery O'Rourke @nelp.org explains why states should get rid of this roadblock: s27147.pcdn.co/insights-res...
Flannery O'Rourke @nelp.org explains why states should get rid of this roadblock: s27147.pcdn.co/insights-res...