Brett Bessen
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brettbessen.bsky.social
Brett Bessen
@brettbessen.bsky.social
24 followers 64 following 1 posts
Assistant Prof @ Tec de Monterrey. Likes: Political Behavior; My Dog, Richard; Climbing Rocks.
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Reposted by Brett Bessen
cpsjournal.bsky.social
(2) "Populist Discourse and Public Support for Executive Aggrandizement in Latin America" by Brett R. Bessen

@brettbessen.bsky.social

doi-org.proxy1.library.jhu.edu/10.1177/0010...
October 8, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Reposted by Brett Bessen
adambonica.bsky.social
I’ll keep pushing this line of analysis because I’m increasingly convinced the clearest path out of this mess is for Dems to adopt a relentless anti-corruption, anti-inequality, anti-oligarchy, pro-democracy platform. The Dem leadership hasn’t realized it yet, but they’re now a reform party.
adambonica.bsky.social Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · Feb 21
How many federal workers would DOGE need to fire to make up for Musk not paying his fair share of taxes?

Answer: 677,000. That's 44% of the entire non-DoD federal workforce.

Again, this power grab is not about the budget. It’s about politics.
Title: What Costs More: Billionaire Tax Avoidance or Federal Workers? Subtitle: Musk’s tax avoidance could fund 677K federal jobs • Current Tax Rate: 3.27% • Top Federal Tax Rate: 37% Cost Comparison (Bar Chart): • Cost of Musk’s Tax Avoidance (smallest bar, purple) • Cost of Top 100 Billionaires’ Tax Avoidance (largest bar, red) • Total Federal Workforce Salaries (mid-sized bar, green) X-axis ranges from $0B to $380B, showing that billionaire tax avoidance covers a significant portion of federal workforce salaries. Impact on Federal Workforce: • Average Federal Salary: $106,000 • Jobs Musk’s Avoidance Could Fund: 677,782 (29.5% of all federal employees) Federal Workforce Breakdown (Pie Chart): • A segment representing 29.5% of the workforce highlights the share Musk’s avoided taxes could fund, labeled “Share Equal to Musk’s Avoided Taxes: 29.5%”. Sources: • Musk’s Tax Rate: ProPublica • Billionaire Gains: Bloomberg Billionaires Index (Dec. 31, 2024) • Federal Employee Data: USAFacts
February 21, 2025 at 3:38 AM
brettbessen.bsky.social
Important point: “The success of President Trump’s executive actions depends on people believing,” said Lowande. “It depends on courts, businesses, this university and other organizations acting as if the president actually has the power that he claims to.”
umisrcps.bsky.social Center for Political Studies @umisrcps.bsky.social · Feb 18
The controversial executive orders under Trump 2.0 are unique because political wins are their primary objective, and because they appear to be illegal by design, says Kenneth Lowande @umisrcps.bsky.social, an expert on executive power. Will they succeed? ➡️ myumi.ch/nyMm5 #PoliSky
What is unique about executive orders under the second Trump administration? And will they succeed? - Center for Political Studies (CPS) Blog
The EOs under the Trump administration are "unprecedented because they are illegal power grabs by design."
myumi.ch
February 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Reposted by Brett Bessen
ozerthinking.bsky.social
Hey #polisky, our new article is officially out and available at Political Research Quarterly: doi.org/10.1177/1065...

We explore how algorithmic tools used for mail in-ballot verification impacts voters' confidence in elections. See the thread below for a rundown of key findings.
ozerthinking.bsky.social Adam L. Ozer @ozerthinking.bsky.social · Jan 25
Election officials are increasingly reliant on computer algorithms to help verify mail-in ballots. But does the use of algorithmic tools impact voters’ confidence in elections? My colleagues and I explored this (and more) in our new piece for PRQ. Here are some key highlights: 1/5🧵

lnkd.in/eNr34x-E
Abstract for our newly accepted article at PRQ: Signed, Sealed, Counted? An Experimental Study of Mail-in Ballot Signature Verification
February 20, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Reposted by Brett Bessen
moyer.bsky.social
This is a pretty incredible resignation letter. From assistant US attorney with two bronze stars and who clerked for both CJ Roberts and for Kavanaugh. #polisky
nycsouthpaw.bsky.social southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · Feb 14
AUSA Hagan Scotten, former clerk for John Roberts, really put some mustard on his resignation letter.
BY EMAIL Re: United States v. Eric Adams, 24 Cr. 556 (DEH) Mr. Bove, I have received correspondence indicating that I refused your order to move to dismiss the indictment against Eric Adams without prejudice, subject to certain conditions, including the express possibility of reinstatement of the indictment. That is not exactly correct. The U.S. Attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon, never asked me to file such a motion, and I therefore never had an opportunity to refuse. But I am entirely in agreement with her decision not to do so, for the reasons stated in her February 12, 2025 letter to the Attorney General. In short, the first justification for the motion-that Damian Williams's role in the case somehow tainted a valid indictment supported by ample evidence, and pursued under four different U.S. attorneys is so weak as to be transparently pretextual. The second justification is worse. No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives. There is a tradition in public service of resigning in a last-ditch effort to head off a serious mistake. Some will view the mistake you are committing here in the light of their generally negative views of the new Administration. I do not share those views. I can even understand how a Chief Executive whose background is in business and politics might see the contemplated dismissal-with-leverage as a good, if distasteful, deal. But any assistant U.S. attorney would know much i i red oril, in this ily. wing the perset arthro he Reside is ving to, give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me. Please consider this my resignation. It has been an honor to serve as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York. Yours truly, Hagan Scotten Assistant United States Att…
February 14, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Reposted by Brett Bessen
matthewcollins.bsky.social
Have/nearly have a PhD?
≤7 years post-doc experience?
Working outside UK?
Not a UK citizen?

BA & Royal Society offering 2-yr Fellowships for early career researchers to come to the UK!
💷 Includes:
Research expenses £12k
Relocation up to £8k
🗓️ Deadline: Mar 18, 2025 (17:00 GMT)
#ResearchFunding
International Fellowships 2025
The International Fellowships Programme enables researchers to work for two years at a UK institution with the aim of building a globally connected, mobile research and innovation workforce.
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk
February 9, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Reposted by Brett Bessen
davidjbier.bsky.social
Unreal. The US government is dumping Asian and African families and children in random countries that they have no connection to. Dumping, not "deporting." Deportation implies the return of a person to their home country. This is treating people like toxic waste.
www.cbsnews.com/news/us-depo...
February 14, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Reposted by Brett Bessen
rmkubinec.bsky.social
You might be wondering... if democracy is under threat, shouldn't somebody be studying that? 🤔

So, yes... 👋. We're called *comparative political scientists.*

We research 🔎 why countries become democracies (or dictatorships 🤢) all over the 🌎️.

Buckle up 🚔️ !

It's time for a college class in one 🧵👇️
January 25, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Reposted by Brett Bessen
nuffieldlibrary.bsky.social
Governing in the face of a global crisis: When do voters punish and reward incumbent governments?
doi.org/10.1073/pnas...
Paper in @pnas.org by @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social Fellow Raymond M. Duch, Peter Loewen, Thomas S. Robinson and Alexei Zakharov #PoliSky #NuffSky
doi.org
January 24, 2025 at 10:50 AM
Reposted by Brett Bessen
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Good point here by @smotus.bsky.social - strange deference to Trump's unconstitutional move on birthright citizenship versus Biden's toothless move on the ERA smotus.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-...

The point isn't the headlines, exactly - it's the way elites are granting deference to Trump
January 23, 2025 at 4:07 PM