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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · 2d

This is a little far left for my left-of-centerish views. I have a friend who has long run a small apartment building, fairly as far as I can tell and with moderate but not excessive profit. I get the idea he finds it quite a demanding job to do it right.

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · 4d

Administration's immigration policy is disrupting farm labor market. This piece highlights the fact that no one seems to be thinking this through carefully. www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Trump administration says immigration enforcement threatens higher food prices

U.S. farmers face labor shortages and potential food price hikes due to Trump’s immigration policy, the administration acknowledged in a Federal Registry document.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · 5d

From @niskanencenter.bsky.social , a potentially powerful tool to ease the nationwide housing shortage. www.niskanencenter.org/home-field-a...

HOME field advantage: Leveraging HUD dollars to build more housing - Niskanen Center

This proposal represents the single biggest action HUD could take on its own to increase housing supply and open the possibility to substantially address the U.S. housing affordability crisis.

www.niskanencenter.org

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · 8d

Sometimes we have to say "no." This yes-no-yes approach makes it easier to do without unnecessary antagonism. www.talkmarkets.com/content/sayi...

Saying No To Empower Your Yes: Practical Ways To Disagree Without Picking A Fight

By prefacing a principled

www.talkmarkets.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · 22d

2/2 To be a little nuanced, it is not that I'm saying students themselves are making a mistake to choose engineering over philosophy. It's rather that I'm saddened that employers don't realize that humanities majors have a lot to offer their firms. Not to mention what they have to offer as citizens.

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · 22d

1/2 Alarmed by the decrease in college enrollment? Most of the drop is in low-quality schools, says @prestoncooper93.bsky.social . Although humanities majors like me will be saddened by erosion of deeper learning in favor of career-boosting majors. prestoncooper93.substack.com/p/why-the-co...

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · 28d

It's far too soon to know the full effects of the Administration's war on immigration. But one thing is already clear: It isn't creating jobs www.wsj.com/opinion/trum...

Opinion | Trump Secured the Border, So Where Are the Jobs?

There’s little evidence that less immigration means more opportunities for Americans to work.

www.wsj.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Sep 11

Forget about meaningless year-on-year inflation. What's important is what is happening now. August CPI inflation was 4.5 percent compounded annual rate -- and rising fast.

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 26

This California bill promotes more housing near transit hubs. Lists arguments for and against. Looks to me that the listed arguments against are things that make me like it better. www.slowboring.com/p/breaking-d...

Breaking down State Senate Bill 79

California debates a major transit-oriented housing reform

www.slowboring.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 26

Very good. Let's hope more letters are in the works.

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 25

Those of us in the academic world write about "state capacity." Sometimes that term is just too wonky for those who live on planet Earth. Here is a case study that says exactly what "state capacity" means in that real world. (Hat-tip to @pahlkadot.bsky.social ) www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025...

FEMA staff warn Trump officials’ actions risk a Katrina-level disaster

About 180 FEMA employees, many of them anonymous, signed a letter to Congress arguing that agency leadership has hindered the ability to effectively manage emergencies.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 23

"President says he’ll decide later “whose fault it is” that Moscow and Kyiv have not moved closer to end the war." (If he hasn't figured that out yet, things don't look good.) wapo.st/3JvvRrN

Frustrated, Trump signals pause in his Ukraine peace effort

The president, who had said a deal to end the war could be reached soon, expressed frustration over lack of progress and signaled he would pause his efforts.

wapo.st

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 23

IMO sustainability depends in large part on oil prices and any impediments to volume of oil exports.

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 22

By some reports, Russia is "winning" the war in Ukraine. However, the cost to its economy is enormous. meduza.io/en/feature/2...

As the Kremlin stalls on peace talks, Russia’s economy shows mounting strain — Meduza

The wartime mobilization of Russia’s economy has drained its reserves, though the country has so far avoided slipping into a recession. Civilian industries are stagnating or already shrinking, while o...

meduza.io

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 14

@pkrugman.bsky.social quotes Arendt: "Totalitarianism in power invariably replaces all first-rate talents, regardless of their sympathies, with those crackpots and fools whose lack of intelligence and creativity is still the best guarantee of their loyalty." paulkrugman.substack.com/p/hackificat...

Hackification

Arendt’s Law comes for economic data

paulkrugman.substack.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 14

Utilities often keep coal plants online even when they are not the cheapest source of power. Trump rules are making this problem worse. We could have a win-win (cut electricity prices AND cut emissions) if we could thwart this coal-friendly practice. www.volts.wtf/p/trumps-lat...

Trump's latest attempt to save coal

Frank Rambo joins me to discuss the multi-billion-dollar utility practice of running expensive coal plants and the Trump administration's efforts to prop them up.

www.volts.wtf

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 12

What to expect in Alaska? “The ideal scenario for Putin would be to divorce the issue of relations with America from the issue of Ukraine, hoping that other political and economic matters would make Ukraine of little relevance to Trump.” www.wsj.com/world/russia...

Russia Has High Hopes for Trump-Putin Summit. Peace Isn’t One of Them.

The meeting represents a victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who seeks to end international isolation and separate Russian ties with the U.S. from the fate of Ukraine.

www.wsj.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 11

Looks much like Bukele's playbook. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump readies federal moves on D.C. crime, takes over D.C. police

The president is planning to flex his law enforcement power over Washington, declaring that he would clear the city of homeless people and crack down on crime.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 2

I, for one, am all for cutting government waste. Why, then, is the government becoming a major perpetrator of waste? www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Vast supplies of U.S. aid remain stranded, despite State Department promises

More than 60,000 metric tons of food have languished in warehouses in the United States and around the world — with expiration dates nearing on some items.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Aug 1

You can't fight the culture wars and make government more efficient at the same time. The see-saw battle over paper vs. plastic straws is a case in point, says @gabemenchaca.bsky.social of @niskanencenter.bsky.social www.eatingpolicy.com/p/grasping-a...

Grasping at (Paper) Straws

You can have government efficiency or wage the culture war, but not both at once

www.eatingpolicy.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Jul 24

Can someone explain why this is different from a cybercriminal who steals your data and then promises to give it back in return for a payment? www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

White House touts deal with Columbia as critics decry ‘chilling’ precedent

Education lawyers and advocates said Columbia’s deal with the White House was a potentially dangerous government intrusion into higher education.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Jul 23

@meduza.io reports a bizarre trend among Russian elites toward beards, long hair for men, and traditional "patriotic" dress meduza.io/en/feature/2...

Dressing the part In wartime Russia, political elites are literally wearing their patriotism on their sleeves — Meduza

Since launching its full-scale war against Ukraine, the Kremlin has demanded total loyalty from government officials. In response, many in the country’s political elite have remade their public image ...

meduza.io

Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Jul 23

2/2 Here is a full explanation of the math behind Krugman's comment: www.niskanencenter.org/why-a-war-on...

Why a war on the trade deficit won’t reindustrialize America - Niskanen Center

President Donald Trump and his team are out to reindustrialize America. Our steelworkers and auto workers, the president says, have “watched in anguish” as “foreign cheaters have ransacked our factori...

www.niskanencenter.org

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Jul 23

1/2 @pkrugman.bsky.social explains here why Trump's Japan trade deal, if fully implemented, will increase rather than decrease the US trade deficit. The key is the simple equation US Trade Deficit = Net Foreign Investment to US. ... open.substack.com/pub/paulkrug...

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Ed Dolan @dolanecon.bsky.social · Jul 15

2/2 Here is why www.milkenreview.org/articles/con...

Confused About Inflation? Check Your Dashboard!

www.milkenreview.org

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