@testotestotesto.bsky.social
Preeminent center-right commentator of Bluesky.
Reposted
Oh people do 100% expect you’ll paper every statement with a million caveats and to-be-sures that continually flatter their preexisting beliefs, and will get absolutely furious when you fail to do so, often not because you said they were wrong but because you didn’t reassure them they were right.
it is underestimated, I think, how much the "not disclaimering all over the place" is actually a driving reason why so many people hate Will Stancil.
the disclaimering is, more than anything, a shibboleth (i.e. a signal that you're in the right group)
people see no disclaimering, they go ballistic
the disclaimering is, more than anything, a shibboleth (i.e. a signal that you're in the right group)
people see no disclaimering, they go ballistic
My favorite thing is the people saying “You worded it badly,” because apparently it is your responsibility to disclaim every potential bad-faith reading by people who are absolutely champing at the bit to read you in bad faith.
December 21, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Oh people do 100% expect you’ll paper every statement with a million caveats and to-be-sures that continually flatter their preexisting beliefs, and will get absolutely furious when you fail to do so, often not because you said they were wrong but because you didn’t reassure them they were right.
Does anyone have an example of governance or service quality improving after a city agrees to collective bargaining?
Utah repeals ban on collective bargaining for teachers, firefighters and police unions
Utah repeals ban on collective bargaining for teachers, firefighters and police unions
Utah repeals ban on collective bargaining for teachers, firefighters and police unions
www.independent.co.uk
December 13, 2025 at 3:15 AM
Does anyone have an example of governance or service quality improving after a city agrees to collective bargaining?
If USPS offers such an inherently high value service that can't be replicated more efficiently by the private sector then surely it would be fine to allow UPS and Fedex entry into the letter-mail/mailbox market, no?
The USPS posting a NINE BILLION DOLLAR LOSS!!! sounds terrible. Certainly worse than if you said "USPS costs thirty dollars per person per year" even though that means the same thing and more accurately describes a government service
December 5, 2025 at 8:31 PM
If USPS offers such an inherently high value service that can't be replicated more efficiently by the private sector then surely it would be fine to allow UPS and Fedex entry into the letter-mail/mailbox market, no?
Reposted
Why are many U.S. cities building less? Why have they insisted on a "thicket" of regulations that make housing hard to build?
In a new #EconJMP with Beau Bressler (beaubressler.github.io), we study how much of the answer lies with a forgotten federal program that taught cities to restrict growth
In a new #EconJMP with Beau Bressler (beaubressler.github.io), we study how much of the answer lies with a forgotten federal program that taught cities to restrict growth
November 26, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Why are many U.S. cities building less? Why have they insisted on a "thicket" of regulations that make housing hard to build?
In a new #EconJMP with Beau Bressler (beaubressler.github.io), we study how much of the answer lies with a forgotten federal program that taught cities to restrict growth
In a new #EconJMP with Beau Bressler (beaubressler.github.io), we study how much of the answer lies with a forgotten federal program that taught cities to restrict growth
Reposted
It’s a universal health care program,
Michael, how much can it cost? $100?
Michael, how much can it cost? $100?
December 3, 2025 at 6:37 PM
It’s a universal health care program,
Michael, how much can it cost? $100?
Michael, how much can it cost? $100?
Bylaws are not outcomes. SOEs with public interest mandates suffer from worse principal-agent costs since it explodes the space for managerial discretion. The reason we ditched this paradigm is because "maximize shareholder value" is far more effective at minimizing agency costs than the alternative
There's another option to the private provision/regulatory oversight model that investor-owned utilities invented decades ago: public power. And a growing number of activists are trying to put that into practice across the country. prospect.org/2025/12/03/l...
December 3, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Bylaws are not outcomes. SOEs with public interest mandates suffer from worse principal-agent costs since it explodes the space for managerial discretion. The reason we ditched this paradigm is because "maximize shareholder value" is far more effective at minimizing agency costs than the alternative
If you're a family of two at median household income (~$83k), which state offers a better value proposition in terms of cost of living: California or Texas? Oregon or Utah? Illinois or Indiana?
That, not the culture war, is why the GOP has the mandate of heaven in these states.
That, not the culture war, is why the GOP has the mandate of heaven in these states.
Independent, pro-worker, class warrior candidates can absolutely beat Republicans in red states if they are not tainted by the Democratic Party brand. The labor movement can make this happen systematically.
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/how-to-win...
www.hamiltonnolan.com/p/how-to-win...
How to Win Red States With a Labor Party
We can take political power without asking Democrats for it.
www.hamiltonnolan.com
December 1, 2025 at 6:13 AM
If you're a family of two at median household income (~$83k), which state offers a better value proposition in terms of cost of living: California or Texas? Oregon or Utah? Illinois or Indiana?
That, not the culture war, is why the GOP has the mandate of heaven in these states.
That, not the culture war, is why the GOP has the mandate of heaven in these states.
This holiday season we give thanks to private equity, high-frequency trading firms, health insurance companies, big pharma, real estate developers, big box retail chains, defense contractors, and of course our nation's thriving petrochemical refining industry.
November 29, 2025 at 3:01 PM
This holiday season we give thanks to private equity, high-frequency trading firms, health insurance companies, big pharma, real estate developers, big box retail chains, defense contractors, and of course our nation's thriving petrochemical refining industry.
Reposted
Giant utility refuses to build out capacity to address growth, instead collects greater fees at lower costs until things come to a head; blames bogeyman. News at 11
big late breaking news: the market monitor for the largest energy grid in the u.s., covering much of the midwest and mid-atlantic, has called to block new data centers connections to the grid, saying current course of growth assures regular blackouts
No more PJM data centers unless they can be reliably served: market monitor
The PJM Interconnection’s market monitor urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to rule that large data centers can only come online if the grid operator can still meet reliability metrics.
www.utilitydive.com
November 27, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Giant utility refuses to build out capacity to address growth, instead collects greater fees at lower costs until things come to a head; blames bogeyman. News at 11
The fact that basically every new popular consumer-facing product/service encounters a baseless moral panic from the left is pretty bearish for Abundance Dems in blue states. Colorado and (for local political economy reasons) California are partial exceptions.
it's normatively bad in many ways and also clearly useful for millions of people. it can run on a laptop, thinking that it's going away is cope. gotta engage with the world at it is.
this is a bluesky bubble opinion. 800M+ people use chatgpt every week. I hate Facebook and Instagram and I wish they didn’t exist, but 3B and 2B people use them every month, respectively. it’s very hard to picture a mass or even a niche left backlash against them
November 26, 2025 at 7:52 PM
The fact that basically every new popular consumer-facing product/service encounters a baseless moral panic from the left is pretty bearish for Abundance Dems in blue states. Colorado and (for local political economy reasons) California are partial exceptions.
Like all tools there will be good and bad uses of it.
I've found Claude to be a great research tool since it can annotate the output with links to sources for double-checking. It's also great for red teaming ideas or Socratic dialogues if you want to see where you have knowledge gaps.
I've found Claude to be a great research tool since it can annotate the output with links to sources for double-checking. It's also great for red teaming ideas or Socratic dialogues if you want to see where you have knowledge gaps.
this is a bluesky bubble opinion. 800M+ people use chatgpt every week. I hate Facebook and Instagram and I wish they didn’t exist, but 3B and 2B people use them every month, respectively. it’s very hard to picture a mass or even a niche left backlash against them
i think tech and ai positive people are going to be in for a big shock when anti tech and anti ai sentiment becomes a major part of leftwing politics going forward especially as datacenters continue to destroy communities and raise electricity bills
November 26, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Like all tools there will be good and bad uses of it.
I've found Claude to be a great research tool since it can annotate the output with links to sources for double-checking. It's also great for red teaming ideas or Socratic dialogues if you want to see where you have knowledge gaps.
I've found Claude to be a great research tool since it can annotate the output with links to sources for double-checking. It's also great for red teaming ideas or Socratic dialogues if you want to see where you have knowledge gaps.
The Sunbelt being a desirable place to live that on average has higher growth, lower consumer prices, and lower unemployment than the coasts is something that blue states are in complete denial about. They're doing little to compete & just coasting on legacy network effects.
I think more important politically (working on a paper about this now!) is that affordability crises are mostly confined to blue states. The fastest growing American cities are in the South and young people are having a completely different experience with housing down there.
Okay this one irritates me so I’m gonna say something! I have never ever said “Move to Cincinnati.” I have just insist that we need to recognize that MOST AMERICANS live in places like Cincinnati or Minneapolis, not NYC, which is important if you’re going to talk about conditions in America.
November 25, 2025 at 9:22 PM
The Sunbelt being a desirable place to live that on average has higher growth, lower consumer prices, and lower unemployment than the coasts is something that blue states are in complete denial about. They're doing little to compete & just coasting on legacy network effects.
We can permanently end populism with a few simple tricks:
-NGDP level targeting
-Stronger equity reqs at banks (like Calomiris's proposal)
-Replace implicit guarantee & MID with means-tested downpayment assistance
-Swiss debt brake (w/ some tweaks)
-Open list PR in the House
-NGDP level targeting
-Stronger equity reqs at banks (like Calomiris's proposal)
-Replace implicit guarantee & MID with means-tested downpayment assistance
-Swiss debt brake (w/ some tweaks)
-Open list PR in the House
One explanation for economic populism in the US is the recurring cycle of bubbles and bailouts that happens without any democratic input
November 25, 2025 at 8:50 PM
We can permanently end populism with a few simple tricks:
-NGDP level targeting
-Stronger equity reqs at banks (like Calomiris's proposal)
-Replace implicit guarantee & MID with means-tested downpayment assistance
-Swiss debt brake (w/ some tweaks)
-Open list PR in the House
-NGDP level targeting
-Stronger equity reqs at banks (like Calomiris's proposal)
-Replace implicit guarantee & MID with means-tested downpayment assistance
-Swiss debt brake (w/ some tweaks)
-Open list PR in the House
One thing I wish people realized is that you need some buy-in from private business to build a durable political coalition. The New Deal Dems were fairly "business-friendly".
Facile anti-capitalism prevents building alliances with natural allies like the renewable industry
Facile anti-capitalism prevents building alliances with natural allies like the renewable industry
Anti-solar NIMBYs aren't beating the accusations of being pretty dim bulbs. "Extracting from the sky" is a good one
November 23, 2025 at 7:42 PM
One thing I wish people realized is that you need some buy-in from private business to build a durable political coalition. The New Deal Dems were fairly "business-friendly".
Facile anti-capitalism prevents building alliances with natural allies like the renewable industry
Facile anti-capitalism prevents building alliances with natural allies like the renewable industry
Seems relevant that vast majority of the targets in the Pakistani drone war were members of the Taliban, not random Pakistani civilians.
Also the rise of precision guided munitions has significantly reduced collateral damage from bombing campaigns. Thank your local defense contractor!
Also the rise of precision guided munitions has significantly reduced collateral damage from bombing campaigns. Thank your local defense contractor!
“Even if true, how is Rainbow B-52 not infinitely preferable?”
Excuse me? Am I, a Pakistani, supposed to be grateful for all the drones and bombs that were used to massacre people in my homeland because it was done under the auspices of a black president and the dems?!
I’m actually speechless.
Excuse me? Am I, a Pakistani, supposed to be grateful for all the drones and bombs that were used to massacre people in my homeland because it was done under the auspices of a black president and the dems?!
I’m actually speechless.
I hate this sort of meme.
“The only difference between the parties is whether the power to destroy human civilization rests in the hands of leaders who think gays, women, and black people should have their rights acknowledged.”
Even if true, how is Rainbow B-52 not infinitely preferable?
“The only difference between the parties is whether the power to destroy human civilization rests in the hands of leaders who think gays, women, and black people should have their rights acknowledged.”
Even if true, how is Rainbow B-52 not infinitely preferable?
November 21, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Seems relevant that vast majority of the targets in the Pakistani drone war were members of the Taliban, not random Pakistani civilians.
Also the rise of precision guided munitions has significantly reduced collateral damage from bombing campaigns. Thank your local defense contractor!
Also the rise of precision guided munitions has significantly reduced collateral damage from bombing campaigns. Thank your local defense contractor!
The decline of progressive influence in a range of institutions since 2020.
Granted most capital-i Institutions are still fairly liberal due to education polarization but they are significantly less wacky about it compared to 5 years ago.
Granted most capital-i Institutions are still fairly liberal due to education polarization but they are significantly less wacky about it compared to 5 years ago.
what is “the wokelash?”
An underrated reason for the wokelash is that lefty subcultures are influenced by continental philosophy, which has an authoritarian intellectual culture.
Reflexive dismissiveness towards debate, slimy ad homs (see below), pointless obscurantism, refusal to summarize/paraphrase key concepts
Reflexive dismissiveness towards debate, slimy ad homs (see below), pointless obscurantism, refusal to summarize/paraphrase key concepts
November 19, 2025 at 8:37 PM
The decline of progressive influence in a range of institutions since 2020.
Granted most capital-i Institutions are still fairly liberal due to education polarization but they are significantly less wacky about it compared to 5 years ago.
Granted most capital-i Institutions are still fairly liberal due to education polarization but they are significantly less wacky about it compared to 5 years ago.
An underrated reason for the wokelash is that lefty subcultures are influenced by continental philosophy, which has an authoritarian intellectual culture.
Reflexive dismissiveness towards debate, slimy ad homs (see below), pointless obscurantism, refusal to summarize/paraphrase key concepts
Reflexive dismissiveness towards debate, slimy ad homs (see below), pointless obscurantism, refusal to summarize/paraphrase key concepts
people like to make fun of continental philosophy for stuff like this but i’d take it 100000 times over analytic philosophy’s “i have a mathematical proof that women be crazy”
k
November 19, 2025 at 1:45 PM
An underrated reason for the wokelash is that lefty subcultures are influenced by continental philosophy, which has an authoritarian intellectual culture.
Reflexive dismissiveness towards debate, slimy ad homs (see below), pointless obscurantism, refusal to summarize/paraphrase key concepts
Reflexive dismissiveness towards debate, slimy ad homs (see below), pointless obscurantism, refusal to summarize/paraphrase key concepts
Electoral strategy is crowding out discussions on governance, which are more important.
Dems can 100% win based on thermostatic backlash to Trump. The problem is when the hot potato of negative economic sentiment lands in their lap and One Simple Trick lefty populism doesn't work.
Dems can 100% win based on thermostatic backlash to Trump. The problem is when the hot potato of negative economic sentiment lands in their lap and One Simple Trick lefty populism doesn't work.
this is just a wild thing to tweet a week after democrats won a statewide in Georgia by 20 points. completely divorced from the current electoral environment
November 18, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Electoral strategy is crowding out discussions on governance, which are more important.
Dems can 100% win based on thermostatic backlash to Trump. The problem is when the hot potato of negative economic sentiment lands in their lap and One Simple Trick lefty populism doesn't work.
Dems can 100% win based on thermostatic backlash to Trump. The problem is when the hot potato of negative economic sentiment lands in their lap and One Simple Trick lefty populism doesn't work.
My RSS feed is like Cato, FAI, R Street, Manhattan Institute, Niskanen, FT, National Affairs, IFP, BTI, etc and I have never voted Republican in any election ever
A true Scott Sumner Democrat lol
A true Scott Sumner Democrat lol
the problem here is that republicans dont read
November 17, 2025 at 5:50 PM
My RSS feed is like Cato, FAI, R Street, Manhattan Institute, Niskanen, FT, National Affairs, IFP, BTI, etc and I have never voted Republican in any election ever
A true Scott Sumner Democrat lol
A true Scott Sumner Democrat lol
IME people who spend a lot of time working on improving public sector services often become more pro-free market. A lack of competitive pressure makes for poor governance incentives
There's a reason why lefty "nationalize everything" thinktanks are pretty light on details in their white papers
There's a reason why lefty "nationalize everything" thinktanks are pretty light on details in their white papers
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed 4 years ago. In new research @urbaninstitute.bsky.social we study its effects.
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
Federal Infrastructure Spending on Transportation, Four Years after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is up for reauthorization in 2026. New analysis shows that the act increased spending on transportation infrastructure, but…
www.urban.org
November 16, 2025 at 5:34 PM
IME people who spend a lot of time working on improving public sector services often become more pro-free market. A lack of competitive pressure makes for poor governance incentives
There's a reason why lefty "nationalize everything" thinktanks are pretty light on details in their white papers
There's a reason why lefty "nationalize everything" thinktanks are pretty light on details in their white papers
The main problem is that health insurance contracts have a duration of 12 months. Renewal is annoyingly frequent & doesn't align incentives towards high value medicine.
German-style long term health insurance contracts + bundling w/ life insurance would make the exchanges more attractive IMO
German-style long term health insurance contracts + bundling w/ life insurance would make the exchanges more attractive IMO
Dr. Oz is clearly a moron who, incredibly, doesn't understand anything about how the insurance system works.
But also: Conservatives genuinely believe that people want to spend endless hours "choosing the insurance that's best for them." They don't. They want good, secure health care. It's simple.
But also: Conservatives genuinely believe that people want to spend endless hours "choosing the insurance that's best for them." They don't. They want good, secure health care. It's simple.
Dr Oz: "If you had a check in the mail, you could buy the insurance you thought was best for you"
November 16, 2025 at 4:45 PM
The main problem is that health insurance contracts have a duration of 12 months. Renewal is annoyingly frequent & doesn't align incentives towards high value medicine.
German-style long term health insurance contracts + bundling w/ life insurance would make the exchanges more attractive IMO
German-style long term health insurance contracts + bundling w/ life insurance would make the exchanges more attractive IMO
Reposted
Easily the most counterproductive belief most people left of center hold is that nobody could sincerely hold a bad preference
I understand why a lot of white liberals are like, fuck the south, because they think about the people in power who are mostly white conservatives. But that is only because of Jim Crow, voter suppression, a lack of real funding for Dems there
November 16, 2025 at 1:25 AM
Easily the most counterproductive belief most people left of center hold is that nobody could sincerely hold a bad preference
Reposted
I think a lot of people really struggle to come to terms with the fact that there are genuinely some problems that don’t have great solutions, only least bad ones.
November 15, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I think a lot of people really struggle to come to terms with the fact that there are genuinely some problems that don’t have great solutions, only least bad ones.
Better alternative to abolition: prison choice
-Prisoners choose which prison they go to, oversubscribed ones get a lottery
-Private prisons can enter the market
-Private prisons are paid a fixed amount per prison sentence so they're incentivized towards rehab/early release
-Penalty for recidivism
-Prisoners choose which prison they go to, oversubscribed ones get a lottery
-Private prisons can enter the market
-Private prisons are paid a fixed amount per prison sentence so they're incentivized towards rehab/early release
-Penalty for recidivism
I‘m tired of being nice about this; “abolitionism” has had years to develop a non-idiot policy program and the best they’ve come up with is ”murder without even the pretense of juridical process.” And I am not nut-picking; this is all over abolitionist writing.
November 15, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Better alternative to abolition: prison choice
-Prisoners choose which prison they go to, oversubscribed ones get a lottery
-Private prisons can enter the market
-Private prisons are paid a fixed amount per prison sentence so they're incentivized towards rehab/early release
-Penalty for recidivism
-Prisoners choose which prison they go to, oversubscribed ones get a lottery
-Private prisons can enter the market
-Private prisons are paid a fixed amount per prison sentence so they're incentivized towards rehab/early release
-Penalty for recidivism