Aaron Sojourner
banner
aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner
@aaronsojourner.org

Labor econ @upjohninstitute.bsky.social & @IZA.org. Formerly senior economist for labor at White House CEA, UMinn prof, union organizer, bike courier, house painter, dishwasher... Minneapolis. Views mine.

aaronsojourner.org

Be kind • Work hard • Have fun .. more

Aaron Sojourner is an American economist and senior researcher at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. He was formerly an associate professor of economics at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and senior economist for the Council of Economic Advisers. His work has been widely covered by the media, particularly on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market in the United States. .. more

Economics 31%
Education 27%
Pinned
For Bluesky-Curious Econ Lovers, a Quick Start guide to plugging into the economics community here.

It aims to lower the costs & boost the benefits for folks to engage here.

If it seems useful, please share it here & especially on X.
📉📈 #️⃣#️⃣
aaronsojourner.org/for-bluesky-...
For Bluesky-Curious Econ Lovers - Aaron Sojourner
This Quick Start guide aims to help econ lovers easily join Bluesky’s growing economics community. The Bluesky User FAQ covers generic basics, like how to start an account. This guide orients you to e...
aaronsojourner.org

Do people have theories about why co-partisans in Congress haven't forced Trump to resign tho they forced Nixon to? What changed?

New reporting says Don Jr. directly facilitated the pardon of a crypto whale who had promoted the Trump's family crypto. Jr. brought the pardon lawyer to the White House, and introduced him directly to his Dad. Pardon occurred right after. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/pardon-the...
All of the money that changed hands in the Teapot Dome scandal totaled less than $10 million after adjusting for inflation, and it was considered so corrupt we still teach it in high school government classes a century later.
Corruption so pungent, it wafts right off the page:

Lobbyists who do pardon deals “say their going rate is $1 million. Pardon-seekers have offered some lobbyists close to the president success fees of as much as $6 million if they can close the deal.”

Gift link www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Inside the New Fast Track to a Presidential Pardon
Even some of the president’s closest advisers have been surprised by a number of the recent series of pardons.
www.wsj.com

Minnesota biking misses you too

Very kind
New reporting says Don Jr. directly facilitated the pardon of a crypto whale who had promoted the Trump's family crypto. Jr. brought the pardon lawyer to the White House, and introduced him directly to his Dad. Pardon occurred right after. donmoynihan.substack.com/p/pardon-the...

A bright cardinal & a bald eagle enjoying a meal from walk today.

Minnesota intensifies.

A super Minnesota story: winter, lakes, fun, biking, public goods, community, science, care, safety.
www.startribune.com/minneapolis-...
This all-seasons biker tracks Minneapolis Chain of Lakes’ ice depths for other winter-hardy folks
Steven Glasford is popular on Reddit for his ice depth measurements on Minneapolis’ Bde Maka Ska, Isles, Harriet and Cedar lakes.
www.startribune.com
Again, it is utterly shameful & demonstrates the total failure of all of our political institutions that threatening our closest NATO allies with territorial conquest has not immediately ended this presidency.
Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.
They’re again advocating against Denmark when it comes to Greenland
Denmark lost more troops per capita in the post 9/11 war on Afghanistan. Saying they “are not a good ally” because they won’t surrender their territories to the US is lunacy. We are betraying our allies to satisfy the whims of a would-be Emperor for whom the US is not enough.
They’re again advocating against Denmark when it comes to Greenland

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

A politician interested in telling the truth to us, the American people, would highlight to the public that we already have an ironclad and tested military institution to defend Greenland from incursion by Putin or anyone else.

It’s called NATO. Invading our NATO ally would eviscerate NATO.

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

"Nathaniel Raymond, a public health scholar and the executive director of the lab, estimates that between 30,000 and 100,000 people may have been killed in six weeks, with 60,000 as a plausible midpoint."
Opinion | This Is What the Murder of a Whole City Looks Like
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

But here's the problem: Schools most commonly pair two inexperienced teachers together.

Only highly experienced partners (16+ years) produce lasting benefits. Organizations are missing opportunities to accelerate skill development through strategic pairing.
Main result: Teachers paired with highly experienced special ed colleagues (16+ years) improve by 0.10 standard deviations—and this persists after returning to solo teaching.

Partners with 0-7 or 8-15 years show no lasting benefit. The experience level matters.
The Wisconsin component of the analysis here is revealing. Evidence is consistent with DOGE strategically delaying contract terminations in WI until after the 2025 state Supreme Court elections to mitigate electoral risk.

War on Christmas.
bsky.app/profile/long...
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.

Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.

"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.

"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.

Yakima, Washington

"Efficiency" has many definitions.

In DOGE's case, it is defined as lower taxes on the wealthy & more government contracts in their pockets.

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

The Trump admin is targeting people who combat disinformation and hate online because the Trump admin is filled with people devoted to spreading disinformation and hate online (the president included). www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec...
US judge blocks Trump administration from deporting UK anti-disinformation campaigner
Imran Ahmed of Center for Countering Digital Hate files complaint against senior Trump allies
www.theguardian.com

And USA manufacturing employment down 58,000 since then too

Celebration of neoliberal policy went over fine.
bsky.app/profile/aaro...
A win for neoliberal policy
bsky.app/profile/mark...
Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan…

* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M

So YES this has been a huge success.

bsky.app Bluesky @bsky.app · Nov 19
Also new in today's v1.110 release:

We’ve redesigned the “who can reply” settings to make them clearer and easier to use. You can also now save your choices as the default for future posts, giving you easier control over the conversations you start.

Agree with Lukas. I don't feel much toxicity here. I am quick to block for it.

Difference is not in presence/absence of toxic accounts but the presence of better tools to cultivate the experience you want -- feeds, lists, strong block, comment controls, detach quote...
Two stories side by side in WashPost

What Would Jesus Do?
DOGE was A LOT less likely to cancel contracts from companies that donated money to Republicans than companies that donated to Democrats.

I would care very much. Stop being hateful. Merry Christmas.

Contributing good poasting to X adds value to network. Its owner is bending it to promote white supremacist ideology. Its power is harmful to many people & threatening to me. I'd rather invest in a community built on a platform with better aims. Many don't share this analysis, tho some do. More will
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.

Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.

"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.

"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.

Yakima, Washington