James A. Robichaux
@jamesrobichaux.bsky.social
I am working to purge the dishonest and destructive mythologies of Monetarism and taxpayerism from people's brains.
You can read my essays on those subjects here:
https://jamesarobichaux.substack.com/
You can read my essays on those subjects here:
https://jamesarobichaux.substack.com/
This shame-inducing weaponized gratitude is the true ugly purpose of "taxpayer" mythology and the Tax-To-Spend moral framework.
The point is to shame powerless and marginalized people into not demanding justice, because justice is deemed to come from "other people's money".
The point is to shame powerless and marginalized people into not demanding justice, because justice is deemed to come from "other people's money".
November 28, 2025 at 1:39 PM
This shame-inducing weaponized gratitude is the true ugly purpose of "taxpayer" mythology and the Tax-To-Spend moral framework.
The point is to shame powerless and marginalized people into not demanding justice, because justice is deemed to come from "other people's money".
The point is to shame powerless and marginalized people into not demanding justice, because justice is deemed to come from "other people's money".
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
This is significant. The spell is breaking.
November 15, 2025 at 5:35 AM
This is significant. The spell is breaking.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Green Card Interviews End in Handcuffs for Spouses of U.S. Citizens
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:40 PM
I need everybody to read this and understand what’s going on. These are spouses of US citizens in the country legally. They have entry clearance and green cards, they’ve passed background checks and have no criminal records. ICE is taking them anyway.
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Gift link:
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/26/u...
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
New York Magazine comes out of this looking very bad, and I say that as a subscriber who genuinely likes the pub.
While there are often some ethical issues with making free PDFs of paywalled content, in this case it seems entirely justifiable, given the author, the subject, and the journalistic imperative to provide the widest possible audience for the verb "Michael Wolffed"
gofile.io/d/Ap4v35
gofile.io/d/Ap4v35
November 26, 2025 at 11:53 PM
New York Magazine comes out of this looking very bad, and I say that as a subscriber who genuinely likes the pub.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
People will die, and are currently dying, because RFK was granted one of the most powerful megaphones in the country. Two people who could have thrown barriers in front of his climb decided not to; there's a sex scandal here but it is not the biggest scandal.
November 26, 2025 at 11:30 PM
People will die, and are currently dying, because RFK was granted one of the most powerful megaphones in the country. Two people who could have thrown barriers in front of his climb decided not to; there's a sex scandal here but it is not the biggest scandal.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
god I hope Olivia Nuzzi never gets paid even one more cent by a single publication for the rest of her life
November 26, 2025 at 10:29 PM
god I hope Olivia Nuzzi never gets paid even one more cent by a single publication for the rest of her life
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
Huge news today, if you missed it; Chris Duncan was released from Louisiana prison after being wrongfully convicted for nearly three decades.
@psfrench.bsky.social wrote this devastating but important read this spring on Louisiana’s rush to kill Jim despite junk science.
@psfrench.bsky.social wrote this devastating but important read this spring on Louisiana’s rush to kill Jim despite junk science.
The Human Cost of Jeff Landry’s Drive to Resume Executions - Bolts
Chris Duncan’s death sentence—built on the testimony of two discredited doctors—illustrates just how faulty the system can be.
boltsmag.org
November 27, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Huge news today, if you missed it; Chris Duncan was released from Louisiana prison after being wrongfully convicted for nearly three decades.
@psfrench.bsky.social wrote this devastating but important read this spring on Louisiana’s rush to kill Jim despite junk science.
@psfrench.bsky.social wrote this devastating but important read this spring on Louisiana’s rush to kill Jim despite junk science.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
With a few quibbles, this neatly lays out what I've said about the us economy for a while - it is a high wage, high cost, high risk economy. There are people there earning 2x their European equivalents who are three missed paychecks away from absolute financial ruin.
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 10:32 AM
With a few quibbles, this neatly lays out what I've said about the us economy for a while - it is a high wage, high cost, high risk economy. There are people there earning 2x their European equivalents who are three missed paychecks away from absolute financial ruin.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
Childcare costs is the trigger that pushes folks over the edge from affordability to not being able to make it. That makes childcare a “luxury” as housing is a necessity.
And the GOP clutches their pearls on why the birth rate is dropping. People cannot afford to have kids.
And the GOP clutches their pearls on why the birth rate is dropping. People cannot afford to have kids.
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Childcare costs is the trigger that pushes folks over the edge from affordability to not being able to make it. That makes childcare a “luxury” as housing is a necessity.
And the GOP clutches their pearls on why the birth rate is dropping. People cannot afford to have kids.
And the GOP clutches their pearls on why the birth rate is dropping. People cannot afford to have kids.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
Yes to all of this. $140,000 is what a family needs to ‘get by’. Yet this would be a solid middle class income in Europe. What’s the difference? Childcare, transportation, healthcare, and education are less of a money pit—because of state action—in Europe than in the US.
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Yes to all of this. $140,000 is what a family needs to ‘get by’. Yet this would be a solid middle class income in Europe. What’s the difference? Childcare, transportation, healthcare, and education are less of a money pit—because of state action—in Europe than in the US.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
The math behind the US poverty line explains why most people feel poor. Adjusted for the cost of participation a family of four needs to make $140k to not feel like they are drowning. Worth a read.
This is an insightful but deeply upsetting article about why everyone in the US feels poor, and why the current political situation emerges as a direct result.
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
www.yesigiveafig.com/p/part-1-my-...
Part 1: My Life Is a Lie
How a Broken Benchmark Quietly Broke America
www.yesigiveafig.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:52 PM
The math behind the US poverty line explains why most people feel poor. Adjusted for the cost of participation a family of four needs to make $140k to not feel like they are drowning. Worth a read.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
Tracks. This came out recently in Seattle: komonews.com/news/local/s...
Single Seattle residents need to make $135K to live comfortably, 6th most in U.S
Seattle residents face a steep financial climb to live comfortably, with a new study revealing that a single adult needs to earn $135,265 annually.
komonews.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Tracks. This came out recently in Seattle: komonews.com/news/local/s...
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
There’s also something here about why a lot of people are contemplating having kids, running a few rough numbers, and going “oh, hell no, absolutely not”
November 26, 2025 at 9:47 AM
There’s also something here about why a lot of people are contemplating having kids, running a few rough numbers, and going “oh, hell no, absolutely not”
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
yes, I feel like you can safely ignore anyone who tells you with a straight face in 2025 that you can just do without a smartphone
This article makes really good points about the inability of most people to cut expenses without entirely losing the ability to participate in the economy. I get tired of people telling me to live cheaper by eliminating things that are necessary for modern life.
November 26, 2025 at 9:48 AM
yes, I feel like you can safely ignore anyone who tells you with a straight face in 2025 that you can just do without a smartphone
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
Unbelievable.
Very few things piss me off more than anti-vax morons killing their children.
Very few things piss me off more than anti-vax morons killing their children.
November 25, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Unbelievable.
Very few things piss me off more than anti-vax morons killing their children.
Very few things piss me off more than anti-vax morons killing their children.
"Taxpayer" identity and thinking dehumanizes people deemed "taxpayers" in the same way that Male Supremacy dehumanizes men and boys.
jamesarobichaux.substack.com/p/why-taxpay...
jamesarobichaux.substack.com/p/why-taxpay...
Why 'Taxpayer' Identity And Thinking Is Morally Bankrupt In Every Context
'Taxpayer' identity and thinking is not appropriate even when discussing measures at the state and local levels.
jamesarobichaux.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 10:26 PM
"Taxpayer" identity and thinking dehumanizes people deemed "taxpayers" in the same way that Male Supremacy dehumanizes men and boys.
jamesarobichaux.substack.com/p/why-taxpay...
jamesarobichaux.substack.com/p/why-taxpay...
Remember Andrew Yang?
November 25, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Remember Andrew Yang?
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
Almost every day the fascist stories are accompanied with stories about record anxiety and stress and uncertainty and loneliness and hardly anyone wants to connect the obvious dots.
Fascism is a collective breakdown. People are struggling and there has to be relief.
Fascism is a collective breakdown. People are struggling and there has to be relief.
November 25, 2025 at 12:36 AM
Almost every day the fascist stories are accompanied with stories about record anxiety and stress and uncertainty and loneliness and hardly anyone wants to connect the obvious dots.
Fascism is a collective breakdown. People are struggling and there has to be relief.
Fascism is a collective breakdown. People are struggling and there has to be relief.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
It is admission that is only possible due to some combination of protests, threatening to withhold votes, and actually withholding votes.
www.mediaite.com/politics/we-...
www.mediaite.com/politics/we-...
'We Should've Done More': Kamala Harris Slams Biden Admin Over Netanyahu Support and Praises Pro-Palestine Protesters
Former Vice President Kamala Harris told pro-Palestinian protestors that the Biden Administration should have publicly criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over War in Gaza
www.mediaite.com
November 13, 2025 at 7:31 PM
It is admission that is only possible due to some combination of protests, threatening to withhold votes, and actually withholding votes.
www.mediaite.com/politics/we-...
www.mediaite.com/politics/we-...
Good morning!
November 21, 2025 at 1:33 PM
Good morning!
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
I get this, and I think it’s true and sad that this kind of thing has been so empowered. I also think it is anti-persuasive and normal folks seeing the Trump administration trying to destigmatize the swastika are going to be absolutely repulsed.
It's not a sophisticated reaction, but my response to both "quiet, piggy" and the Coast Guard okaying swastikas and nooses is a deep sadness that the compassion we're working so hard to foster in our children will not just be challenged by schoolyard bullies but by the highest levels of society.
November 20, 2025 at 9:29 PM
I get this, and I think it’s true and sad that this kind of thing has been so empowered. I also think it is anti-persuasive and normal folks seeing the Trump administration trying to destigmatize the swastika are going to be absolutely repulsed.
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
Ignore the performative, disingenuous cries of "antisemitism" Trump & GOP have so cynically used as a political shield. Look instead at what they're actually doing: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Ignore the performative, disingenuous cries of "antisemitism" Trump & GOP have so cynically used as a political shield. Look instead at what they're actually doing: www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
Reposted by James A. Robichaux
None of us would know what we do about the Epstein network—much less have reached this point—without the courage of the survivors and the years of tireless investigation and reporting by @jkbjournalist.bsky.social.
BREAKING: House overwhelmingly passes Epstein bill www.miamiherald.com/news/politic...
House votes to release Epstein files, nearly 20 years after first sex charges
It now moves to the Senate, where 17 Republicans would need to vote with Democrats to reach the 60-vote supermajority required to pass it.
www.miamiherald.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:27 PM
None of us would know what we do about the Epstein network—much less have reached this point—without the courage of the survivors and the years of tireless investigation and reporting by @jkbjournalist.bsky.social.