Jess Calarco
@jessicacalarco.com
Sociologist. Author. Professor. Roosevelt Institute Fellow. Expert on families, schools, kids, privilege, and power. Bylines in NYT, WaPo, MSNBC, Atlantic, etc.
"Other countries have social safety nets. The US has women."
www.jessicacalarco.com
"Other countries have social safety nets. The US has women."
www.jessicacalarco.com
Pinned
Jess Calarco
@jessicacalarco.com
· Jun 4
Other countries have safety nets. The US has women.
Their labor creates the illusion of a DIY society, making it seem like we don't need a net.
Writing HOLDING IT TOGETHER was a labor of love and fury and I'm so grateful to share it with you all #PubDay
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...
Their labor creates the illusion of a DIY society, making it seem like we don't need a net.
Writing HOLDING IT TOGETHER was a labor of love and fury and I'm so grateful to share it with you all #PubDay
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...
Reposted by Jess Calarco
The least most politically engaged people I know are texting me before 8am to say, “we won’t forget.”
So I don’t know man.
So I don’t know man.
November 10, 2025 at 12:38 PM
The least most politically engaged people I know are texting me before 8am to say, “we won’t forget.”
So I don’t know man.
So I don’t know man.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
New evidence on how ICE is affecting student learning
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
November 10, 2025 at 10:40 AM
New evidence on how ICE is affecting student learning
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1erU5Oe0vJYdVjuqQi4sfhUGxS0BGjWl8/view?usp=drivesdk
Reposted by Jess Calarco
There’s a lot of polisci research showing that Democratic & Republican leaders both misjudge their voters to be more conservative than reality. And that was true already a decade ago.
This is not what they actually say. This is what they used to say, in the long ago before times when Shaheen learned to do politics. There is no kumbaya median voter anymore. The question you get knocking doors is not "why can't you all just work together?" it's "why didn't / will you fight harder?
Shaheen: "When I talk to my constituents in New Hampshire, you know what they say to me? They say, 'Why can't you all just work together to address the problems that are facing this country?'"
November 10, 2025 at 1:41 PM
There’s a lot of polisci research showing that Democratic & Republican leaders both misjudge their voters to be more conservative than reality. And that was true already a decade ago.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Almost completely, every single problem with higher education that folks think is mainly about something else is <primarily> about the massive decline in state public funding since the 1980s. Yes, including everyone's obsession with getting their kid into the "right" college:
"I'm obsessed with my kid getting into the right college"
Fund. The. Damn. Public. Universities. Like. We. Used. To.
Fund. The. Damn. Public. Universities. Like. We. Used. To.
November 9, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Almost completely, every single problem with higher education that folks think is mainly about something else is <primarily> about the massive decline in state public funding since the 1980s. Yes, including everyone's obsession with getting their kid into the "right" college:
Reposted by Jess Calarco
As recently as the late 1980s, tuition at @uwmadison.bsky.social was <$1000/semester. In current dollars, that's about $2500/semester. There is one central reason for that: the . This was a choice. Other choices remain readily available.
November 9, 2025 at 9:26 PM
As recently as the late 1980s, tuition at @uwmadison.bsky.social was <$1000/semester. In current dollars, that's about $2500/semester. There is one central reason for that: the . This was a choice. Other choices remain readily available.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Black American soldiers literally dug these WWII graves. Traumatic. To acknowledge that fact at a cemetery they helped construct is something the Heritage Foundation cannot accept. As Veterans Day approaches, never forget that this country both compels and disrespects Black military service. Always.
1/ The US Government has quietly removed a memorial to Black soldiers who died in World War II from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten, South Limburg. The move follows a complaint from the right-wing Heritage Foundation to the American Battle Monuments Commission. ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Black American soldiers literally dug these WWII graves. Traumatic. To acknowledge that fact at a cemetery they helped construct is something the Heritage Foundation cannot accept. As Veterans Day approaches, never forget that this country both compels and disrespects Black military service. Always.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Should be pretty clear that without House commitment on a vote on ACA extensions, it is purely symbolic as part of the Senate deal
Q: Will you assure House Democrats they'll get a vote on ACA subsidies by a date certain?
MIKE JOHNSON: Ah -- no. I'm not promising anyone anything.
MIKE JOHNSON: Ah -- no. I'm not promising anyone anything.
November 10, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Should be pretty clear that without House commitment on a vote on ACA extensions, it is purely symbolic as part of the Senate deal
Reposted by Jess Calarco
so much suffering and sacrifice only to to agree to terms that will beget more suffering and sacrifice.
November 10, 2025 at 12:29 AM
so much suffering and sacrifice only to to agree to terms that will beget more suffering and sacrifice.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Call the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and they will connect you with your senator's office.
If you're represented by one of the squishier centrists, be sure to make a call. Now.
If you're represented by one of the squishier centrists, be sure to make a call. Now.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
November 9, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Call the United States Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and they will connect you with your senator's office.
If you're represented by one of the squishier centrists, be sure to make a call. Now.
If you're represented by one of the squishier centrists, be sure to make a call. Now.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Following up on this. This remains a ‘cave is minutes or hours away’ situation. If you want to impact how this plays out you need to contact senators literally now. I want to add additional points of context. What I’m relaying is what I’ve picked up from highly reliable sources.
Sounds like the squishes in the senate caucus are ready to pull the plug with no ACA changes. This is real. If you want to register your opinion you shld call yr senator in the next hour. They not only want to reopen w/nothing. They want cover from their colleagues who still want to hold out.
November 9, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Following up on this. This remains a ‘cave is minutes or hours away’ situation. If you want to impact how this plays out you need to contact senators literally now. I want to add additional points of context. What I’m relaying is what I’ve picked up from highly reliable sources.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Senate Democrats voting to dismantle the ACA to avoid any problems with their Thanksgiving travel is tragically on brand.
November 9, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Senate Democrats voting to dismantle the ACA to avoid any problems with their Thanksgiving travel is tragically on brand.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Consistent with a court order, Wisconsin legally loaded FoodShare payments to cards. Now, the Trump Administration has spent the last 48 hours making a last-ditch effort to yank those payments from nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including 270,000 kids. It's pathetic.
November 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Consistent with a court order, Wisconsin legally loaded FoodShare payments to cards. Now, the Trump Administration has spent the last 48 hours making a last-ditch effort to yank those payments from nearly 700,000 Wisconsinites, including 270,000 kids. It's pathetic.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Last night, the Trump Administration sent a letter suggesting Wisconsin should return our FoodShare payments.
My response ⬇️
My response ⬇️
November 9, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Last night, the Trump Administration sent a letter suggesting Wisconsin should return our FoodShare payments.
My response ⬇️
My response ⬇️
Should've taken the under.
(We've been stuck on the tarmac for almost 2 hours in a ground hold on northbound flights).
(We've been stuck on the tarmac for almost 2 hours in a ground hold on northbound flights).
We're supposed to fly home on Sunday afternoon. But given the current air travel situation, I'd say the odds of our making it home then are 50/50 at best.
It was a brutally hot and humid start to our kid's weekend soccer tournament in Southwest Florida. But the sunset was absolutely stunning.
November 9, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Should've taken the under.
(We've been stuck on the tarmac for almost 2 hours in a ground hold on northbound flights).
(We've been stuck on the tarmac for almost 2 hours in a ground hold on northbound flights).
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Marc Andreesen,🥚, picked a fight with *the Pope* over a pretty basic call to exercise discernment when building AI.
Marc truly believes that any constraint on anything he does is fundamentally illegitimate.
Marc truly believes that any constraint on anything he does is fundamentally illegitimate.
November 9, 2025 at 10:35 PM
Marc Andreesen,🥚, picked a fight with *the Pope* over a pretty basic call to exercise discernment when building AI.
Marc truly believes that any constraint on anything he does is fundamentally illegitimate.
Marc truly believes that any constraint on anything he does is fundamentally illegitimate.
They call themselves the pro-family party, but they're threatening to punish states for feeding hungry parents and kids.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Trump Administration Live Updates: Officials Demand States ‘Undo’ Work to Send Full Food Stamp Benefits
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 8:39 PM
They call themselves the pro-family party, but they're threatening to punish states for feeding hungry parents and kids.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11...
Reposted by Jess Calarco
A bit on the nose: The post I saw right before this one was a dem senator saying that the Republicans are trying to sneak a national abortion ban into their funding bill.
“Resistance to motherhood—or mothering responsibilities—poses a problem for the engineers [of our DIY society] because trapping girls and women in motherhood is the quickest way to conscript them into doing the work of the social safety net.”
—Jessica Calarco, Holding It Together
—Jessica Calarco, Holding It Together
November 8, 2025 at 11:07 PM
A bit on the nose: The post I saw right before this one was a dem senator saying that the Republicans are trying to sneak a national abortion ban into their funding bill.
Yes, though the major villains are so outsized that they allow the minor villains to see themselves as heroes by comparison.
One of the few positive aspects of this era in American history is that it's super-easy to identify the villains.
November 9, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Yes, though the major villains are so outsized that they allow the minor villains to see themselves as heroes by comparison.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
For @teenvogue.com I wrote about the death of trans athlete Lia Smith and how trans youth kind themselves with central pillars of their lives being constantly ripped away from them because of politics. www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...
Politicizing Transgender Athletes Is Dangerous. Lia Smith Deserved Better.
"Let her passing be an inflection point for how you think about trans rights and trans people more generally."
www.teenvogue.com
November 9, 2025 at 1:23 AM
For @teenvogue.com I wrote about the death of trans athlete Lia Smith and how trans youth kind themselves with central pillars of their lives being constantly ripped away from them because of politics. www.teenvogue.com/story/politi...
Reposted by Jess Calarco
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
November 9, 2025 at 12:10 AM
So it turns out... the US air travel system was incredibly, deeply dependent on federal funding to just run day-to-day all this time, to the benefit of private airline shareholders, when everyone thinks that state-run trains are leeching off the government. Weird!
I like to imagine that this is how he gets his daily spray tan.
November 9, 2025 at 11:48 AM
I like to imagine that this is how he gets his daily spray tan.
It's as if he puts his face in one of those wood photo cutouts before getting his daily spray tan.
November 8, 2025 at 11:07 PM
It's as if he puts his face in one of those wood photo cutouts before getting his daily spray tan.
Reposted by Jess Calarco
This book is so good, so important, AND so upsetting.
I am only reading a bit at a time because every story sets me reprocessing experiences in my own life or those dear to me.
bsky.app/profile/jess...
I am only reading a bit at a time because every story sets me reprocessing experiences in my own life or those dear to me.
bsky.app/profile/jess...
Other countries have safety nets. The US has women.
Their labor creates the illusion of a DIY society, making it seem like we don't need a net.
Writing HOLDING IT TOGETHER was a labor of love and fury and I'm so grateful to share it with you all #PubDay
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...
Their labor creates the illusion of a DIY society, making it seem like we don't need a net.
Writing HOLDING IT TOGETHER was a labor of love and fury and I'm so grateful to share it with you all #PubDay
www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/697130...
November 8, 2025 at 9:42 PM
This book is so good, so important, AND so upsetting.
I am only reading a bit at a time because every story sets me reprocessing experiences in my own life or those dear to me.
bsky.app/profile/jess...
I am only reading a bit at a time because every story sets me reprocessing experiences in my own life or those dear to me.
bsky.app/profile/jess...
Reposted by Jess Calarco
“Resistance to motherhood—or mothering responsibilities—poses a problem for the engineers [of our DIY society] because trapping girls and women in motherhood is the quickest way to conscript them into doing the work of the social safety net.”
—Jessica Calarco, Holding It Together
—Jessica Calarco, Holding It Together
November 8, 2025 at 9:39 PM
“Resistance to motherhood—or mothering responsibilities—poses a problem for the engineers [of our DIY society] because trapping girls and women in motherhood is the quickest way to conscript them into doing the work of the social safety net.”
—Jessica Calarco, Holding It Together
—Jessica Calarco, Holding It Together
Reposted by Jess Calarco
Trump's tariffs are hurting us in two ways:
First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.
Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.
First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.
Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.
November 8, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Trump's tariffs are hurting us in two ways:
First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.
Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.
First, the obvious: Higher costs → either lower profits or higher prices.
Second, more subtle (perhaps bigger): We’ve signaled we’re an unreliable partner, so allies are reorganizing supply chains to avoid us. That's hard to unwind.