Ben Phelps
@thisisbenphelps.bsky.social
Musician and self-declared public intellectual
I have yet to be able to bait anybody into arguing with me about the stupidity of this debate in the UK. Doesn't anybody want to take the apparently totally mainstream postion that the UK must do austerity?
My pre-budget take for the LSE Politics blog is up:
Labour are unable to articulate any vision or sense of purpose.
Much of the left has convinced itself that government spending can be maintained without broad-based tax increases.
Not a great budget backdrop.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Labour are unable to articulate any vision or sense of purpose.
Much of the left has convinced itself that government spending can be maintained without broad-based tax increases.
Not a great budget backdrop.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Wealth tax and looser fiscal rules won’t save the Budget | British Politics and Policy at LSE
The narrative on the left that a wealth tax and looser fiscal rules would solve the Chancellor's 2025 Budget headaches has got out of hand.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 27, 2025 at 5:32 AM
I have yet to be able to bait anybody into arguing with me about the stupidity of this debate in the UK. Doesn't anybody want to take the apparently totally mainstream postion that the UK must do austerity?
Reposted by Ben Phelps
dude if you're this lazy just make ambient noise
November 27, 2025 at 1:44 AM
dude if you're this lazy just make ambient noise
This is the most brutal takedown of Stancilism I've ever seen.
Of course @interfluidity.com , in his infinite equanimity, does not frame it that way. drafts.interfluidity.com#real-purchas...
Of course @interfluidity.com , in his infinite equanimity, does not frame it that way. drafts.interfluidity.com#real-purchas...
drafts — interfluidity
drafts @ interfluidity
drafts.interfluidity.com
November 27, 2025 at 5:06 AM
This is the most brutal takedown of Stancilism I've ever seen.
Of course @interfluidity.com , in his infinite equanimity, does not frame it that way. drafts.interfluidity.com#real-purchas...
Of course @interfluidity.com , in his infinite equanimity, does not frame it that way. drafts.interfluidity.com#real-purchas...
Reposted by Ben Phelps
I know I've been on a bit about this but Keir Starmer should absolutely fire Rachel Reeves as soon as possible if he wants his party to have any chance of maintaining power.
(he won't do this)
Labour instituting an austerity agenda is historically insane.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
(he won't do this)
Labour instituting an austerity agenda is historically insane.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
Britain’s Most Unpopular Chancellor in Decades Faces Another Big Test
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:19 AM
I know I've been on a bit about this but Keir Starmer should absolutely fire Rachel Reeves as soon as possible if he wants his party to have any chance of maintaining power.
(he won't do this)
Labour instituting an austerity agenda is historically insane.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
(he won't do this)
Labour instituting an austerity agenda is historically insane.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
Reposted by Ben Phelps
“appeared drowsy” lol. never change NYT caption writers
November 26, 2025 at 2:31 AM
“appeared drowsy” lol. never change NYT caption writers
I know I've been on a bit about this but Keir Starmer should absolutely fire Rachel Reeves as soon as possible if he wants his party to have any chance of maintaining power.
(he won't do this)
Labour instituting an austerity agenda is historically insane.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
(he won't do this)
Labour instituting an austerity agenda is historically insane.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
Britain’s Most Unpopular Chancellor in Decades Faces Another Big Test
www.nytimes.com
November 26, 2025 at 5:19 AM
I know I've been on a bit about this but Keir Starmer should absolutely fire Rachel Reeves as soon as possible if he wants his party to have any chance of maintaining power.
(he won't do this)
Labour instituting an austerity agenda is historically insane.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
(he won't do this)
Labour instituting an austerity agenda is historically insane.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/25/b...
Reposted by Ben Phelps
When I say Waymo "doesn't scale," this is what I mean.
Waymo privatized another public street:
Chanel approaching 4th, San Francisco
Possibly queued for a Billie Eilish show at Chase Center ~half mile away.
The light rail train on 4th seen passing in front of this roboherd has more passenger capacity than all of them combined.
OP: .tiktok.renaspam18
Chanel approaching 4th, San Francisco
Possibly queued for a Billie Eilish show at Chase Center ~half mile away.
The light rail train on 4th seen passing in front of this roboherd has more passenger capacity than all of them combined.
OP: .tiktok.renaspam18
November 24, 2025 at 3:44 PM
When I say Waymo "doesn't scale," this is what I mean.
christ
November 24, 2025 at 7:08 AM
christ
I don't think the current structure is financially viable. I don't know how to bet against it successfully though.
AirBnB CEO calling it “vibe revenue” just 👨🍳 😘
The underlying cause of every bubble - debt masquerading as financial innovation - depends on not just short financial memory & speculative neophytism, but reinventing jargon of finance, like how each generation of kids has new ways to say same things.
The underlying cause of every bubble - debt masquerading as financial innovation - depends on not just short financial memory & speculative neophytism, but reinventing jargon of finance, like how each generation of kids has new ways to say same things.
November 23, 2025 at 5:52 AM
I don't think the current structure is financially viable. I don't know how to bet against it successfully though.
Reposted by Ben Phelps
It's that time of year when Americans set up quaint, walkable Christmas villages in their living rooms, dreaming of living in such a cozy place.
Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.
Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.
November 23, 2025 at 3:13 AM
It's that time of year when Americans set up quaint, walkable Christmas villages in their living rooms, dreaming of living in such a cozy place.
Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.
Meanwhile, they'll show up to city council meetings to fiercely oppose any plan that would actually build that kind of car-lite community in real life.
I've been having a lot of classical music thoughts lately but do I actually have any classical music followers on here that actually check it?
November 23, 2025 at 5:33 AM
I've been having a lot of classical music thoughts lately but do I actually have any classical music followers on here that actually check it?
Reposted by Ben Phelps
Yes, but it’s not the ruling everyone thinks it was.
This article doesn’t even include the real original sin: The 1974 SCOTUS ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, which held that spending money is a protected form of speech and that independent expenditures could not be limited by Congress.
This article doesn’t even include the real original sin: The 1974 SCOTUS ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, which held that spending money is a protected form of speech and that independent expenditures could not be limited by Congress.
The original sin: Five Supreme Court Republican appointees, many helped onto the Court by right-wing billionaires, open the floodgates for unlimited political spending. Then they refuse to police anonymous political spending they know is corrupting. This is the result.
How billionaires took over American politics
The current concentration of wealth is unlike anything in history. So is billionaires’ involvement in politics.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 23, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Yes, but it’s not the ruling everyone thinks it was.
This article doesn’t even include the real original sin: The 1974 SCOTUS ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, which held that spending money is a protected form of speech and that independent expenditures could not be limited by Congress.
This article doesn’t even include the real original sin: The 1974 SCOTUS ruling in Buckley v. Valeo, which held that spending money is a protected form of speech and that independent expenditures could not be limited by Congress.
I listen to dumbshit NatCons and now fucking Fareed Zakaria tell me the reason Nordic Countries are so coherent is because they live in clan-based societies and I'm going to lose my shit. Maybe it's because they live in society-building urban environments and not soul destroying suburban isolation.
November 22, 2025 at 6:59 AM
I listen to dumbshit NatCons and now fucking Fareed Zakaria tell me the reason Nordic Countries are so coherent is because they live in clan-based societies and I'm going to lose my shit. Maybe it's because they live in society-building urban environments and not soul destroying suburban isolation.
Mainstream take seems to be "Nvidia profits allay AI bubble fears" but this doesn't make sense to me at all. Nvidia is selling to companies investing in AI: the source of their sales is investment dollars, a lot of which is leveraged. If anything this just shows how big the potential bubble is...
November 20, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Mainstream take seems to be "Nvidia profits allay AI bubble fears" but this doesn't make sense to me at all. Nvidia is selling to companies investing in AI: the source of their sales is investment dollars, a lot of which is leveraged. If anything this just shows how big the potential bubble is...
I've recently been informed that more people prefer flying first class than economy
So your contention is that if we removed de facto subsidies for suburban living, we’d discover that most people actually prefer living in city center with no car? Of course, more people would end up doing that – the financial logic would change – but you’re saying Americans would on net PREFER that?
What is a subsidy, Alex?
November 20, 2025 at 4:47 AM
I've recently been informed that more people prefer flying first class than economy
The sense we get from all available evidence of the current demand for other unit types is that that demand is extremely high and unmet.
Wtf is Will on about
Wtf is Will on about
I AM NOT DEFENDING SINGLE FAMILY ZONING, I am saying that there is enough availability of other unit types to begin to get a sense of what demand is
November 20, 2025 at 4:11 AM
The sense we get from all available evidence of the current demand for other unit types is that that demand is extremely high and unmet.
Wtf is Will on about
Wtf is Will on about
Reposted by Ben Phelps
sure you might have objective evidence in the form of rent or mortgage payments suggesting that housing is much more expensive now than it used to be but consider the following: what if a glib idiot told you it wasn't
What, precisely, is the crisis? When will it be resolved? People have been talking about housing crises since the 80s. I agree that there’s a long-run upward drift in housing costs; I agree some high-cost metros have real issues. But what are we seeing right now that’s a nationwide crisis?
Stancil being a housing crisis denier is the darnedest thing
November 17, 2025 at 6:01 PM
sure you might have objective evidence in the form of rent or mortgage payments suggesting that housing is much more expensive now than it used to be but consider the following: what if a glib idiot told you it wasn't
"People's revealed preference, when they have been given no actual alternative, is clear"
Right, this is true, but the OVERWHELMING evidence of the past 100 years of American life is that vastly more people want space and a car than a smaller unit and a car-free lifestyle. This is mostly why the suburban share of US population has grown relentlessly for the entire 20th and 21st century
Some people put a premium on space in my experience, others put a premium on not having to have a car and not being isolated out in the suburbs
November 19, 2025 at 3:57 AM
"People's revealed preference, when they have been given no actual alternative, is clear"
The future of Back to the Future was 10 years ago
November 19, 2025 at 3:11 AM
The future of Back to the Future was 10 years ago
So I don't know what they think they're doing but it seems like the pillars of Starmer's Labour are austerity + anti-immigration (with anti-trans thrown in as a treat). Tell me how this isn't a betrayal of liberalism. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/w...
Why Britain Is Embracing ‘Negative Nation Branding’
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:26 AM
So I don't know what they think they're doing but it seems like the pillars of Starmer's Labour are austerity + anti-immigration (with anti-trans thrown in as a treat). Tell me how this isn't a betrayal of liberalism. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/w...
The true tragedy of Larry Summers is, despite being Treasury secretary and president of Harvard, he doesn't know how our monetary system works
November 18, 2025 at 4:17 AM
The true tragedy of Larry Summers is, despite being Treasury secretary and president of Harvard, he doesn't know how our monetary system works
don't love this at all www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/n...
The Strategic Uncoupling of Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander
www.nytimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 7:20 AM
don't love this at all www.nytimes.com/2025/11/14/n...
If I were crashing out as president of the United States over my personal failures I'd be blaring Mahler out the window not this schlock
November 15, 2025 at 7:14 AM
If I were crashing out as president of the United States over my personal failures I'd be blaring Mahler out the window not this schlock
I am once again obligated to point out taxpayers don't fund the federal government.
It all becomes so much easier when you all realize / understand this.
It all becomes so much easier when you all realize / understand this.
November 15, 2025 at 6:50 AM
I am once again obligated to point out taxpayers don't fund the federal government.
It all becomes so much easier when you all realize / understand this.
It all becomes so much easier when you all realize / understand this.
Reposted by Ben Phelps
The Kremlin disguised a nearly $100 mn payment to Trump in the form of a brokered real estate deal... and both Jeffrey Epstein and William Pulte were involved in the deal. That's very interesting.
November 12, 2025 at 9:56 PM
The Kremlin disguised a nearly $100 mn payment to Trump in the form of a brokered real estate deal... and both Jeffrey Epstein and William Pulte were involved in the deal. That's very interesting.