@pkrugman.bsky.social is a thoughtful guy. I do suggest it's time to do a rethink on rent control, similar to our rethink on min wage over the past 35 yrs. www.nytimes.com/2000/06/07/o... Fo
r example, see prospect.org/2023/05/16/2...
Housing must be a top priority for policymakers & candidates. 1/3 of Americans rent. Increasingly these are families thought of in the traditional "middle" class. Yet housing policy is leaving them high & dry. Rent control may not be a silver bullet, but it's common sense & brings immediate benefits
every time i write about wage theft i do a double take because it's so crazy
corporations steal more than $50 bn from workers' paychecks each year, illegally paying workers less than they earned for their labor
that significantly exceeds the combined losses from larceny, burglary, & vehicle theft
A few important pieces to note:
1. Annual rent increases at CPI should be decently binding.
2. Units exempt for 10 yrs after construction on a rolling basis. A bit stricter than ideal, but better than most.
3. No vacancy decontrol - a HUGE step in the right direction
Thrilled to see my home state of Massachusetts out front with an important ballot initiative to implement state wide rent control at CPI or 5%, whichever is LOWER. This is a common sense move that will protect renters, increase affordability, and have no impact on supply www.mass.gov/doc/25-21-an...
The Fight for $15 started way back in Nov 2012. Simply adjusting for inflation (not including producitivty gains), would bring that wage up to $21.19 today.
You start him in on @mikeduncan.bsky.social yet?
CBO does great work, but they do not have a crystal ball here. Also, this is largely a policy choice.
"Four hours after his arrest, he was taken to a hospital emergency room in Edina with swelling and bruising around his right eye and bleeding. A CT scan revealed at least eight skull fractures and life-threatening hemorrhages in at least five areas of his brain..."
apnews.com/article/immi...
Do not look away. It's time to organize. It's time to be furious. It's time to revolt.
My new piece about Resistance 2.0 is up at @theguardian.com! Give it a read to understand why we should expect much more confrontation and disruption this time around. Thanks for the suggestions @victorerikray.bsky.social @sociologistray.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
One of the best things I’ve read in a while:
Chicago. Now. Ice out of everywhere. Snow and cold not slowing folks.
Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA. We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse- I lover working with him. He was a good kind person who lived to help and these fuckers executed him.
White. Hot. Rage.
Central planners can certainly make this transition happen as smoothly as possible. And yes, bankers are central planners. But the idea that they’ll facilitate a transition, unless forced to, is delusional
Any chance you have an advance copy to share? I'd love to use some parts of this in my labor policy course!
Teaching a new heterodox labor econ & policy course. Any suggestions and resources would be most appreciated.
Oh, fantastic! I hadn't seen this. Thank you will certainly give it a read.
Teaching a class this week on CBA and I have to say, this lovely symposium by @lpeblog.bsky.social is excellent. Particularly loved @marksilverman1.bsky.social's take. lpeproject.org/blog/the-val...
Can't wait for this!
I’m honestly surprised by how resilient the economy has been these last few months. Any good pieces trying to tease out how much of that is driven by AI hype/investment?
Couldn't imagine a better team to work with!
NEWS --> An internal Homeland Security memo suggests Trump's use of military for domestic enforcement is about to get worse. It details top-level talks between Defense Department and DHS on what this should look like. Experts say it's alarming.
We obtained the memo:
newrepublic.com/article/1987...
As I noted the other day, focusing on "targeting" policies like this is precisely what makes them 1) shitty policies and 2) politically unstable policies. bsky.app/profile/mark...
There is essentially NO evidence that rent control discourages construction. No study-NONE-has shown that rent control reduces housing supply. No study has found a causal link between rent control & reduction in construction. Studies that look at repeal of rent control don't find more construction.
Today, @nealemahoney.bsky.social has a guest piece up on @jaredb-econ.bsky.social substack. It has some good insights on the affordability crisis. But then it notes "Q: how does rent control fit it here? A: it needs to be tightly targeted or it can discourage new construction". NUANCE plz.
"Unless Israel is stopped, Gaza will be bombed and starved until the entire population is either dead or shipped off somewhere. Then the West Bank will receive the same treatment." prospect.org/world/2025-0...
Strange - seems to be working fine for me now. Thanks for flagging
