What, Exactly, Is a Fair Wage? - The American Prospect Arindrajit Dube brilliantly dissects how wages really are set—but overlooks the particular hurdles that care workers face.

I'm reading Nancy Folbre on Arin Dube this afternoon. You should too prospect.org/2026/04/17/f...

White men file workplace discrimination claims but are less likely to face inequity than other groups Research shows that white men who file discrimination charges experience employer retaliation at similar rates as other racial groups.

The EEOC is encouraging white men to file race and sex discrimination complaints. We know a little about this already so I wrote this with Steve Boutcher.
theconversation.com/white-men-fi...

My take, both contemporary and historical, on US polarization.
bsky.app/profile/lsei...

Just wondering how we can build a less contested more #consensus building way to #govern here that builds a sustainable #society that can also be #fair and prosperous. The current politics is effectively destroying our planet. #auspol

This is a hard book. Both familiar and unusually clear. Plutocrats+disinformation+attacks on science=climate and pandemic holocausts.

Great wealth engenders great influence. Democracy wilts.

The Family Business: An Open Letter (satire/opinion) Things have changed, Jennifer Lundquist writes (satirically).

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Here, I illustrated our essay with a picture of Trump trying to demolish a statue upon the shoulder of which stands a scientist.

What Fissured Workplaces Really Mean for Workers As companies outsource more roles, fissured workplaces are rising. Here's how they’re affecting job quality, wages, and worker safety across industries.

www.forbes.com/sites/adiaha...

Inequality has risen from 1970 to Trump − that has 3 hidden costs that undermine democracy The Republican tax bill is set to worsen inequality, government data shows. It’s part of a 50-year trend that’s affecting the social fabric as well as the economy.

theconversation.com/inequality-h...

A post by ‪Donald Tomaskovic-Devey‬ (@dont-d.bsky.social‬) on the newest edition of Recapitalizing America is now available on the Work In Progress blog:

My 40 year old book, Recapitalizing America was reissued. Here is my reflection today. www.wipsociology.org/2025/07/02/r...

This

Of course, "While once surprising, scholars have come to recognize...."

This Is a Summer to Organize (opinion) Faculty may want a break, but the architects of the assault on higher ed won’t be breaking and neither should we, Jennifer Lundquist and Kathy Roberts Forde write.

www.insidehighered.com/opinion/view...

Resist

Infographic titled “Judges reject Trump at an accelerating pace” with subtitle “Federal district court rulings against the administration.” The first bar chart, labeled “By month, %”, shows the percentage of federal district court rulings against the Trump administration: • February: 53.8% (7 out of 13) • March: 74.3% (26 out of 35) • April: 76.1% (51 out of 67) • May: 96.3% (26 out of 27) The second bar chart, labeled “By appointing party, %”, shows rulings against the Trump administration by the party of the judge’s appointing president: • Republican-appointed judges: 72.2% (26 out of 36) • Democratic-appointed judges: 80.4% (74 out of 92) Source: Bonica, Adam; Sen, Maya, 2025, “Common-space Measures of Judicial Ideology for Federal Judges (2024 update),” https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/CK3EEL Note: Coding scheme details available at data4democracy.substack.com/p/when-judges-become-targets-judicial

Stunning. May was brutal for Trump in federal court: 96% loss rate ⚖️. Even GOP-appointed judges have ruled against the admin 72% of the time. District courts are doing their job defending the Constitution. Soon the Supreme Court may be the only court unwilling to defend the rule of law.

I can't agree more.

Sunday thought A new phase of Trump neofascism

Sunday thought
open.substack.com/pub/robertre...

Trump Has Cut Science Funding to Its Lowest Level in Decades The lag in funding extends far beyond D.E.I. initiatives, affecting almost every area of science: chemistry, computing, engineering, materials and more.

Funding awards are down in nearly every division, and total new awards approximate levels of new awards in the early 1990s. 🧪

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Alternative hypothesis -- zoom moves long distance collaboration towards zero, more co-authors from outside the US, for senior scholars at least.

A giant, who wrote that the poor pay more.

Von der Leyen warns X, Meta, TikTok to play by the rules in Europe — no matter who’s CEO The European Commission will enforce its digital rulebook without fear, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“Big Tech companies including X, Meta, Apple and TikTok should be aware the bloc is ready to enforce its full digital rulebook no matter who is in charge of these firms or where they're located”

European Commission Prez
@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu on DSA enforcement

www.politico.eu/article/euro...

Pete Hegseth is a pretty despicable human being, on top of the other, many deficits he brought to the Pentagon

But you should be even madder at the 50 senators who knew Hegseth was an alcoholic, a serial abuser of women, and a poser massively unqualified for the post and yet voted for him anyway

Sunday thought The contagion of courage

Sunday thought
open.substack.com/pub/robertre...

My dad, a feral demographer from Queens, used to say there were only a few hundred people in the world, rushing around on busses so you could meet someone you already knew.

Photo of Senator Chris Van Hollen with Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

I said my main goal of this trip was to meet with Kilmar. Tonight I had that chance. I have called his wife, Jennifer, to pass along his message of love. I look forward to providing a full update upon my return.

Trending hope, thanks Rutgers

This is brilliant!... if all 18 schools actually step up to the plate.

This is academia's chance to take the lead on fighting back against the Idiocracy.

Please, University Presidents, have the courage to show the way.

We analyzed racial justice statements from the 500 largest US companies and found that DEI officials really did have an influence Only 1 in 5 Fortune 500 companies made strong racial justice commitments in response to the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests. Those companies were more likely to have DEI staff.

PLEASE REPOST
Two colleagues and I have been looking at corporate racial justice responses to the George Floy murder/BLM protests. Top line finding is influential DEI staff mattered. I suspect that the current DEI backlash is at least in part a response.
theconversation.com/we-analyzed-...