Karen Benjamin Guzzo
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karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo
@karenguzzo.bsky.social
4.4K followers 1.3K following 2.8K posts

Demographer and Sociologist. Director of the Carolina Population Center. LEGO Karen

Videos
Sociology 28%
Political science 28%
Posts Replies Media Videos

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 47m
“Appeasement is being coordinated while resistance is not…This is a striking abdication of responsibility — particularly from leaders entrusted with educating the next generation of citizens…Universities must abandon the comforting illusion that accommodation will bring this conflict to an end.”
Opinion | Higher education needs a NATO-style self-defense pact
How colleges can win the fight for their independence.
wapo.st

Reposted by Daniel Stone, Karen Benjamin Guzzo

aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 51m
Immigrants save Americans' lives: "...a 25% increase in the steady state flow of immigrants to the US would result in 5,000 fewer deaths nationwide. We identify reduced use of nursing homes as a key mechanism driving this result."
www.nber.org/papers/w34791
Is Immigration Good for Health? The Effect of Immigration on Older Adult Mortality in the United States David C. Grabowski, Jonathan Gruber, Brian E. McGarry #34791 Abstract: We measure the impact of increased immigration on mortality among elderly Americans, who rely on the immigrant-intensive health and long-term care sectors. Using a shift-share approach we find a strong impact of immigration on the size of the immigrant care workforce: admitting 1,000 new immigrants would lead to 142 new foreign healthcare workers, without evidence of crowd out of native health care workers. We also find striking effects on mortality: a 25% increase in the steady state flow of immigrants to the US would result in 5,000 fewer deaths nationwide. We identify reduced use of nursing homes as a key mechanism driving this result

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 17h
Asking people to work longer is asking the people who *most* need to retire to work longer. College educated folks already work longer than those w/ less education, largely bc they have different types of jobs & health profiles.

The GOP is reneging on a key part of our intergenerational contract.
Why Dr. Oz wants you to retire later
Mehmet Oz says Americans should get healthier so they can work an extra year and boost the economy. That’s hard for the poor and less educated, who tend to retire earlier.
wapo.st

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Peter Bergman

davebrady72.bsky.social
David Brady @davebrady72.bsky.social · 22h
Good report here on how very little TANF funds actually go to supporting low income families. It has become a slush fund for states to spend on things that have little to do with program’s mission.

“How a $30 Billion Welfare Program Became a ‘Slush Fund’ for States”

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
How a $30 Billion Welfare Program Became a ‘Slush Fund’ for States
Republicans and Democrats alike decry the lack of oversight for America’s famous antipoverty experiment.
www.wsj.com

Reposted by John R. Hutchinson, Trevon D. Logan, Karen Benjamin Guzzo , and 16 more

allenk81.bsky.social
Allenk_81 @allenk81.bsky.social · 23h
FAMU can't use the word Black on anything posted around campus related to Black History Month, to stay in compliance with Florida state laws against DEI. Black students can't use the word Black at their Historically Black College during Black History Month.

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 1d
For the folks in the back, the NUMBER of births is not particularly informative. There’s a reason demographers look at rates, as I explain here.
US births dropped last year, suggesting the 2024 uptick was short-lived
U.S. births slightly decreased in 2025. That's according to new provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
apnews.com

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo

bachynski.bsky.social
Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 3d
“Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Thursday announced the Food and Drug Administration was relaxing its enforcement of federal food additive regulations, making it easier for manufacturers to claim that they are not using artificial dyes in their products.”
F.D.A. Relaxes Rules on ‘Naturally Derived’ Dyes
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo

shobitap.org
Shobita Parthasarathy @shobitap.org · 3d
Great. Federal employees will no longer be able to provide expert assessments or advice without fearing for their jobs.
The Trump administration finalized a new policy on Thursday that would strip job protections from up to 50,000 federal workers, a move that would make it easier for President Trump to remove or discipline them, in his latest effort to dismantle the federal work force. Until now, the roughly 4,000 people appointed by the president, known as political appointees, were the only federal workers who could be fired at will. The policy issued on Thursday allows the administration to expand that number to include career employees whom the administration considers to also have policy-related roles. For these employees, any whistle-blower complaints would be handled by their agencies internally and not the independent office of special counsel as it has been in the past.

Reposted by Clark Gray

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 3d
Over the past 15 years, all but three of 187 research universities had made public commitments to faculty diversity , pushed by years of student protests and demands. You can see how well they did with for various schools at the link. Below, I'm showing UNC.
wapo.st/45QWLmm
Figure showing the share of Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander students and faculty at UNC from 2010 to 2024

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 4d
The “success sequence” is a bad idea that just won’t go away.

PS, marriage rates are way down, and a primary driver of contemporary low US fertility is delayed and non-marriage. People ARE waiting until marriage to have kids, and bc they’re not marrying, they’re not having kids.
A bill to require schools to promote marriage before having kids has divided Indiana
Advocates of the “success sequence” say a simple formula staves off poverty for nearly everyone. Critics disagree.
www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo

lutzfernandez.bsky.social
Anne Lutz Fernandez @lutzfernandez.bsky.social · 4d
The cost of just one year of the Trump administration to children and their futures is shocking and astounding if incalculable.
Organized Abandonment and the Measles Crisis: A Policy Disaster
This isn’t parental choice. It’s institutional failure, and a betrayal of kids.
brucelesley.substack.com

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 4d
The Muppet Show is back tonight at 9 on ABC. The world is a better place with the Muppets!
a group of muppets are standing together with their mouths wide open
ALT: a group of muppets are standing together with their mouths wide open
media.tenor.com

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 4d
Bolognese. My husband finally made it tonight - 12 days after I’d planned on making it. We took some chances on the ingredients at this point - wish us luck!

Reposted by Rebecca Solnit, Alistair Munro, Jean Burgess , and 16 more

simonwillison.net
Simon Willison @simonwillison.net · 4d
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!

This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell
Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they …
simonwillison.net

Reposted by Yezid Sayigh, Dorothy Bishop, Euan G. Ritchie , and 17 more

sanders.senate.gov
Senator Bernie Sanders @sanders.senate.gov · 4d
If Jeff Bezos could afford to spend $75 million on the Melania movie & $500 million for a yacht to sail off to his $55 million wedding to give his wife a $5 million ring, please don't tell me he needed to fire one-third of the Washington Post staff.

Democracy dies in oligarchy.

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Simon Lester, Stuart Shapiro

brianruh.bsky.social
Brian Ruh @brianruh.bsky.social · 4d
Screenshot from The Good Place with Michael and Janet. Michael is saying “THE CATO INSTITUTE figured it out?”

Reposted by Meredith Broussard, Wouter Poortinga, Cathy N. Davidson , and 3 more

design-law.bsky.social
Sarah Fackrell @design-law.bsky.social · 4d
"Imposing minimum teaching requirements...has been touted as a way to cut costs and 'better focus university resources in the classroom,' .... The notion is also gaining steam in conservative circles as a means of ensuring faculty productivity and curbing 'intellectually unserious' research."
The Campaign to Make Professors Teach More
Lawmakers say faculty members don’t work enough. Is this about productivity or punishment?
www.chronicle.com

Reposted by Joe R. Feagin, Dave O’Brien, Trevon D. Logan , and 4 more

daniellaurison.bsky.social
Daniel Laurison @daniellaurison.bsky.social · 4d
Today I'm releasing probably the most important scholarly thing I've ever worked on - a report based on talking with 144 people about why they don't vote or only vote regularly, and on what needs to be done to build a democracy that can include everyone.
www.swarthmore.edu/u...
please share!
image of a report cover, with a US flag in the background, and the text "The Political Disconnect: Working-Class and Low-Income People on What Politics Means to Them and How They Might be Mobilized”

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo

abortionforward.bsky.social
Abortion Forward @abortionforward.bsky.social · 4d
An agency dedicated to helping people put pregnancies up for adoption, JustChoice opposes House Bill 87: "Most alarming is the amendment allowing a prospective adoptive family to claim a fetus as a dependent before birth, while explicitly barring the pregnant person from doing so."

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo

abortionforward.bsky.social
Abortion Forward @abortionforward.bsky.social · 4d
Starting soon: Repro rights advocates are testifying before the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee against a plan to give tax credits for pregnancies, a horrible idea that’s ripe for abuse by the state to punish people seeking abortion care.

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 4d
Immigrants are twice as likely to start a small business as native-born US citizens, so this move isn't about supporting businesses or the economy.
SBA says legal permanent residents will be ineligible for its loan program, effective March 1
The Small Business Administration said in a policy note that green card holders won’t be allowed to apply for SBA loans, effective March 1.
apnews.com

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 5d
The Pentagon is officially upset with Scouts.

Because the Pentagon has nothing else to worry about. Priorities.
Pentagon warns Scouts to make ‘core value reforms’ or lose military support
The relationship dates back decades, but Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has criticized the organization for allowing girls to join and changing its name from Boy Scouts.
www.washingtonpost.com

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 5d
“Strong financial support for mothers from the government can make motherhood more affordable and promote gender equality in economic resources.”

Investing in mothers and families - even if it doesn’t raise the birth rates - is worth doing.
Denmark’s generous child care and parental leave policies erase 80% of the ‘motherhood penalty’ for working moms
Two researchers found that Danish government benefits do not fully offset moms’ lost earnings. But they do help offset lost income for working women with kids.
theconversation.com

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 5d
“Almost a quarter of undergraduate students are parents already. So it’s kind of like, why is there this idea that education is the problem?”

Reposted by Richard M. Carpiano

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 5d
Women have viable pathways after high school other than get married & have kids. They can pursue education & careers, becoming economically independent.

The Heritage Foundation thinks that’s a problem, so they’re attacking higher ed in multiple ways, including making it harder to pay for college.
Trump’s War on Higher Ed Is an Attack on Women
The administration’s assault on colleges and universities is meant to undermine the economic and social progress women have made in the last half-century.
newrepublic.com

Reposted by Rebecca Solnit, Brendan Nyhan, Caroline Krafft , and 8 more

bzosiad.bsky.social
Becky Zosia Dernbach @bzosiad.bsky.social · 5d
Elizabeth is a Columbia Heights fourth-grader who loves volleyball, learning English and giggling in the halls with her friends. She's been held in the Dilley Immigration Processing Center for nearly a month, and she and her mom have both fallen ill. sahanjournal.com/education/co...
Sick fourth-grader among 4 Columbia Heights students held by ICE
Columbia Heights Public Schools says four students remain detained by ICE after Liam’s return, including 10-year-old Elizabeth, who has fallen ill.
sahanjournal.com

Reposted by Jennifer Bussell, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Larry W. Hunter , and 1 more

deniswirtz.bsky.social
Denis Wirtz @deniswirtz.bsky.social · 5d
Both chambers of Congress have now passed the FY26 minibus with NIH provisions. The President will sign.

(1) $48.7 billion for NIH
(2) Full IDC recovery
(3) No more multi-year funding
(4) No NIH reorganization, maintaining the current IC structure.

Reposted by Matthew Bunn, Richard Price, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 16 more

atrupar.com
Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 5d
Mike Johnson on Trump calling for Rs to "nationalize" elections: "We had 3 Republicans who were ahead on election day in last cycle & every time a new tranche of ballots came in they just magically whittled away until their leads were lost. It looks on its face to be fraudulent. Can I prove it? No"

karenguzzo.bsky.social
Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 5d
Apropos of nothing, remember when someone wrote a whole book about the happiness of married & single people, only they totally misunderstood the American Time Use Survey category of "married, spouse absent"?

Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo

michaeldgreen.phd
Michael D. Green, PhD @michaeldgreen.phd · 5d
Eyes wide open when it comes to the concentration of grants at certain universities.

Eyes closed shut when it comes to concentration of grants for investigator age, race, ethnicity, gender, SES, etc.

Makes sense to me!