Blair Fix

@blairfix.bsky.social

920 followers 72 following 160 posts

Political economist. Blogger. Scientist. Editor of the Review of Capital as Power.

Support my research here: https://economicsfromthetopdown.com/membership/

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Sociology 11%

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Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 15d

In a 2024 paper criticizing the 'billion-dollar-disasters' database, Roger Pielke Jr. published analysis that is best described as a Russian-doll of errors.

Here's my in-depth take down of his appallingly bad work.

economicsfromthetopdown.com/2025/10/26/r...

Roger Pielke Jr.’s Appallingly Bad Analysis of Billion Dollar Disasters – Economics from the Top Down

In a recent paper called Scientific integrity and U.S. “Billion Dollar Disasters”, Roger Pielke Jr. published a chart that's so bad I've devoted a whole essay to debunking it.

economicsfromthetopdown.com

Reposted by Blair Fix

Kim Siever @kimsiever.bsky.social · 8h

Quebec’s anti-union law is an authoritarian tactic

cupe.ca/quebecs-anti...

Quebec’s anti-union law in an authoritarian tactic

It is a dark day for Quebecers. The CAQ government’s Bill 3 is attacking the unions head-on; yet, unions are the primary institution defending the middle class and Quebec’s social model. This is an au...

cupe.ca

Reposted by Blair Fix

Brad Johnson @climatebrad.hillheat.com · 8d

The US billion-dollar disaster database has a problem - a billion dollars ain't worth what it used to. What happens to the disaster trend if you correct for that?

@blairfix.bsky.social investigates:

economicsfromthetopdown.com/2025/10/26/r...

Total disaster losses as a share of US GDP — culled billion-dollar disasters. Looking at my culled billion-dollar-disasters dataset (see Figure 3), I find a slight upward trend in total annual losses measured as a share of US GDP. (Note the log scale on the vertical axis.) The red line and shaded region show a log-linear regression and associated confidence interval.

Reposted by Blair Fix

Bichler & Nitzan @bichlernitzan.bsky.social · 9d

Here is the Internet Archive mirror of The Bichler & Nitzan Archives, designed and implemented by @blairfix.bsky.social

archive.org/details/bich...

Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 10d

And yet by plotting the BDD data, you make truth claims. A clever way to have your cake and eat it to.

Reposted by Blair Fix

The Alberta Teachers’ Association @albertateachers.bsky.social · 11d

Looking for the most recent issue of the ATA News? You can read it online at abteach.cc/ATANews60-4

Ensure you don’t miss out on education news from across the province by signing up to receive each issue in your inbox at abteach.cc/UpdateSignUp

Reposted by Blair Fix

Bichler & Nitzan @bichlernitzan.bsky.social · 11d

Roger Pielke Jr. argues that existing data, however poor, show that large-scale climate disasters are becoming less impactful. @blairfix.bsky.social shows that these data demonstrate the very opposite. Will Nature publish his rejoinder?

bnarchives.net/id/eprint/872/

Reposted by Blair Fix

Bichler & Nitzan @bichlernitzan.bsky.social · 11d

Is the world heading for a new arms race?
bnarchives.net/id/eprint/854/

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Scott L. Greer, Adam Bonica , and 3 more Kim L. Scheppele, Scott L. Greer, Adam Bonica, Zen Faulkes, Blair Fix, Michael Evans

Lee Drutman @leedrutman.bsky.social · 12d

I jump into the moderation debate. I agree with @adambonica.bsky.social and @gelliottmorris.com on the methodology, but I want to draw attention to a bigger issue. The collapse of candidate effects generally.
leedrutman.substack.com/p/the-modera...

Reposted by Blair Fix

AG @akgbsky.bsky.social · 12d

I dont know how @blairfix.bsky.social finds the time to do this but he’s so damn good! If you can take the time to read this don’t forget to click the @profstevekeen.bsky.social link.

economicsfromthetopdown.com/2025/10/26/r...

Roger Pielke Jr.’s Appallingly Bad Analysis of Billion Dollar Disasters – Economics from the Top Down

In a recent paper called Scientific integrity and U.S. “Billion Dollar Disasters”, Roger Pielke Jr. published a chart that's so bad I've devoted a whole essay to debunking it.

economicsfromthetopdown.com

Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 12d

Thanks! And my god yes it took a long time to unravel the whole list of errors.

Reposted by Katharine Hayhoe, John Kennedy, Flavio Lehner , and 1 more Katharine Hayhoe, John Kennedy, Flavio Lehner, Blair Fix

Andrew Dessler @andrewdessler.com · 13d

this is a very impressive analysis of some of the statistical "oddities" in Pielke Jr's analysis that normalized climate impacts are declining. Everyone should read this.
economicsfromthetopdown.com/2025/10/26/r...

Roger Pielke Jr.’s Appallingly Bad Analysis of Billion Dollar Disasters – Economics from the Top Down

In a recent paper called Scientific integrity and U.S. “Billion Dollar Disasters”, Roger Pielke Jr. published a chart that's so bad I've devoted a whole essay to debunking it.

economicsfromthetopdown.com

Reposted by Blair Fix

Michael E. Mann @michaelemann.bsky.social · 14d

Finally, an independent expert, political economist @blairfix.bsky.social, has actually taken a look under the hood, digging deep into the details of Roger's methodology, and it's not pretty. Blair's commentary speaks for itself: economicsfromthetopdown.com/2025/10/26/r...

Roger Pielke Jr.’s Appallingly Bad Analysis of Billion Dollar Disasters – Economics from the Top Down

In a recent paper called Scientific integrity and U.S. “Billion Dollar Disasters”, Roger Pielke Jr. published a chart that's so bad I've devoted a whole essay to debunking it.

economicsfromthetopdown.com

Reposted by A. E. Dessler, David Greene

Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 14d

Other than outright fraud, what bothers me most in science is the combination of clever rhetoric with analysis that seems sound but is actually abysmal. It's a recipe for hoodwinking people.

Hence this deep dive into some appallingly bad science:

economicsfromthetopdown.com/2025/10/26/r...

Roger Pielke Jr.’s Appallingly Bad Analysis of Billion Dollar Disasters – Economics from the Top Down

In a recent paper called Scientific integrity and U.S. “Billion Dollar Disasters”, Roger Pielke Jr. published a chart that's so bad I've devoted a whole essay to debunking it.

economicsfromthetopdown.com

Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 14d

The thought had occurred to me. I guess the main hurdle is how restrictive their response format is. Looks like NPJ has a reply format with a 1200 word limit. That's rather debilitating.

www.nature.com/npjnathazard...

Matters Arising | npj Natural Hazards

Matters Arising

www.nature.com

Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 14d

Yes you do!

Blair Fix @blairfix.bsky.social · 15d

If you enjoy my data-driven research, consider becoming a supporter. You can sign up here: economicsfromthetopdown.com/membership/

Support Economics from the Top Down – Economics from the Top Down

Hey folks, I’m a crowdfunded scientist! I do painstaking research highlighting the empirical realities that mainstream economists prefer to ignore. All of my work is published for free under a creativ...

economicsfromthetopdown.com

Reposted by Blair Fix

Jenny Yeremiy, P. Geoph 🪶🌿🇵🇸🇳🇬🇱🇧🇨🇦 @jennyyeremiy.bsky.social · 15d

Outside Calgary-Bow but want to get involved? Volunteer: recallnicolaides.ca/volunteer-re...

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#Reclaim #Public #Education #abpoli #ableg #CalgaryBow

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Shibley Telhami, Jan W. Mueller , and 10 more Anne Applebaum, Shibley Telhami, Jan W. Mueller, Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Guy Grossman, Juan Cole, Trevon D. Logan, R. M. Wilson, W. Andy Knight, Daryl Adair, Simon Lester, Blair Fix

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 17d

Trump: "They cheated on a commercial. Ronald Reagan loved tariffs and they said he didn't. And I guess it was AI or something. They cheated badly. Canada got caught cheating on a commercial. Can you believe it?"

Reposted by Erich Fromm, Matías Vernengo, Michael H. Whitworth , and 2 more Erich Fromm, Matías Vernengo, Michael H. Whitworth, Blair Fix, Prakash Kashwan

Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 17d

"Forgive me, but how in the world is this not on the front page of every American newspaper, leading every cable news show, and right smack dab in the middle of every legacy media homepage? Why are we, at Zeteo, the only folks leading with this insane story?"
zeteo.com/p/trump-ille...

👑 Trump's Third Term?

Peter Rothpletz on Donald Trump's brazen push to secure a 3rd (forever?) term, the White House's transformation into a Saddam Hussein-style palace, and the bombshell NBA gambling indictments.

zeteo.com

Reposted by Blair Fix

Christopher Mims @mims.bsky.social · 17d

Whenever I start to wonder why humans are having such a tough time with modernity I find it helpful to remember that:

1. We’re animals. And we've only been human for 0.15% of the time that mammals have existed.

2. We’ve only had written language for 1.8% of the time that we’ve been human.

1/3

Reposted by Iain Davidson, E. Wayne Ross, Blair Fix

Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 17d

Priorities.

Reposted by Blair Fix

MEDIA INDIGENA @mediaindigena.bsky.social · 19d

"[B]ehind ever billionaire is a complicated [seldom public] network of corporate control... [Here], we’ll map the ownership network of 10 billionaire families in Canada."

Revealing work by @dtcochrane.bsky.social + @blairfix.bsky.social

economicsfromthetopdown.com/2023/06/23/m...

Mapping the Ownership Network of Canada’s Billionaire Families – Economics from the Top Down

DT Cochrane and I look at the network of corporate power behind Canada's richest families.

economicsfromthetopdown.com

Reposted by Rita Rubin, Rebecca Tushnet, Alan Richardson , and 6 more Rita Rubin, Rebecca Tushnet, Alan Richardson, David R. Miller, Mark Rice, Blair Fix, Manisha Sinha, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Colin Woodard

Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 19d

There is no difference between Trump destroying the East Wing and using a wrecking ball on the Washington Monument or Smithsonian. Just because he (temporarily) lives there doesn't give him the right to demolish the White House without Congressional approval.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 19d

a live look at the demolition of the White House's East Wing for Trump's ballroom

Reposted by Anna O. Law, James Goodwin, Blair Fix , and 1 more Anna O. Law, James Goodwin, Blair Fix, David Darmofal

Stephen Wolf @stephenwolf.bsky.social · 19d

North Carolina’s GOP just enacted a new congressional gerrymander to win an 11-3 GOP majority in a swing state by targeting Black Dem Don Davis.

They already gerrymandered a 10-4 edge in 2024 by replacing a fairer map that split 7-7 in 2022.

Interactive map: davesredistricting.org/join/3f06a7f...

Image of a gerrymandered congressional map enacted by North Carolina Republicans for 2026 that was drawn to elect an 11-to-3 Republican majority in this swing state. The districts are colored by the 2024 presidential winner's margin.

Donald Trump won the 11 red districts by strong but not overwhelming margins while Kamala Harris won 3 districts by lopsided margins. Trump won 9 of the red districts by at least 14 percentage points, one more seat by 12 points, and the final seat by 9.5 points. He won North Carolina overall by just over 3 points.

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Will Jennings, Cathy N. Davidson , and 2 more Anna O. Law, Will Jennings, Cathy N. Davidson, Blair Fix, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò

Jay Van Bavel, PhD @jayvanbavel.bsky.social · 19d

Social media users adopt the toxic behaviors of ingroup members

An analysis of 7 million tweets from over 700,000 accounts finds that exposures to toxic behavior by ingroup members is the primary driver of contagious toxicity online academic.oup.com/jcmc/article...

Reposted by Blair Fix

Reposted by Steve Peers, Blair Fix

Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 20d

NEW — I'm suing DC Metro Police for the full body cam footage from the DOGE raid on the US Institute of Peace back in March.

The public deserves to know why MPD chose to sell out the people they’re tasked with protecting in order to bend to Trump's will. I'm repped pro bono by @rcfp.org.

Details:

I'm suing DC Metro Police for body cam footage of US Institute of Peace raid

The Handbasket is represented pro bono by lawyers from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

www.thehandbasket.co

Reposted by Alan Richardson, Blair Fix

Joseph Gruber @josephgruber.com · 20d

That’s called burying the lead

Reposted by Edward Witten, Elizabeth Saunders, Nicholas A. Christakis , and 28 more Edward Witten, Elizabeth Saunders, Nicholas A. Christakis, Staffan I. Lindberg, Will Jennings, Gavin A. Schmidt, Tom Clark, Scott L. Greer, Michael A. Clemens, Mary Feeney, Steven S. Smith, Joseph Schafer, Calvin K. Lai, Ryan Enos, Sanford F. Schram, Michael Kevane, James Grimmelmann, David R. Miller, Nazita Lajevardi, Robert B. Reich, James Goodwin, Seth Masket, Greg Linden, Éric Klinenberg, Blair Fix, Christina Pagel, Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò, Nathan P. Kalmoe, Timothy D. McBride, James M. Thomas, David Darmofal

The New York Times @nytimes.com · 20d

Breaking News: President Trump wants $230 million from the Justice Department for investigating him, people familiar with the matter say. Any settlement might ultimately be approved by senior department officials who defended him or those in his orbit. nyti.ms/4hmIi5X

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