Chance Phillips
@chancephillips.bsky.social
A student in the economics PhD program at UMass Amherst.
Recreationally reading: Harry Jaffa’s Crisis of the House Divided
Most bylines in @alreporter.com and @liberalcurrents.com
Substack: someconvenienttree.com
Recreationally reading: Harry Jaffa’s Crisis of the House Divided
Most bylines in @alreporter.com and @liberalcurrents.com
Substack: someconvenienttree.com
Pinned
Crunching the Numbers on Predistribution
Merely including the elderly flips the relative importance of redistribution.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org
As my own little intervention into the predistribution vs. redistribution discourse, I sanity checked one recent estimate of how much taxes and transfers matter for reducing income inequality. And I found they matter far more than folks have been saying.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/10/31/c...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/10/31/c...
Reposted by Chance Phillips
oh so these people do pay attention to who politicians follow on social media, they just don’t care that the vice president follows a bunch of actual neo-nazis
Axios tried to bust James Talarico for following adult content creators on Instagram and I'm genuinely impressed by his campaign's response
November 8, 2025 at 4:39 PM
oh so these people do pay attention to who politicians follow on social media, they just don’t care that the vice president follows a bunch of actual neo-nazis
Trump’s newfound concern for collusion in meatpacking clashes pretty obviously with the admin’s actual track record of loosening regulations to “[ensure] our producers remain competitive on a global scale without being held back by unnecessary bureaucracy.”
www.currentaffairs.org/news/we-neve...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/we-neve...
November 7, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Trump’s newfound concern for collusion in meatpacking clashes pretty obviously with the admin’s actual track record of loosening regulations to “[ensure] our producers remain competitive on a global scale without being held back by unnecessary bureaucracy.”
www.currentaffairs.org/news/we-neve...
www.currentaffairs.org/news/we-neve...
Reposted by Chance Phillips
A huge thank you to all the volunteers and activists who spoke with me yesterday, especially from @jfrejnyc.bsky.social and @caaavnyc.bsky.social. WHEN WE FIGHT WE WIN.
New Yorkers Say Yes to Mamdani, That’s Spelled M A M D A N I - The American Prospect
By 3 p.m. Tuesday, New York voters had already surpassed the turnout of any mayoral election since 2001, casting 1.4 million votes. Volunteers and advocates say the best thing to do today is celebrate...
prospect.org
November 5, 2025 at 2:27 PM
A huge thank you to all the volunteers and activists who spoke with me yesterday, especially from @jfrejnyc.bsky.social and @caaavnyc.bsky.social. WHEN WE FIGHT WE WIN.
“We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about.” — NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani
November 5, 2025 at 4:35 AM
“We will prove that there is no problem too large for government to solve, and no concern too small for it to care about.” — NYC mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani
Reposted by Chance Phillips
The Nordic countries have far less economic inequality than the United States. Most of the difference is due to the Nordics’ welfare states.
The Nordics Have Low Inequality Mostly Because of Welfare
The Nordic countries have far less economic inequality than the United States. Most of the difference is due to the Nordics’ welfare states.
jacobin.com
November 4, 2025 at 1:59 PM
The Nordic countries have far less economic inequality than the United States. Most of the difference is due to the Nordics’ welfare states.
“Talking with some of the interns I think that there are a growing number of them who actually agree” with Nick Fuentes — one Heritage Foundation employee, per the NY Post.
The Republican staffer class has a major Nazi infestation that’s not going away anytime soon.
nypost.com/2025/11/03/u...
The Republican staffer class has a major Nazi infestation that’s not going away anytime soon.
nypost.com/2025/11/03/u...
Exclusive | Heritage Foundation in revolt over Tucker Carlson defense after controversial Nick Fuentes interview: ‘Footsie with literal Nazis’
“I’m disgusted by this,” said one Heritage staffer.
nypost.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:26 AM
“Talking with some of the interns I think that there are a growing number of them who actually agree” with Nick Fuentes — one Heritage Foundation employee, per the NY Post.
The Republican staffer class has a major Nazi infestation that’s not going away anytime soon.
nypost.com/2025/11/03/u...
The Republican staffer class has a major Nazi infestation that’s not going away anytime soon.
nypost.com/2025/11/03/u...
As my own little intervention into the predistribution vs. redistribution discourse, I sanity checked one recent estimate of how much taxes and transfers matter for reducing income inequality. And I found they matter far more than folks have been saying.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/10/31/c...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/10/31/c...
Crunching the Numbers on Predistribution
Merely including the elderly flips the relative importance of redistribution.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org
October 31, 2025 at 5:42 PM
As my own little intervention into the predistribution vs. redistribution discourse, I sanity checked one recent estimate of how much taxes and transfers matter for reducing income inequality. And I found they matter far more than folks have been saying.
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/10/31/c...
www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2025/10/31/c...
Reposted by Chance Phillips
It makes no sense to analyze the proposals in the abstract, and ignore the specific political moment this vote is coming at. And it makes no sense to say you want more affordable housing, but oppose any changes to land use rules that currently make it hard to build any kind of new housing anywhere.
October 30, 2025 at 3:13 PM
It makes no sense to analyze the proposals in the abstract, and ignore the specific political moment this vote is coming at. And it makes no sense to say you want more affordable housing, but oppose any changes to land use rules that currently make it hard to build any kind of new housing anywhere.
Reposted by Chance Phillips
“I stuck with my newsletter in order to stay in journalism. I didn’t have any other marketable skills. I had to keep writing to make sure I could keep writing.”
For the @talkingpointsmemo.com 25th anniversary, I was asked to write about going independent and the future of journalism. Read here:
For the @talkingpointsmemo.com 25th anniversary, I was asked to write about going independent and the future of journalism. Read here:
Journalists Became Personal Brands. That’s Not Necessarily a Bad Thing.
At the very start of the second Trump administration when multiple explosive...
talkingpointsmemo.com
October 24, 2025 at 3:18 PM
“I stuck with my newsletter in order to stay in journalism. I didn’t have any other marketable skills. I had to keep writing to make sure I could keep writing.”
For the @talkingpointsmemo.com 25th anniversary, I was asked to write about going independent and the future of journalism. Read here:
For the @talkingpointsmemo.com 25th anniversary, I was asked to write about going independent and the future of journalism. Read here:
“One reporter who was well-known for creating news was Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, who wrote for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World under the pseudonym Nelly Bly. She first secured a job on Pulitzer's paper by feigning a mental collapse to gain entry to New York's Bellevue Hospital. ...
October 19, 2025 at 1:50 AM
“One reporter who was well-known for creating news was Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman, who wrote for Joseph Pulitzer's New York World under the pseudonym Nelly Bly. She first secured a job on Pulitzer's paper by feigning a mental collapse to gain entry to New York's Bellevue Hospital. ...
Reposted by Chance Phillips
🚨NEW: After we revealed Russ Vought's "put them in trauma" video, I spent the next year reporting on him, his influence, and his vision for America.
Yes, I got *new* recordings & videos of Vought.
Here is the story.
A @propublica.org + @newyorker.com collab: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Yes, I got *new* recordings & videos of Vought.
Here is the story.
A @propublica.org + @newyorker.com collab: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Donald Trump’s Deep-State Wrecking Ball
Russell Vought is using the White House budget office to lay waste to the federal bureaucracy—firing workers, decimating agencies, and testing the rule of law.
www.newyorker.com
October 17, 2025 at 1:27 PM
🚨NEW: After we revealed Russ Vought's "put them in trauma" video, I spent the next year reporting on him, his influence, and his vision for America.
Yes, I got *new* recordings & videos of Vought.
Here is the story.
A @propublica.org + @newyorker.com collab: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Yes, I got *new* recordings & videos of Vought.
Here is the story.
A @propublica.org + @newyorker.com collab: www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Chance Phillips
Some economists argue that European countries have lower inequality than the US because they distribute market income much more equally, not because of their welfare states.
This is false: the welfare state beats market-income compression.
This is false: the welfare state beats market-income compression.
Europe Primarily Uses the Welfare State to Fight Inequality
Some economists argue that European countries have lower inequality than the US because they distribute market income much more equally, not because of their welfare states. This is false: the welfare state beats market-income compression.
jacobin.com
October 16, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Some economists argue that European countries have lower inequality than the US because they distribute market income much more equally, not because of their welfare states.
This is false: the welfare state beats market-income compression.
This is false: the welfare state beats market-income compression.
Reposted by Chance Phillips
Tuberville called Democratic politicians “absolutely mentally retarded” during a lengthy interview on The Alex Jones Show.
Sen. Tuberville appeared on infamous conspiracy theorist’s show to attack “Sharia law”
Tuberville called Democratic politicians “absolutely mentally retarded” during a lengthy interview on The Alex Jones Show.
www.alreporter.com
October 16, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Tuberville called Democratic politicians “absolutely mentally retarded” during a lengthy interview on The Alex Jones Show.
Last week, Alabama senator and gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville became the latest major politician to guest on The Alex Jones Show. Tuberville fielded questions about supposed plans to “kick off a race war” and called Democratic mayors “mentally retarded.”
www.alreporter.com/2025/10/16/t...
www.alreporter.com/2025/10/16/t...
Sen. Tuberville appeared on infamous conspiracy theorist’s show to attack “Sharia law”
Tuberville called Democratic politicians “absolutely mentally retarded” during a lengthy interview on The Alex Jones Show.
www.alreporter.com
October 16, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Last week, Alabama senator and gubernatorial candidate Tommy Tuberville became the latest major politician to guest on The Alex Jones Show. Tuberville fielded questions about supposed plans to “kick off a race war” and called Democratic mayors “mentally retarded.”
www.alreporter.com/2025/10/16/t...
www.alreporter.com/2025/10/16/t...
Bad economics humor:
“What do you call a glaring problem in an economics paper?”
“I don’t know, what?”
“An online appendix.”
“What do you call a glaring problem in an economics paper?”
“I don’t know, what?”
“An online appendix.”
October 14, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Bad economics humor:
“What do you call a glaring problem in an economics paper?”
“I don’t know, what?”
“An online appendix.”
“What do you call a glaring problem in an economics paper?”
“I don’t know, what?”
“An online appendix.”
A genuinely good piece of reportage in Politico today sheds some light on young Republicans’ love of racial epithets and other slurs. I definitely recommend reading it, but as I’ve explained before, I doubt this will lead to any sort of a reckoning for Republicans.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
‘I love Hitler’: Leaked messages expose Young Republicans’ racist chat
Thousands of private messages reveal young GOP leaders joking about gas chambers, slavery and rape.
www.politico.com
October 14, 2025 at 6:14 PM
A genuinely good piece of reportage in Politico today sheds some light on young Republicans’ love of racial epithets and other slurs. I definitely recommend reading it, but as I’ve explained before, I doubt this will lead to any sort of a reckoning for Republicans.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Reposted by Chance Phillips
Du Bois basically did a version of this in his bibliography in Black Reconstruction
October 14, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Du Bois basically did a version of this in his bibliography in Black Reconstruction
Reposted by Chance Phillips
I read Caleb Nelson's piece on the removal power and I was taken with a reference he makes in the conclusion.
![When the First Congress confronted the same ambiguities, more than one member warned against interpreting the Constitution in the expectation that all Presidents would have the sterling character of George Washington. The current Supreme Court may likewise see itself as interpreting the Constitution for the ages, and perhaps some of the Justices take comfort in the idea that future Presidents will not all have the character of Donald Trump. But the future is not guaranteed; a President bent on vengeful, destructive, and lawless behavior can do lasting damage to our norms and institutions. As one member of Congress argued in 1789, we should not gravitate toward interpretations of the Constitution that “legaliz[e] the full exertion of a tyrannical disposition.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:nvfposmpmhegtyvhbs75s3pw/bafkreidrd7kigkac6qzn53ymc2mnuxmt4hac3tsbjarcaefi4t6omfazgi@jpeg)
October 13, 2025 at 5:49 PM
I read Caleb Nelson's piece on the removal power and I was taken with a reference he makes in the conclusion.
The lack of folks pointing out that Jay Jones’ initial comments (“put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time”) closely parallel a bit from The Office is odd in my opinion.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIoq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIoq...
Killing Bin Laden, Hitler, and Toby - The Office US
YouTube video by The Office
www.youtube.com
October 10, 2025 at 10:10 PM
The lack of folks pointing out that Jay Jones’ initial comments (“put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time”) closely parallel a bit from The Office is odd in my opinion.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIoq...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIoq...
Used bookstores in college towns are invariably better than used bookstores in cities without a large university.
October 10, 2025 at 4:42 PM
Used bookstores in college towns are invariably better than used bookstores in cities without a large university.
New video from @jamellebouie.net on the Lincoln-Douglas debates 👀 (also a good reminder I really need to finish Crisis of the House Divided this month)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Q8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Q8...
Why the Lincoln-Douglas Debates Still Matter
YouTube video by Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie
www.youtube.com
October 9, 2025 at 1:42 PM
New video from @jamellebouie.net on the Lincoln-Douglas debates 👀 (also a good reminder I really need to finish Crisis of the House Divided this month)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Q8...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Q8...
(Sagely) Joan Robinson talked about this.
“Every demand depends upon every other price. If the mat makers are exceptionally heavy drinkers, the demand for liquor will be high on the days when they have been lucky.”
“Every demand depends upon every other price. If the mat makers are exceptionally heavy drinkers, the demand for liquor will be high on the days when they have been lucky.”
October 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM
(Sagely) Joan Robinson talked about this.
“Every demand depends upon every other price. If the mat makers are exceptionally heavy drinkers, the demand for liquor will be high on the days when they have been lucky.”
“Every demand depends upon every other price. If the mat makers are exceptionally heavy drinkers, the demand for liquor will be high on the days when they have been lucky.”
Reposted by Chance Phillips
my life is that I record a podcast episode all about tariffs and leave the booth just to find out there are more tariffs
October 6, 2025 at 7:42 PM
my life is that I record a podcast episode all about tariffs and leave the booth just to find out there are more tariffs
Reposted by Chance Phillips
Rep. Chris Pringle said a group of deer hunters who use dogs threatened his property, leading him to vote against rules limiting dog-assisted hunting.
Lawmaker says group threatened to burn his home, land over dog deer hunting
Rep. Chris Pringle said a group of deer hunters who use dogs threatened his property, leading him to vote against rules limiting dog-assisted hunting.
www.alreporter.com
October 3, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Rep. Chris Pringle said a group of deer hunters who use dogs threatened his property, leading him to vote against rules limiting dog-assisted hunting.
Are you telling me that Trump was fine with/approved of Project 2025 when he told the press he didn't know about it? And that Project 2025 contributors & fans were the folks chosen to staff his second admin? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you!
Well, not that shocked.
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-trump-...
Well, not that shocked.
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-trump-...
October 2, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Are you telling me that Trump was fine with/approved of Project 2025 when he told the press he didn't know about it? And that Project 2025 contributors & fans were the folks chosen to staff his second admin? I'm shocked, shocked I tell you!
Well, not that shocked.
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-trump-...
Well, not that shocked.
www.thebulwark.com/p/the-trump-...