Chirag Lala
@cthelala.bsky.social
Indian-American. VP of Research & Chief Economist at Center for Public Enterprise. PhD Candidate at UMass Economics. Macro + Finance + Industrial Policy + Decarbonization + Grids + Investment
https://publicenterprise.org/author/chirag/
https://publicenterprise.org/author/chirag/
Pinned
Chirag Lala
@cthelala.bsky.social
· Nov 12
Made what I believe to be the first "Macroeconomics and Finance" starter pack! Do send me recommendations or requests to join.
It's a broad umbrella - so not just for economists! Practitioners, industry, and adjacent policy folks are all welcome.
go.bsky.app/PF8LBMv
It's a broad umbrella - so not just for economists! Practitioners, industry, and adjacent policy folks are all welcome.
go.bsky.app/PF8LBMv
Reposted by Chirag Lala
Today, for @publicenterprise.bsky.social, I'm doing some buy-side research for policymakers: How do renewable energy project financing conditions challenge public agencies' ability to deliver on their clean energy goals?
Here's our latest research note:
publicenterprise.org/report/resea...
Here's our latest research note:
publicenterprise.org/report/resea...
Research note: Energy finance in 2026
Every January, the project finance law team at Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF) brings together bankers and infrastructure investment experts to discuss trends across the American energy and infrastructure...
publicenterprise.org
February 4, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Today, for @publicenterprise.bsky.social, I'm doing some buy-side research for policymakers: How do renewable energy project financing conditions challenge public agencies' ability to deliver on their clean energy goals?
Here's our latest research note:
publicenterprise.org/report/resea...
Here's our latest research note:
publicenterprise.org/report/resea...
Reposted by Chirag Lala
imo just mechanically vote for whichever Senate candidate promises most clearly to destroy the filibuster
February 1, 2026 at 8:07 PM
imo just mechanically vote for whichever Senate candidate promises most clearly to destroy the filibuster
Reposted by Chirag Lala
Congress should consider making it a felony to demolish federally owned buildings without congressional approval.
Trump: "I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything."
February 2, 2026 at 12:25 AM
Congress should consider making it a felony to demolish federally owned buildings without congressional approval.
Random thing I wanna learn more about is the AEF in WW1. Used French (?) equipment. The organizational structure relative to the Entente was contentious. Period of combat (Cantigny, 2nd Marne, Belleau Wood, Meuse Argonne) seems rapid. Postwar recriminations over mobilization affected WW2 prep.
February 2, 2026 at 1:07 AM
Random thing I wanna learn more about is the AEF in WW1. Used French (?) equipment. The organizational structure relative to the Entente was contentious. Period of combat (Cantigny, 2nd Marne, Belleau Wood, Meuse Argonne) seems rapid. Postwar recriminations over mobilization affected WW2 prep.
Reposted by Chirag Lala
Real talk: if the environment is anything close to what yesterday’s special election implies in November, there need to be people working very hard on a serious agenda for a substantial Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, focused on voting rights, democracy, and court reform.
February 1, 2026 at 2:04 PM
Real talk: if the environment is anything close to what yesterday’s special election implies in November, there need to be people working very hard on a serious agenda for a substantial Democratic majority in both houses of Congress, focused on voting rights, democracy, and court reform.
Reposted by Chirag Lala
basically think of it as the 2017 UK GE where the Canadian Tories are in the position of Labour
Am I going crazy? Wasn't this the guy who blew a sure thing and like lost his seat or some such humiliation?
February 1, 2026 at 1:01 PM
basically think of it as the 2017 UK GE where the Canadian Tories are in the position of Labour
Reposted by Chirag Lala
If they wanted to do this they should pushed wider Income tax reform. In particular pensioners, self-employed and SME owners tax breaks.
Momentum is building among backbench Labour MPs to force action on student loans
Options include 0% interest rates, raising repayment thresholds and monthly payments so students aren't forced into overdrafts
MPs said to be "spooked" by possible Reform policy offer
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Options include 0% interest rates, raising repayment thresholds and monthly payments so students aren't forced into overdrafts
MPs said to be "spooked" by possible Reform policy offer
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Young Labour MPs team up to force chancellor’s hand on st...
Backbenchers hope to overturn chancellor’s change to scheme that could burden graduates with above-inflation interest rate increases
observer.co.uk
February 1, 2026 at 12:46 PM
If they wanted to do this they should pushed wider Income tax reform. In particular pensioners, self-employed and SME owners tax breaks.
There were times in which the American right held seemingly immovable power by unifying the worst tendencies of contemporary politics.
American liberalism was able to form coalitions to fight and defeat that hegemony once it recognized the task. Those coalitions built modern American society.
American liberalism was able to form coalitions to fight and defeat that hegemony once it recognized the task. Those coalitions built modern American society.
The US needs to annihilate MAGA as a viable national political movement (it can hang on as a regional rump and we'll be fine) *and* dismember the Unitary Executive permanently.
The latter can be done by a mix of legal statutes and packing SCOTUS with reformers, although we should do an Amendment.
The latter can be done by a mix of legal statutes and packing SCOTUS with reformers, although we should do an Amendment.
February 1, 2026 at 4:37 AM
There were times in which the American right held seemingly immovable power by unifying the worst tendencies of contemporary politics.
American liberalism was able to form coalitions to fight and defeat that hegemony once it recognized the task. Those coalitions built modern American society.
American liberalism was able to form coalitions to fight and defeat that hegemony once it recognized the task. Those coalitions built modern American society.
Reposted by Chirag Lala
Maybe 🇨🇦 & 🇪🇺 can insulate themselves from a 🇺🇸 that has totally lost its mind on both domestic & foreign policy by working with 🇨🇳. But if folks believe lack of respect for sovereignty, credible commitments, personalist authoritarianism, financial stability, nationalism, etc. are problems in 🇺🇸, then 🤷♂️
Been thinking about stuff like this a lot as everyone predicts the certain end/demise of 🇺🇸 power/hegemony. On every metric people look at (democratic backsliding/authoritarianism, debt problems, destroying soft power, inequality/abundance), 🇨🇳 scores so much worse. We’re acting stupidly, but still.
the average housing unit price in Beijing is close to a million dollars, in a city where the average income is around $28,000 a year*
*this is probably an overestimate because of excluding migrant workers
*this is probably an overestimate because of excluding migrant workers
January 25, 2026 at 12:00 AM
Maybe 🇨🇦 & 🇪🇺 can insulate themselves from a 🇺🇸 that has totally lost its mind on both domestic & foreign policy by working with 🇨🇳. But if folks believe lack of respect for sovereignty, credible commitments, personalist authoritarianism, financial stability, nationalism, etc. are problems in 🇺🇸, then 🤷♂️
Reposted by Chirag Lala
Again, in a moment where everyone thinks countries are going to shift to credible int'l cooperation with 🇨🇳 instead of us, I'll note that everything everyone is <rightly> worried about in 🇺🇸 (aging personalist authoritarians, corruption, debt, repression, concentration camps, etc.) is far worse in 🇨🇳:
Xi Jinping has, in effect, hollowed out his entire military leadership. A former CIA analyst calls his latest moves “the most stunning development in Chinese politics since the early days of Xi’s rise to power”
What Xi Jinping’s purge of China’s most senior general reveals
A purge of the military high command, unmatched since Mao’s death, may affect China’s ability to fight
econ.st
January 24, 2026 at 11:37 PM
Again, in a moment where everyone thinks countries are going to shift to credible int'l cooperation with 🇨🇳 instead of us, I'll note that everything everyone is <rightly> worried about in 🇺🇸 (aging personalist authoritarians, corruption, debt, repression, concentration camps, etc.) is far worse in 🇨🇳:
Reposted by Chirag Lala
I just got tear gassed along with thousands of union members, many of whom had their families with them. Federal agents at the ICE facility tear gassed children. We must abolish ICE, DHS, and we must have prosecutions. I expect to see enforcement of our city code prohibiting the use of tear gas.
February 1, 2026 at 1:23 AM
I just got tear gassed along with thousands of union members, many of whom had their families with them. Federal agents at the ICE facility tear gassed children. We must abolish ICE, DHS, and we must have prosecutions. I expect to see enforcement of our city code prohibiting the use of tear gas.
Gita Gopinath praised the pick too.
Is Fed independence about operational autonomy? Or is about giving a class of folks from “central casting” certain graces despite their public records?
Is Fed independence about operational autonomy? Or is about giving a class of folks from “central casting” certain graces despite their public records?
Neil Dutta and Skanda being so anti-Warsh (my perspective as well) while people like Jason Furman and El-Erian praised him say a lot about how different types of people judge qualifications and character when it comes to Fed governors.
February 1, 2026 at 2:31 AM
Gita Gopinath praised the pick too.
Is Fed independence about operational autonomy? Or is about giving a class of folks from “central casting” certain graces despite their public records?
Is Fed independence about operational autonomy? Or is about giving a class of folks from “central casting” certain graces despite their public records?
Reposted by Chirag Lala
Neil Dutta and Skanda being so anti-Warsh (my perspective as well) while people like Jason Furman and El-Erian praised him say a lot about how different types of people judge qualifications and character when it comes to Fed governors.
January 31, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Neil Dutta and Skanda being so anti-Warsh (my perspective as well) while people like Jason Furman and El-Erian praised him say a lot about how different types of people judge qualifications and character when it comes to Fed governors.
Did Frederick Kagan end up publishing Vol II - IV of his "Napoleon and Europe" series?
January 30, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Did Frederick Kagan end up publishing Vol II - IV of his "Napoleon and Europe" series?
Reposted by Chirag Lala
A Democratic aide says of the new deal: “Sets a 2 week clock on DHS funding by itself. If republicans don’t do shit for two weeks, DHS shuts down and there’s little incentive for us to reopen without the guardrails on ICE”
January 29, 2026 at 10:45 PM
A Democratic aide says of the new deal: “Sets a 2 week clock on DHS funding by itself. If republicans don’t do shit for two weeks, DHS shuts down and there’s little incentive for us to reopen without the guardrails on ICE”
Since degrowth discourse is happening again at the other place, I'll also put in my two cents here.
If you desire decarbonization or other forms of environmental sustainability, the last thing your political program needs is to recreate treasury orthodoxy from first principles.
If you desire decarbonization or other forms of environmental sustainability, the last thing your political program needs is to recreate treasury orthodoxy from first principles.
January 27, 2026 at 10:47 PM
Since degrowth discourse is happening again at the other place, I'll also put in my two cents here.
If you desire decarbonization or other forms of environmental sustainability, the last thing your political program needs is to recreate treasury orthodoxy from first principles.
If you desire decarbonization or other forms of environmental sustainability, the last thing your political program needs is to recreate treasury orthodoxy from first principles.
Gold. Exchange rates. Yields. Shifting investment portfolios or reserve holdings. Trade invoicing.
These are NOT indicators of weakening exorbitant privilege. The US financial position is structural and will require a host of interlocking pieces to change. None of which have.
These are NOT indicators of weakening exorbitant privilege. The US financial position is structural and will require a host of interlocking pieces to change. None of which have.
January 27, 2026 at 7:18 PM
Gold. Exchange rates. Yields. Shifting investment portfolios or reserve holdings. Trade invoicing.
These are NOT indicators of weakening exorbitant privilege. The US financial position is structural and will require a host of interlocking pieces to change. None of which have.
These are NOT indicators of weakening exorbitant privilege. The US financial position is structural and will require a host of interlocking pieces to change. None of which have.
Reposted by Chirag Lala
This walks a careful line between endorsing the Trump DOE position, which is that tax credits are a form of cost overrun insurance (which is factually inaccurate even if politically expedient), and clarifying that it's not enough to get a new plant built.
January 27, 2026 at 5:44 PM
This walks a careful line between endorsing the Trump DOE position, which is that tax credits are a form of cost overrun insurance (which is factually inaccurate even if politically expedient), and clarifying that it's not enough to get a new plant built.
Reposted by Chirag Lala
This is 100% right but it will also require a lot of public capital and probably public power.
www.utilitydive.com/news/project...
www.utilitydive.com/news/project...
Project finance is the missing link for the nuclear buildout we need
This model fuels nearly every major energy infrastructure investment and should be applied to nuclear, too, writes Ruhani Arya of Bank of America.
www.utilitydive.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:06 PM
This is 100% right but it will also require a lot of public capital and probably public power.
www.utilitydive.com/news/project...
www.utilitydive.com/news/project...
Really excited to welcome Mitchell Smith to CPE as our Senior Associate for Transmission! He joins us after having worked at the DOE's Grid Deployment Office on accelerating permitting for large-scale Tx projects.
publicenterprise.org/author/mitch...
publicenterprise.org/author/mitch...
January 27, 2026 at 12:52 AM
Really excited to welcome Mitchell Smith to CPE as our Senior Associate for Transmission! He joins us after having worked at the DOE's Grid Deployment Office on accelerating permitting for large-scale Tx projects.
publicenterprise.org/author/mitch...
publicenterprise.org/author/mitch...
Answer is to lean hard into levers that cost little but will disproportionately help British growth. Radical planning reforms. EU reintegration. Positive case for migration. Not sure Starmer’s competitors are ready to use the majority this way. But it’s their way out and to distinguish themselves.
I think this is right. In general the thing that *all* the replacements to Starmer haven't reckoned with (other than Miliband, who doesn't count because IMV he genuinely does not want it), is that Reeves' budgets have placed neither public services nor the public finances on the road to recovery.
Being blocked seems to me optimal for Burnham. He gets to "would have easily won" without actually having to contest the seat, establishes himself as the contender Starmer fears most and, if Labour lose, gets "Keir would rather hurt the party by losing a seat, than have a rival win it" as a bonus.
January 25, 2026 at 8:42 PM
Answer is to lean hard into levers that cost little but will disproportionately help British growth. Radical planning reforms. EU reintegration. Positive case for migration. Not sure Starmer’s competitors are ready to use the majority this way. But it’s their way out and to distinguish themselves.
Fifth term LPC majority, new Silent Revolution, Crown Corporations doing industrial policy, provincial trade barriers gone, EV abundance, HSR corridor from Windsor to QC, Canada joins EU, and IESO-Quebec-Ix integration because BQ’s illiberal nationalists decide now is the time to be Pro-American.
i really don't know how well this is going to play in Quebec, especially if things devolve further in the US
"we need to re-establish ties with the Americans"
brother you are leaving the door open for Liberals to once again seize Quebec
"we need to re-establish ties with the Americans"
brother you are leaving the door open for Liberals to once again seize Quebec
January 25, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Fifth term LPC majority, new Silent Revolution, Crown Corporations doing industrial policy, provincial trade barriers gone, EV abundance, HSR corridor from Windsor to QC, Canada joins EU, and IESO-Quebec-Ix integration because BQ’s illiberal nationalists decide now is the time to be Pro-American.
Reposted by Chirag Lala
Thread. Many liberals are understandably much more comfortable in a technocratic environment where liberal values are largely assumed by all political actors.
What we have now is liberalism in exile, and we have to fight to win back the country from hostile powers. A different world.
What we have now is liberalism in exile, and we have to fight to win back the country from hostile powers. A different world.
yeah this is something i've seen a lot of in elite liberal circles: a kind of collapse of internal morale in the face of electoral losses. klein's interview with coates is probably the exemplar here. but it's a sign i think of how (elite) liberals assumed history had ended and lost their way
I think the most charitable way you can interpret a lot of Matty's commentary over the last few years is as the product of total despair.
January 25, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Thread. Many liberals are understandably much more comfortable in a technocratic environment where liberal values are largely assumed by all political actors.
What we have now is liberalism in exile, and we have to fight to win back the country from hostile powers. A different world.
What we have now is liberalism in exile, and we have to fight to win back the country from hostile powers. A different world.
Reposted by Chirag Lala
William Dalrymple rightly calls Mark Tully the greatest Indophile of his generation. A model of foreign interest and engagement with the subcontinent. What an awful loss.
Sir Mark Tully, the BBC's 'voice of India', dies aged 90
Sir Mark covered some of the defining moments in India's history in a career that spanned decades.
www.bbc.com
January 25, 2026 at 7:41 PM
William Dalrymple rightly calls Mark Tully the greatest Indophile of his generation. A model of foreign interest and engagement with the subcontinent. What an awful loss.
Reposted by Chirag Lala
hard to fathom. this wasn't a crackdown, it was a nationwide massacre.
"As many as 30,000 people could have been killed in the streets of Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 alone, two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health told TIME—indicating a dramatic surge in the death toll."
time.com/7357635/more...
time.com/7357635/more...
Iran Protest Death Toll Could Top 30,000: Local Officials
According to two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health who spoke with TIME.
time.com
January 25, 2026 at 5:44 PM
hard to fathom. this wasn't a crackdown, it was a nationwide massacre.