Beth Popp Berman
@epopppp.bsky.social
Professor @ a large Midwestern univ. Wrote a book about economists + policy, one about academic science + policy.
Temporarily on the "government is breaking" beat, but I'd rather be posting about public utility debates from 1906.
I support 🏳️⚧️ rights.
Temporarily on the "government is breaking" beat, but I'd rather be posting about public utility debates from 1906.
I support 🏳️⚧️ rights.
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
November 7, 2025 at 1:24 PM
AI could end scarcity, end humanity - or boost trend growth by 0.2 percentage points
Just had an amazing day in which I finished a conference paper, saw two incredible talks/panels, had a meeting that gave me hope for the future, and got to catch up with an old grad school friend -- and then remembered that today is my 5-year cancerversary and I'm not dead, so that's pretty cool too
November 7, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Just had an amazing day in which I finished a conference paper, saw two incredible talks/panels, had a meeting that gave me hope for the future, and got to catch up with an old grad school friend -- and then remembered that today is my 5-year cancerversary and I'm not dead, so that's pretty cool too
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
Visited a recreation of Cybersyn — the Chilean socialist internet that predates the web. It had programs to communicate with a decentralized network of telex machines at factories (Cybernet), economic simulators (CHECO & Cyberstride), and this control room
Goal was to control the economy with clicks
Goal was to control the economy with clicks
November 6, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Visited a recreation of Cybersyn — the Chilean socialist internet that predates the web. It had programs to communicate with a decentralized network of telex machines at factories (Cybernet), economic simulators (CHECO & Cyberstride), and this control room
Goal was to control the economy with clicks
Goal was to control the economy with clicks
IDK, they could fund SNAP 🤷♂️
This wouldn’t happen if we still had a 92% top marginal tax rate, because obscene and dangerous payouts like this would be pointless.
Tesla shareholders approve $1 trillion pay package for Musk | CNN Business
Tesla shareholders approved a pay package on Thursday that could make CEO Elon Musk, already the world’s richest person, the world’s first trillionaire.
www.cnn.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:51 PM
IDK, they could fund SNAP 🤷♂️
"Repeal the 19th" was literally trending on X yesterday.
The gender views Douthat is platforming are widespread on the right, y'all. (h/t @mirya.bsky.social)
www.liberalcurrents.com/women-should...
www.liberalcurrents.com/women-should...
Women Should Make Babies, Not Vote: Why Some on the Far Right Want to Repeal the 19th Amendment
The far right takes losses at the ballot box as evidence that women do not deserve their rights.
www.liberalcurrents.com
November 6, 2025 at 4:52 PM
"Repeal the 19th" was literally trending on X yesterday.
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
Can’t wait to dive into this piece by Daniel Keuhn “W. E. B. Du Bois, Harvard Economics, and Marginalist Wage Theory.” Great to see Journal of Economic Perspectives feature work on DuBois, further integrating his insights into economics. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
Retrospectives: W. E. B. Du Bois, Harvard Economics, and Marginalist Wage Theory
(Fall 2025) - W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) is best known as a sociologist, historian, and civil rights leader, but he is also increasingly appreciated as an economist. Du Bois's work in economics was ...
www.aeaweb.org
November 6, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Can’t wait to dive into this piece by Daniel Keuhn “W. E. B. Du Bois, Harvard Economics, and Marginalist Wage Theory.” Great to see Journal of Economic Perspectives feature work on DuBois, further integrating his insights into economics. www.aeaweb.org/articles?id=...
The part I still find wildest is that he's Mahmood Mamdani's son.
November 5, 2025 at 12:45 PM
The part I still find wildest is that he's Mahmood Mamdani's son.
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
In 1983, households aged 75+ were 5% richer than the average. In 2022, they were 55% richer.
Meanwhile, under-35 households went from 21% of average wealth to just 16%.
America’s wealth is aging way faster than its population.
www.nber.org/digest/20251...
Meanwhile, under-35 households went from 21% of average wealth to just 16%.
America’s wealth is aging way faster than its population.
www.nber.org/digest/20251...
November 4, 2025 at 3:58 PM
In 1983, households aged 75+ were 5% richer than the average. In 2022, they were 55% richer.
Meanwhile, under-35 households went from 21% of average wealth to just 16%.
America’s wealth is aging way faster than its population.
www.nber.org/digest/20251...
Meanwhile, under-35 households went from 21% of average wealth to just 16%.
America’s wealth is aging way faster than its population.
www.nber.org/digest/20251...
This has been a debate worth reading.
Today, Matthew Dimick argues that while antitrust may promise to tame corporate power, it leaves untouched the deeper logic of capitalism that compels production for profit’s sake.
The latest in our mini-series on Marxism and Antitrust.
The latest in our mini-series on Marxism and Antitrust.
Marx, Antitrust, and the Logic of Capital
Antitrust may promise to tame corporate power, but it leaves untouched the deeper logic of capitalism that compels production for profit's sake. In this sense, antitrust is not voluntarist enough…
lpeproject.org
November 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
This has been a debate worth reading.
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
this all happening in tandem with deregulating and promoting the crypto universe is kind of, well, 😬
The @federalreserve.gov is expecting to cut about 30% of its workforce dedicated to bank supervision and regulation by the end of 2026.
This is in addition to its broader move to weaken the substantive regulations that apply to the banking industry.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
This is in addition to its broader move to weaken the substantive regulations that apply to the banking industry.
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Fed’s Bowman Moves to Reduce Bank-Supervision Unit By About 30%
The Federal Reserve’s top bank cop announced plans to reorganize the agency’s supervision and regulation division and shrink the unit’s staff by roughly 30%.
www.bloomberg.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:59 PM
this all happening in tandem with deregulating and promoting the crypto universe is kind of, well, 😬
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
@janfichtner.bsky.social has updated his fantastic charts showing the enduring 🇺🇸 dominance in global finance (& 🇨🇳’s continued marginality, with only incremental rise) as the central feature of the world economy. We will see what the future brings, of course. Must-read new paper.
🚨New publication with Kristijan Kotarski:
Enduring Structural Power? Assessing the Dominance of the Anglosphere in Global Finance Before the Trump Turn
Includes novel visualizations of global finance (banking, portfolio inv & FDI) showing persistent US centrality
hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/487488
Enduring Structural Power? Assessing the Dominance of the Anglosphere in Global Finance Before the Trump Turn
Includes novel visualizations of global finance (banking, portfolio inv & FDI) showing persistent US centrality
hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/487488
October 30, 2025 at 1:24 PM
@janfichtner.bsky.social has updated his fantastic charts showing the enduring 🇺🇸 dominance in global finance (& 🇨🇳’s continued marginality, with only incremental rise) as the central feature of the world economy. We will see what the future brings, of course. Must-read new paper.
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
Imagine Trump said he was illegally stopping November Social Security payments & incorrectly blamed the shutdown
The frame should be “Trump illegally halts Social Security checks,” not “Shutdown means November 1 marks a Social Security cliff, Dems share blame?”
But that’s what’s happening w/ SNAP
The frame should be “Trump illegally halts Social Security checks,” not “Shutdown means November 1 marks a Social Security cliff, Dems share blame?”
But that’s what’s happening w/ SNAP
Lots of reporting on SNAP getting the details wrong.
SNAP is not set to run out of money on November 1. There’s money in the contingency fund to pay benefits.
The Trump admin is illegally refusing to deliver benefits on November 1, despite having funding to pay benefits.
SNAP is not set to run out of money on November 1. There’s money in the contingency fund to pay benefits.
The Trump admin is illegally refusing to deliver benefits on November 1, despite having funding to pay benefits.
October 30, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Imagine Trump said he was illegally stopping November Social Security payments & incorrectly blamed the shutdown
The frame should be “Trump illegally halts Social Security checks,” not “Shutdown means November 1 marks a Social Security cliff, Dems share blame?”
But that’s what’s happening w/ SNAP
The frame should be “Trump illegally halts Social Security checks,” not “Shutdown means November 1 marks a Social Security cliff, Dems share blame?”
But that’s what’s happening w/ SNAP
god I don't know how my body can both viscerally reject the sky staying dark till after 8am and yet completely refuse to remain asleep all the way till 6
October 30, 2025 at 11:30 AM
god I don't know how my body can both viscerally reject the sky staying dark till after 8am and yet completely refuse to remain asleep all the way till 6
*My* media environment is telling me that the larger media environment is a bigger and bigger problem for a functional democracy.
this story just keeps giving
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
www.semafor.com/article/10/2...
October 30, 2025 at 11:29 AM
*My* media environment is telling me that the larger media environment is a bigger and bigger problem for a functional democracy.
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
Twitter/X is a story on its own:
🔴 While users have become more Republican
💥 POSTING has completely transformed: it has moved nearly ❗50 percentage points❗ from Democrat-dominated to slightly Republican-leaning.
🔴 While users have become more Republican
💥 POSTING has completely transformed: it has moved nearly ❗50 percentage points❗ from Democrat-dominated to slightly Republican-leaning.
October 30, 2025 at 8:09 AM
Twitter/X is a story on its own:
🔴 While users have become more Republican
💥 POSTING has completely transformed: it has moved nearly ❗50 percentage points❗ from Democrat-dominated to slightly Republican-leaning.
🔴 While users have become more Republican
💥 POSTING has completely transformed: it has moved nearly ❗50 percentage points❗ from Democrat-dominated to slightly Republican-leaning.
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.
October 30, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Genuinely delighted to download a PhD thesis from a university repository where the author has neglected to remove the words "BITCH THIS IS YOUR THESIS" from the filename.
There hasn't been a lot of empirical evidence yet -- here's a start from Kim + Hamilton.
Faculty hiring of URMs decreases after state introduction (not passage) of anti-DEI legislation. Impact greater for teaching-focused schools, and increases with state revenue dependence. osf.io/preprints/so...
Faculty hiring of URMs decreases after state introduction (not passage) of anti-DEI legislation. Impact greater for teaching-focused schools, and increases with state revenue dependence. osf.io/preprints/so...
October 29, 2025 at 11:18 PM
There hasn't been a lot of empirical evidence yet -- here's a start from Kim + Hamilton.
Faculty hiring of URMs decreases after state introduction (not passage) of anti-DEI legislation. Impact greater for teaching-focused schools, and increases with state revenue dependence. osf.io/preprints/so...
Faculty hiring of URMs decreases after state introduction (not passage) of anti-DEI legislation. Impact greater for teaching-focused schools, and increases with state revenue dependence. osf.io/preprints/so...
I think I sort of assumed I knew what Lord of the Rings is about and today I am learning, no
October 29, 2025 at 10:59 PM
I think I sort of assumed I knew what Lord of the Rings is about and today I am learning, no
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
October 29, 2025 at 3:03 PM
New incredible detail here: ICE says a match in its facial recognition app Mobile Fortify is a "definitive" determination of a person's status, and that this overrides birth certificates. This is an app ICE is using in the field to scan people
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
www.404media.co/ice-and-cbp-...
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
Indicting Democratic candidates on transparently pretextual charges is the latest sign that things are getting very bad.
NEWS: Federal prosecutors indict Kat Abughazaleh, congressional candidate, county board candidate Cat Sharp and Dem committeeman Michael Rabbitt over September Broadview protest
October 29, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Indicting Democratic candidates on transparently pretextual charges is the latest sign that things are getting very bad.
Reposted by Beth Popp Berman
wait, a kinship terminology angle in the news? anthropologists, it's your chance to get that public-facing opinion piece out
“you can’t refer to your dad’s cousin as your aunt” is their closing scandal? yeah they got nothin’, they’re cooked
lmao
October 28, 2025 at 6:33 PM
wait, a kinship terminology angle in the news? anthropologists, it's your chance to get that public-facing opinion piece out
Damn. "The largest blind spot in current financial oversight is the belief that financial oversight in the U.S. still exists."
What is the largest blind spot in current financial oversight?
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), E.J. Antoni, Thomas Hoenig, Nellie Liang, Rohan Grey, Kathryn Judge, Hilary Allen, Brad Lipton, Angela Walch, Rohit Chopra
www.notus.org
October 28, 2025 at 11:28 AM
Damn. "The largest blind spot in current financial oversight is the belief that financial oversight in the U.S. still exists."
What if the real greatest impact of AI is not that it replaces work but that it psychologically disassembles humans?
In a given week, OpenAI estimated that around .07 percent of active ChatGPT users show “possible signs of mental health emergencies related to psychosis or mania” and .15 percent “have conversations that include explicit indicators of potential suicidal planning or intent.”
Here's How Many People May Use ChatGPT During a Mental Health Crisis Each Week
OpenAI released initial estimates about the share of users who may be experiencing symptoms like delusional thinking, mania, or suicidal ideation, and says it has tweaked GPT-5 to respond more effecti...
www.wired.com
October 28, 2025 at 11:04 AM
What if the real greatest impact of AI is not that it replaces work but that it psychologically disassembles humans?
I think if the dems truly did things that made economic life better the corporate consultants would be begging for a return to identity politics
what the hell are you talking about man, biden's entire presidency was about the middle class. it was the entire political theory behind deliverism and the economy
October 28, 2025 at 10:57 AM
I think if the dems truly did things that made economic life better the corporate consultants would be begging for a return to identity politics