Jake Grumbach
@jakemgrumbach.bsky.social
policy, $, political economy of race // 70-80s soul, 90s hip hop // #DubNation // proud product of miscegenation // Berkeley prof (formerly: Princeton CSDP, UW)
A side story is there’s a ton of insider trading on these prediction markets. New accounts making hundreds of thousands on their first and only trade, that maduro would be ousted. Seems like insider trading is legal if not encouraged on these platforms
January 3, 2026 at 5:29 PM
A side story is there’s a ton of insider trading on these prediction markets. New accounts making hundreds of thousands on their first and only trade, that maduro would be ousted. Seems like insider trading is legal if not encouraged on these platforms
Incredible
This is a thread of major media outlets falsely anthropomorphising the "Grok" chatbot program and in doing so, actively and directly removing responsibility and accountability from individual people working at X who created a child pornography generator (Elon Musk, Nikita Bier etc)
#1: Reuters
#1: Reuters
January 2, 2026 at 11:43 PM
Incredible
This is quickly becoming the talking point, that 2/3 of tax revenue is eaten by fraud. Even after the whole DOGE saga. Hard to know if people like this AI startup CEO below sincerely believe it.
January 2, 2026 at 5:54 PM
This is quickly becoming the talking point, that 2/3 of tax revenue is eaten by fraud. Even after the whole DOGE saga. Hard to know if people like this AI startup CEO below sincerely believe it.
Lying to smear a minority group, being caught lying, and saying the ends justify the means for the sake of saving the nation or whatever is fascism 101. Obvious to anybody who knows anything about the 20th century. And musk and the entire tech right is doing it
January 2, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Lying to smear a minority group, being caught lying, and saying the ends justify the means for the sake of saving the nation or whatever is fascism 101. Obvious to anybody who knows anything about the 20th century. And musk and the entire tech right is doing it
Social media is in some ways more ‘democratic’ than traditional media, but it manufacturers consent even more powerfully because elites and grifters can light a fuse and then the mob runs with it in a cycle of anger and engagement farming
January 2, 2026 at 5:24 PM
Social media is in some ways more ‘democratic’ than traditional media, but it manufacturers consent even more powerfully because elites and grifters can light a fuse and then the mob runs with it in a cycle of anger and engagement farming
Reposted by Jake Grumbach
this is why I think publications that focus almost solely on culture war issues are so empty. The genuine economic, health, welfare etc impacts of policy are much more important than Ivy League coursework discourse but become sideshows to these people.
December 30, 2025 at 6:28 PM
this is why I think publications that focus almost solely on culture war issues are so empty. The genuine economic, health, welfare etc impacts of policy are much more important than Ivy League coursework discourse but become sideshows to these people.
Reposted by Jake Grumbach
I am serious about the invite - especially if you are junior or a grad student
I enjoy schmoozing with the future of econ
I enjoy schmoozing with the future of econ
Taking the train to Philly tomorrow for the #ASSA2026
Reach out if you want to get a coffee or drink!
I’ll be on this cheery panel about the future of higher ed on Sunday
Reach out if you want to get a coffee or drink!
I’ll be on this cheery panel about the future of higher ed on Sunday
January 1, 2026 at 11:12 PM
I am serious about the invite - especially if you are junior or a grad student
I enjoy schmoozing with the future of econ
I enjoy schmoozing with the future of econ
Reposted by Jake Grumbach
I tried a version of this—muting the color down about 75%, rather than going entirely black & white— and Julia Angwin is on to something.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/o...
Opinion | I Killed Color on My Phone. The Result Shocked Me.
www.nytimes.com
January 1, 2026 at 11:02 PM
I tried a version of this—muting the color down about 75%, rather than going entirely black & white— and Julia Angwin is on to something.
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/o...
me and some masked friends went to a SpaceX testing facility with cameras and said “where the rockets at, I don’t see any rockets” and they didn’t let me in so you know what that means (fraud by a foreigner from south africa )
Demanding to see all the rockets at SpaceX bc I have a 60k follower YouTube channel and a camera.
January 1, 2026 at 11:17 PM
me and some masked friends went to a SpaceX testing facility with cameras and said “where the rockets at, I don’t see any rockets” and they didn’t let me in so you know what that means (fraud by a foreigner from south africa )
According to the new rules, if you and a few friends go to a defense contractor’s testing facility and you say “where are the missiles” and they don’t let you in then all federal funds for defense contractors will be frozen
January 1, 2026 at 10:44 PM
According to the new rules, if you and a few friends go to a defense contractor’s testing facility and you say “where are the missiles” and they don’t let you in then all federal funds for defense contractors will be frozen
Reposted by Jake Grumbach
What the data revealed about American democracy in 2025. And a path forward for 2026.
On Data and Democracy 2025 Year-in-Review Visualized
Tracing the money, the ideological purges, the strategic debates, and the court battles: A visual deep-dive into the data of 2025 and charting an empirical roadmap for a more resilient democracy.
open.substack.com
January 1, 2026 at 5:18 PM
What the data revealed about American democracy in 2025. And a path forward for 2026.
Was that a song from the Lizzie McGuire movie at the zohran inauguration
January 1, 2026 at 8:31 PM
Was that a song from the Lizzie McGuire movie at the zohran inauguration
Reposted by Jake Grumbach
"But the most important thing to understand at this point is that the U.S. Constitution, once considered the most durable in the world, was easily broken." h/t @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social in this piece
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/o...
Opinion | Why Does Trump Get Away With It?
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:22 PM
"But the most important thing to understand at this point is that the U.S. Constitution, once considered the most durable in the world, was easily broken." h/t @jakemgrumbach.bsky.social in this piece
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/30/o...
One of the all-time great poasters, Mike Fossey, passed away last week. RIP
December 30, 2025 at 8:34 PM
One of the all-time great poasters, Mike Fossey, passed away last week. RIP
He thinks he can run the DOGE stuff back even though we just watched it increase the deficit and uncover zero fraud. This is how stupid he thinks his audience is
December 29, 2025 at 10:17 PM
He thinks he can run the DOGE stuff back even though we just watched it increase the deficit and uncover zero fraud. This is how stupid he thinks his audience is
The Musk twitter purchase continues to pay off: on no other social media site is this viral "Minnesota daycare fraud" video gaining traction, but on twitter it's dominating and mobilizing
December 29, 2025 at 8:40 PM
The Musk twitter purchase continues to pay off: on no other social media site is this viral "Minnesota daycare fraud" video gaining traction, but on twitter it's dominating and mobilizing
Silicon Valley billionaire responses to wealth tax proposals:
“It’s illegal confiscation!” Property taxes go back to ancient times
“We will move away!” Yes you lack loyalty to society
“You’re just jealous of us!” ??
“We will buy new politicians to stop this.” Yes this is precisely the point
“It’s illegal confiscation!” Property taxes go back to ancient times
“We will move away!” Yes you lack loyalty to society
“You’re just jealous of us!” ??
“We will buy new politicians to stop this.” Yes this is precisely the point
December 29, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Silicon Valley billionaire responses to wealth tax proposals:
“It’s illegal confiscation!” Property taxes go back to ancient times
“We will move away!” Yes you lack loyalty to society
“You’re just jealous of us!” ??
“We will buy new politicians to stop this.” Yes this is precisely the point
“It’s illegal confiscation!” Property taxes go back to ancient times
“We will move away!” Yes you lack loyalty to society
“You’re just jealous of us!” ??
“We will buy new politicians to stop this.” Yes this is precisely the point
BANG BANG (niner gang)
December 29, 2025 at 4:36 AM
BANG BANG (niner gang)
Weird how “American nationalists” get mad at immigrants dying to work hard and be American, but not at the super rich guys who are in Epstein’s little black book and would throw away their loyalty to this country to avoid taxes
December 29, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Weird how “American nationalists” get mad at immigrants dying to work hard and be American, but not at the super rich guys who are in Epstein’s little black book and would throw away their loyalty to this country to avoid taxes
There’s a Silicon Valley billionaire freak out happening about a potential wealth tax ballot initiative in California.
I hope everybody understands—the only way to make billionaires pay a similar *income* tax rate as their secretaries is via taxing unrealized cap gains or wealth
I hope everybody understands—the only way to make billionaires pay a similar *income* tax rate as their secretaries is via taxing unrealized cap gains or wealth
December 29, 2025 at 12:07 AM
There’s a Silicon Valley billionaire freak out happening about a potential wealth tax ballot initiative in California.
I hope everybody understands—the only way to make billionaires pay a similar *income* tax rate as their secretaries is via taxing unrealized cap gains or wealth
I hope everybody understands—the only way to make billionaires pay a similar *income* tax rate as their secretaries is via taxing unrealized cap gains or wealth
Quite a saga. The crime, I believe, was saying (paraphrased), “taibbi is bought and paid for, but unlike bari weiss he basically gave himself away for free”
December 27, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Quite a saga. The crime, I believe, was saying (paraphrased), “taibbi is bought and paid for, but unlike bari weiss he basically gave himself away for free”
Reposted by Jake Grumbach
It has been a bracing moment for American federalism, with both unprecedented efforts to extend executive control over state and local govts, novel forms of subnational resistance. Where is federalism going? Paul Nolette and I have edited a new issue of Publius on that question. Short thread:
December 26, 2025 at 4:03 PM
It has been a bracing moment for American federalism, with both unprecedented efforts to extend executive control over state and local govts, novel forms of subnational resistance. Where is federalism going? Paul Nolette and I have edited a new issue of Publius on that question. Short thread:
Reposted by Jake Grumbach
DOGE was A LOT less likely to cancel contracts from companies that donated money to Republicans than companies that donated to Democrats.
December 25, 2025 at 10:47 PM
DOGE was A LOT less likely to cancel contracts from companies that donated money to Republicans than companies that donated to Democrats.