Louis Johnston
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ldjeconomics.bsky.social
Louis Johnston
@ldjeconomics.bsky.social

William E. and Virginia Clemens Professor of Economics and the Liberal Arts at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University. Telling the stories of Minnesota's economy, past and present. https://www.csbsju.edu/economics/person/louis-johnston/ .. more

Economics 68%
Political science 20%
Pinned

Thanks, @tptalmanac.bsky.social, for the chance to discuss the current economic situation.

www.tpt.org/almanac/vide...
Almanac - Delayed Jobs Report Released - Twin Cities PBS
Economist Louis Johnston breaks down September’s jobs report and potential fed rate cut.
www.tpt.org

I’m leading off tonight on @tptalmanac.bsky.social - employment report, interest rates, all the good stuff

Reposted by Louis D Johnston

Today is the 65th anniversary of the day U.S. marshals escorted four Black 1st graders into segregated New Orleans schools. One of them was Ruby Bridges.

But have you heard of the McDonogh 3? Meet them via this @the74.bsky.social story I wrote a year ago.
18 Years, $2 Billion: Inside New Orleans’s Biggest School Recovery Effort in History
Hurricane Katrina destroyed 110 New Orleans school buildings. How to upgrade them while honoring their architectural importance and historic heritage?
www.the74million.org

During Jim Crow, everything from restaraunts to stores to hotels to pharmacies to gas stations required making safe choices. They shaped every trip a Black person made. We document that history, and you can add your story to it here #CommunityMap: greenbookproject.osu.edu #GreenBookProject #EconSky

Deportations actually _increase_ housing prices because they shrink the construction industry.

The reduction in new houses being built swamps effects from lower demand

Audio is now available in the story below. Thanks, @mprnews.org for the conversation.

Well yes, I am going to be on @mprnews.org tomorrow at 9 am. Thanks for asking 😉

Layoffs surge as voters demand affordability: What’s really driving the economy? www.mprnews.org/episode/2025...
Layoffs surge as voters demand affordability: What’s really driving the economy?
Coming up at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, MPR News guest host Catharine Richert takes a closer look at what is driving job cuts, why affordability continues to strike a chord with voters and what these trends c...
www.mprnews.org

Reposted by Louis D Johnston

It's true that Reagan negotiated limits on imported goods to protect domestic producers of cars & steel from foreign competition. But he would not have embraced Trump’s protectionist trade wars.
By @douglasirwin.bsky.social
Opinion | The Canadians Are Right About Reagan and Free Trade
www.nytimes.com

Why not steam locomotives to promote the coal industry?
A level of micromanaging that reminds me of Jimmy Carter personally overseeing the schedule of the White House tennis court.

Bottom line: Tariffs don't help steelworkers and hurt employment in industries that use steel. That's not good for mining either.

Abstract:

Reposted by Louis D Johnston

A level of micromanaging that reminds me of Jimmy Carter personally overseeing the schedule of the White House tennis court.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/29/o...
Want to understand Reagan's trade policies? You have to understand the three P's: principles, pragmatism, and politics....
Opinion | The Canadians Are Right About Reagan and Free Trade
www.nytimes.com
"The Closing of the American Economy", presentation at www.csbsju.edu/economics/mea/ annual conference
@aaronsojourner.org Abigail Wozniak, Angelina Trâm Nguyễn, @ldjeconomics.bsky.social, Kristin West #EconSky
econbrowser.com/archives/202...

If you're interested in previous White House renovations, this is the best book I know of on the topic:

a.co/d/c5FOiNJ

Not naive - it's a memoir/travelogue/nonfiction book about Minnesota.

Join us on Thursday at 7 pm at Saint John's University. Dr. Hicks will read from his chapter on Saint John's along with other selections. You can also visit the @saintjohnsbible.bsky.social gallery before and after the reading.
A powerful personal testament from Tom Bowman of NPR about the Pentagon attempt to exert complete control over all information. Protecting classified is of course fine. But when neither Fox News nor NY Times sign up to your policy, you should ask yourself if you are getting something very wrong.
Opinion: Why I'm handing in my Pentagon press pass
Tom Bowman has held his Pentagon press pass for 28 years. He says the Pentagon's new media policy makes it impossible to be a journalist, which means finding out what's really going on behind the scen...
www.npr.org

I'll second Menzie on this. It's pure cronyism: $20 billion line of credit for a personal political and business ally, no collateral, no conditions. This is corruption, pure and simple, and Republicans in Congress are not lifting a finger to stop it.
If you didn't like ESF use for Mexico 1994, you should really, really, really object to ESF use for Argentina 2025 #EconSky
econbrowser.com/archives/202...