Matthew Yglesias
@mattyglesias.bsky.social
Democrats need to appoint a council of leading centrist sellout squish pundits to check with before they go too far.
November 10, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Democrats need to appoint a council of leading centrist sellout squish pundits to check with before they go too far.
Trump responded to Tuesday's election defeats by pivoting shutdown negotiations to the future of the filibuster, at which point Dem institutionalists blinked.
(that's bad, according to me, but agree or disagree you should know what the actual stakes were)
www.slowboring.com/p/13-thought...
(that's bad, according to me, but agree or disagree you should know what the actual stakes were)
www.slowboring.com/p/13-thought...
13 thoughts on the end of the shutdown
It’s about the filibuster much more than health care
www.slowboring.com
November 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Trump responded to Tuesday's election defeats by pivoting shutdown negotiations to the future of the filibuster, at which point Dem institutionalists blinked.
(that's bad, according to me, but agree or disagree you should know what the actual stakes were)
www.slowboring.com/p/13-thought...
(that's bad, according to me, but agree or disagree you should know what the actual stakes were)
www.slowboring.com/p/13-thought...
This is what's so aggravating — yes, it was not working in extracting a policy concession but it was working in *driving down trump's numbers and provoking GOP infighting* which is what's important if you take Dem rhetoric about the perils of MAGA remotely seriously.
weirdly honest messaging from the breakaway mod/institutionalist leaders who blew up the party strategy
they're explicitly giving up. "It wasn't working so we quit" that's the message
they're explicitly giving up. "It wasn't working so we quit" that's the message
November 10, 2025 at 2:06 PM
This is what's so aggravating — yes, it was not working in extracting a policy concession but it was working in *driving down trump's numbers and provoking GOP infighting* which is what's important if you take Dem rhetoric about the perils of MAGA remotely seriously.
People love Mark Carney
November 10, 2025 at 2:05 PM
People love Mark Carney
Trump promised lower prices which is clearly what people want but he not only hasn’t delivered it, there’s no way to accomplish this short of a huge depression.
He’s now in an unfixable mess.
www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...
He’s now in an unfixable mess.
www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...
“Affordability” is just high nominal prices
I think Trump is totally screwed on this one
www.slowboring.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Trump promised lower prices which is clearly what people want but he not only hasn’t delivered it, there’s no way to accomplish this short of a huge depression.
He’s now in an unfixable mess.
www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...
He’s now in an unfixable mess.
www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...
Business journalism for political pundits:
If companies make investments that aren’t immediately profitable that’s a bubble.
If companies are earning a nice ROI that’s a monopoly.
If companies make investments that aren’t immediately profitable that’s a bubble.
If companies are earning a nice ROI that’s a monopoly.
November 10, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Business journalism for political pundits:
If companies make investments that aren’t immediately profitable that’s a bubble.
If companies are earning a nice ROI that’s a monopoly.
If companies make investments that aren’t immediately profitable that’s a bubble.
If companies are earning a nice ROI that’s a monopoly.
Everybody agrees now that "affordability" is the key political issue of our time.
But what does this mean when inflation-adjusted wages and household income are higher than ever?
Trump enters the same pain cave that bedeviled Biden.
www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...
But what does this mean when inflation-adjusted wages and household income are higher than ever?
Trump enters the same pain cave that bedeviled Biden.
www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...
“Affordability” is just high nominal prices
I think Trump is totally screwed on this one
www.slowboring.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Everybody agrees now that "affordability" is the key political issue of our time.
But what does this mean when inflation-adjusted wages and household income are higher than ever?
Trump enters the same pain cave that bedeviled Biden.
www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...
But what does this mean when inflation-adjusted wages and household income are higher than ever?
Trump enters the same pain cave that bedeviled Biden.
www.slowboring.com/p/affordabil...
Mad about this reported deal on the shutdown and I’m terrified to think how mad the real BlueSky super users are
November 9, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Mad about this reported deal on the shutdown and I’m terrified to think how mad the real BlueSky super users are
The great thing about health care as an issue for Democrats is that while the details are complicated and inevitably end up being controversial, at a high level the public’s moral values on this topic are very progressive
www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-...
www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-...
November 9, 2025 at 2:04 PM
The great thing about health care as an issue for Democrats is that while the details are complicated and inevitably end up being controversial, at a high level the public’s moral values on this topic are very progressive
www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-...
www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-...
It’s important to set priorities
November 8, 2025 at 12:52 PM
It’s important to set priorities
Mini dive into Democrats’ actual best electoral performance last week which came in some utility regulator races in Georgia
www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-...
www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-...
Democrats sweep Georgia’s quiet election
In an off-year vote that was nearly empty, Democrats crushed Republican incumbents in two statewide races, winning the party’s biggest margins in decades.
www.slowboring.com
November 8, 2025 at 12:42 PM
Mini dive into Democrats’ actual best electoral performance last week which came in some utility regulator races in Georgia
www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-...
www.slowboring.com/p/democrats-...
I still don’t understand what the NBA Cup is.
November 8, 2025 at 2:02 AM
I still don’t understand what the NBA Cup is.
You may have seen the eerie chart from Harcourt (2011) but if you extend the data...
November 7, 2025 at 5:34 PM
You may have seen the eerie chart from Harcourt (2011) but if you extend the data...
If you project Mikie Sherrill's 4.5 percentage point overperformance relative to Kamala Harris nationally, you'd get this map (Biden states + North Carolina) which is great in a presidential race but still pretty dicey as a senate proposition.
November 7, 2025 at 3:59 PM
If you project Mikie Sherrill's 4.5 percentage point overperformance relative to Kamala Harris nationally, you'd get this map (Biden states + North Carolina) which is great in a presidential race but still pretty dicey as a senate proposition.
Should also have fewer elected officials, which would make it easier to pay them more.
What's a Public Advocate? Nobody needs this.
What's a Public Advocate? Nobody needs this.
people hate hearing this but it's 100% true, creating a huge pay gap between political leaders, their staffs, and other elites is a recipe for corruption. of course the flip side of that is taxes on the rich should be jacked way the hell up
The Mayor of New York only makes $260k. I bet there are police that make more than that in NY with overtime.
We need to pay elected leaders more money and stop pretending it's some sort of calling. They're managing hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and millions of people's lives.
We need to pay elected leaders more money and stop pretending it's some sort of calling. They're managing hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and millions of people's lives.
November 7, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Should also have fewer elected officials, which would make it easier to pay them more.
What's a Public Advocate? Nobody needs this.
What's a Public Advocate? Nobody needs this.
Stefanik campaign seems like a honey trap for GOP donors, decent early polling but she’s dramatically more tied at the hip to Trump’s most egregious stuff than Jack Ciatterelli ever was and the midterm political headwinds will be blowing straight in her face.
November 7, 2025 at 2:47 PM
Stefanik campaign seems like a honey trap for GOP donors, decent early polling but she’s dramatically more tied at the hip to Trump’s most egregious stuff than Jack Ciatterelli ever was and the midterm political headwinds will be blowing straight in her face.
Something you see with both the ACA subsidy fight and the SNAP disputes is that concrete safety net arguments are very unifying for Democrats.
No daylight between Bernie and Slotkin, I’m on the same side as all the Bluesky Yglesias haters.
No daylight between Bernie and Slotkin, I’m on the same side as all the Bluesky Yglesias haters.
November 7, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Something you see with both the ACA subsidy fight and the SNAP disputes is that concrete safety net arguments are very unifying for Democrats.
No daylight between Bernie and Slotkin, I’m on the same side as all the Bluesky Yglesias haters.
No daylight between Bernie and Slotkin, I’m on the same side as all the Bluesky Yglesias haters.
College has gotten cheaper in real terms and much more affordable relative to incomes, but good luck trying to convince anyone to ignore the nominal price ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
November 7, 2025 at 12:46 PM
College has gotten cheaper in real terms and much more affordable relative to incomes, but good luck trying to convince anyone to ignore the nominal price ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Clearly the worst thing Trump has done on the merits, though obviously not going to be the centerpiece of anyone's midterm ads.
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Clearly the worst thing Trump has done on the merits, though obviously not going to be the centerpiece of anyone's midterm ads.
Political giving is intermediated by a big set of donor-advisors whose structural incentives point away from rigorous thinking about tradeoffs.
www.slowboring.com/p/who-advise...
www.slowboring.com/p/who-advise...
November 7, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Political giving is intermediated by a big set of donor-advisors whose structural incentives point away from rigorous thinking about tradeoffs.
www.slowboring.com/p/who-advise...
www.slowboring.com/p/who-advise...
One take I've flirted with is that aspects of the modern media ecosystem mean incumbents are doomed to be unpopular, but doesn't seem to be true in Canada.
November 7, 2025 at 3:50 AM
One take I've flirted with is that aspects of the modern media ecosystem mean incumbents are doomed to be unpopular, but doesn't seem to be true in Canada.
It's funny that the ugly new buildings nobody likes are the explicit result of regulations adopted in the name of aesthetics.
One way to reduce condo defect liability: stop forcing architects to design buildings that leak. HCD’s “objective design standards” guide *encourages* making building envelopes more complex, heightening leak and therefore defect lawsuit risk cao-94612.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/documents/Ap...
November 7, 2025 at 3:40 AM
It's funny that the ugly new buildings nobody likes are the explicit result of regulations adopted in the name of aesthetics.
I mean people are saying they are upset about inflation, I don't think the inference is any more complicated than that.
Trump becomes unpopular in 2017: ????
Trump stays unpopular in 2018-2020: ????
Biden becomes unpopular in 2021: ????
Biden stays unpopular in 2022-23: CLEARLY INFLATION
Biden stays unpopular in 2024: HANGOVER FROM INFLATION??
Trumps is unpopular in 2025: PROBABLY STILL INFLATION??
empiricism
Trump stays unpopular in 2018-2020: ????
Biden becomes unpopular in 2021: ????
Biden stays unpopular in 2022-23: CLEARLY INFLATION
Biden stays unpopular in 2024: HANGOVER FROM INFLATION??
Trumps is unpopular in 2025: PROBABLY STILL INFLATION??
empiricism
November 7, 2025 at 3:36 AM
I mean people are saying they are upset about inflation, I don't think the inference is any more complicated than that.
So there's a City Council member in NYC who's just like an agent of the Chinese government?
November 7, 2025 at 1:07 AM
So there's a City Council member in NYC who's just like an agent of the Chinese government?