Rob Pitingolo
@robpitingolo.bsky.social
Weekday researcher. Nights and weekend tour guide. Sometimes "that guy from the internet" on the National Mall.
Coming out of Covid the US had less severe inflation than the rest of the world. Guess who got blamed anyway?
Now the stock market is up but lagging behind the rest of the world. Guess who gets credit anyway?
Now the stock market is up but lagging behind the rest of the world. Guess who gets credit anyway?
The Dow was at 43,488 when Trump took office. It just hit 50,000.
So if you had invested $43,488 in the US, you would now have $50,000. But if you had invested the same amount in the rest of the world, you would now be worth $60,000.
Lemme do a expla-youtube-nation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYL5...
So if you had invested $43,488 in the US, you would now have $50,000. But if you had invested the same amount in the rest of the world, you would now be worth $60,000.
Lemme do a expla-youtube-nation
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYL5...
"Dow 50,000" Sound Nice. Until Justin Wolfers Shows You That U.S. Markets Are Coming 21st Out of 23.
What does “Dow 50,000” actually tell you—anything about the economy, or just that a number got bigger?
Dow 50,000 is a milestone, not a measurement. The level of the Dow is basically arbitrary: it’s…
www.youtube.com
February 15, 2026 at 6:39 PM
Coming out of Covid the US had less severe inflation than the rest of the world. Guess who got blamed anyway?
Now the stock market is up but lagging behind the rest of the world. Guess who gets credit anyway?
Now the stock market is up but lagging behind the rest of the world. Guess who gets credit anyway?
Reposted by Rob Pitingolo
February 13, 2026 at 11:31 PM
I continue to scream into the void that inbound international tourism is a trade surplus - a thing I've heard is very important and we should care very much about. www.ft.com/content/8f6d...
Donald Trump’s policies dent international travel to US in blow to tourism sector
Foreign visitors to the US fell 4.2% in 2025, while international travel worldwide rose 4%
www.ft.com
February 12, 2026 at 4:49 PM
I continue to scream into the void that inbound international tourism is a trade surplus - a thing I've heard is very important and we should care very much about. www.ft.com/content/8f6d...
Cannot emphasize that there is zero long-term plan here. You could put up the swankiest physical building in the world but if the same people are running the place none of the artists you lost are coming back. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
Kennedy Center president warns of ‘skeletal teams’ during ‘total renovation’
Staff at the arts organization brace for layoffs tied to President Donald Trump’s plan for a two-year closure of the building.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 11, 2026 at 11:49 PM
Cannot emphasize that there is zero long-term plan here. You could put up the swankiest physical building in the world but if the same people are running the place none of the artists you lost are coming back. www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/0...
The hypocrisy argument doesn't work. These guys have stated implicitly and explicitly for years that they want to make Washington DC a worse city. Over the past year they have taken every opportunity to do so.
"[Alabama] voted to actively decouple their state tax provision from the federal tax provisions. I don’t see any senator here trying to undo the state of Alabama’s tax code," says @vanhollen.senate.gov, noting that 13 states decoupled. He says it's "gross hypocrisy" to interfere in D.C.'s decision.
February 11, 2026 at 11:30 PM
The hypocrisy argument doesn't work. These guys have stated implicitly and explicitly for years that they want to make Washington DC a worse city. Over the past year they have taken every opportunity to do so.
The irony here is troops remain in DC and my guess is will be a major part of the 4th of July, because he thinks it looks tough a macho, when in reality just draws attention to exactly what the Declaration of Independence is all about. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
National Guard troops were quietly withdrawn from some U.S. cities
The deployments encountered repeated legal setbacks that stymied President Donald Trump’s show of force in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Oregon.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:53 PM
The irony here is troops remain in DC and my guess is will be a major part of the 4th of July, because he thinks it looks tough a macho, when in reality just draws attention to exactly what the Declaration of Independence is all about. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
When I cancelled this week they didn't even give me a text box to tell them why. Whatever "data" they have is not a qualitative understanding of their readers.
Jeff Bezos' statement, his first since last week's layoffs: "The Post has an essential journalistic mission and an extraordinary opportunity. Each and every day our readers give us a roadmap to success. The data tells us what is valuable and where to focus."
February 8, 2026 at 12:57 AM
When I cancelled this week they didn't even give me a text box to tell them why. Whatever "data" they have is not a qualitative understanding of their readers.
When you cancel your Washington Post subscription there is no ability to type anything along with "Other" for reason for cancelling.
There is zero reason to believe B*zos or anyone else over there cares about the needs of their subscribers or readers.
There is zero reason to believe B*zos or anyone else over there cares about the needs of their subscribers or readers.
February 6, 2026 at 3:53 PM
When you cancel your Washington Post subscription there is no ability to type anything along with "Other" for reason for cancelling.
There is zero reason to believe B*zos or anyone else over there cares about the needs of their subscribers or readers.
There is zero reason to believe B*zos or anyone else over there cares about the needs of their subscribers or readers.
Reposted by Rob Pitingolo
Guys like Bezos think that because they made a lot of money doing one specific thing, that makes them brilliant at everything. And then when it turns out they don't know the first thing about, say, newspaper publishing, they get bored and task an underling with stripping the place for parts.
If the plan was just to put WaPo to work for Bezos's other business interests, I'm pretty sure they could have done that in a less shambolic fashion. So while Bezos's attempts to cozy up to the regime are for sure part of the problem, don't discount his hubris, myopia, and petulance.
February 4, 2026 at 4:52 PM
Guys like Bezos think that because they made a lot of money doing one specific thing, that makes them brilliant at everything. And then when it turns out they don't know the first thing about, say, newspaper publishing, they get bored and task an underling with stripping the place for parts.
The greatest con of the modern era is that a bunch of super rich men who got ridiculously lucky once and then convinced people that they are "good at business" despite a mountain of evidence showing otherwise.
1. Build huge subscriber base by telling them their $ supports democracy.
2. Don’t establish other revenue sources.
3. Rug-pull subscribers by pushing opinion side to the right.
4. Subscribers leave, revenue falls.
5. Enact crippling newsroom cuts.
2. Don’t establish other revenue sources.
3. Rug-pull subscribers by pushing opinion side to the right.
4. Subscribers leave, revenue falls.
5. Enact crippling newsroom cuts.
February 4, 2026 at 3:10 PM
The greatest con of the modern era is that a bunch of super rich men who got ridiculously lucky once and then convinced people that they are "good at business" despite a mountain of evidence showing otherwise.
One year ago I was planning on getting tickets to see Hamilton for the 250th. Now the whole place is shuttering.
One year.
One year.
CNN is reporting the real reason Trump is closing the Kennedy Centre for two years is not for renovation: “the Kennedy Center does not have a 2026/2027 season. There would not have been any programming to announce."
February 2, 2026 at 9:05 PM
One year ago I was planning on getting tickets to see Hamilton for the 250th. Now the whole place is shuttering.
One year.
One year.
Beyond the obvious rage inducing reaction to this, did a whole lot of people just learn they are losing their jobs? Yet another mass layoff event in DC? Ugh.
Breaking news: President Trump said that the Kennedy Center could temporarily close for roughly two years to undergo construction.
https://wapo.st/49VsdCk
https://wapo.st/49VsdCk
February 2, 2026 at 1:24 AM
Beyond the obvious rage inducing reaction to this, did a whole lot of people just learn they are losing their jobs? Yet another mass layoff event in DC? Ugh.
We had to eliminate the Circulator bus because it cost $30M per year and we can't afford nice things.
Interesting: Per a new report from the Congressional Budget Office, the deployment of the National Guard in D.C. (now up to 2,950 troops) cost $223 million from August-December, and will cost $55 million per month onwards. That means up to *$880 million* through the end of 2026.
January 29, 2026 at 5:57 PM
We had to eliminate the Circulator bus because it cost $30M per year and we can't afford nice things.
And like clockwork the S&P500 just hit another all-time high at the exact same time.
Consumer confidence plunged this month, hitting a 12-year low.
January 27, 2026 at 4:40 PM
And like clockwork the S&P500 just hit another all-time high at the exact same time.
This video is long but completely on-point. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LilN...
The 2026 World Cup Is Absolutely Cursed.
YouTube video by Alfie Potts Harmer
www.youtube.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:33 PM
This video is long but completely on-point. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LilN...
Every day there are a dozen new flashing red sirens about the state of the economy but the stock market refuses to do anything other than hit record highs (with a one percent dip here and there).
Feels like I am taking crazy pills.
Feels like I am taking crazy pills.
January 21, 2026 at 7:24 PM
Every day there are a dozen new flashing red sirens about the state of the economy but the stock market refuses to do anything other than hit record highs (with a one percent dip here and there).
Feels like I am taking crazy pills.
Feels like I am taking crazy pills.
Reposted by Rob Pitingolo
i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals
January 19, 2026 at 3:05 PM
i think this MLK day the thing to focus on is the strategic focus and tactical brilliance of the civil rights movement and the way it was laser focused on a set of achievable goals
Sometimes I wonder how things would be different if tariffs were simply called taxes instead of a word most people had never heard once in their life before a year ago.
January 17, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Sometimes I wonder how things would be different if tariffs were simply called taxes instead of a word most people had never heard once in their life before a year ago.
"Not many regrets" after an electoral drubbing but still sad he wasn't able to help out his billionaire buddy. Good riddance.
Outgoing Gov. Youngkin says he regrets failed deal for Potomac Yard sports arena
Outgoing Gov. Youngkin says he regrets failed deal for Potomac Yard sports arena | ALXnow
Outgoing Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin doesn't have many regrets as he prepares to leave office. But he named the inability to get an Alexandria arena deal done in 2024 as one lost opportunity. The Washington...
www.alxnow.com
January 17, 2026 at 3:34 PM
"Not many regrets" after an electoral drubbing but still sad he wasn't able to help out his billionaire buddy. Good riddance.
As a Great Recession survivor I long believed people were generally OK with a bit of inflation as long as it kept unemployment low.
The last few years proved that theory wrong. Fine.
What's wild is that they now want to triple down on inflation anyway.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The last few years proved that theory wrong. Fine.
What's wild is that they now want to triple down on inflation anyway.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Trump’s attempts to influence Fed risk 1970s-style inflation and global backlash’
Analysts warn that White House pressure on US central bank to cut interest rates could put economy in danger
www.theguardian.com
January 13, 2026 at 12:21 AM
As a Great Recession survivor I long believed people were generally OK with a bit of inflation as long as it kept unemployment low.
The last few years proved that theory wrong. Fine.
What's wild is that they now want to triple down on inflation anyway.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The last few years proved that theory wrong. Fine.
What's wild is that they now want to triple down on inflation anyway.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
This story aired exactly one week before the 2024 election. www.marketplace.org/story/2024/1...
In a 2nd Trump term, Fed independence would go “out the window,” economist says
Kai Ryssdal explores what would happen to the global economy if the Federal Reserve lost its autonomy.
www.marketplace.org
January 12, 2026 at 2:07 AM
This story aired exactly one week before the 2024 election. www.marketplace.org/story/2024/1...
Among all the other reasons people stopped patronizing this business, don't forget that they were on the cutting edge of the crypto future 🙄
Compass Coffee filed for Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy, throwing the company’s future into question amid lawsuits with landlords, suppliers and even a founding member of the D.C.-based roaster.
Compass Coffee files for bankruptcy amid lawsuits, lagging downtown sales
The Washington-based chain plans to close 11 of its more than 20 cafes around the region amid lagging sales and lawsuits.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 6, 2026 at 6:46 PM
Among all the other reasons people stopped patronizing this business, don't forget that they were on the cutting edge of the crypto future 🙄
The wisest thing someone said last year was that unless you are insider trading, engaging in these markets is just flushing your money down the toilet. www.wsj.com/world/americ...
A Mystery Trader Made $400,000 Betting on Maduro’s Downfall
The person doubled down Friday with a final bet on Polymarket at 9:58 p.m., shortly before President Trump ordered the military to strike.
www.wsj.com
January 6, 2026 at 3:34 PM
The wisest thing someone said last year was that unless you are insider trading, engaging in these markets is just flushing your money down the toilet. www.wsj.com/world/americ...
Who is actually in charge of executing America250? The "Leadership" page mostly lists a bunch of politicians (and Jack Schlossberg apparently). america250.org/about-americ...
America250 Leadership - America250
The America250 celebration is led by the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission and its affiliated nonprofit organization, America250.org, Inc.
america250.org
January 2, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Who is actually in charge of executing America250? The "Leadership" page mostly lists a bunch of politicians (and Jack Schlossberg apparently). america250.org/about-americ...
Why have this event and then advertise it so poorly? In every video I've seen of the fireworks at midnight there's hardly anybody out there. wjla.com/news/local/n...
SEE IT | Washington Monument lights up NYE to kick off America's 250th anniversary
Ahead of America's 250th anniversary, the Washington Monument in D.C. served as the centerpiece of a historic New Year's Eve light show.
wjla.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:45 PM
Why have this event and then advertise it so poorly? In every video I've seen of the fireworks at midnight there's hardly anybody out there. wjla.com/news/local/n...