Wealth Economics
@steveroth.bsky.social
Entrepreneur, progressive sometime 1%er. (Tax me more.) Addictive reader: trash to tomes. National-accounting & econ geek. Evolution and Shakespeare dweeb. Besotted father. From MO; show me the #s. https://wealtheconomics.substack.com/about
Pinned
Wealth Economics
@steveroth.bsky.social
· Nov 13
Ten Fundamental Economic (Mis)understandings
It's all about the words...
wealtheconomics.substack.com
For my new followers, here's a stake in the ground for my writings, explaining how I think about and understand economics and “the economy.” Took me two decades to get to this…
It's 2,000 words, but it’s a bit of a smorgasbord, so you can take tastes and see if you'd like to read more.
It's 2,000 words, but it’s a bit of a smorgasbord, so you can take tastes and see if you'd like to read more.
OK this is good. Trump is going after his own SCOTUS cabal.
November 10, 2025 at 12:09 AM
OK this is good. Trump is going after his own SCOTUS cabal.
!!! Did Bezos write this? The comment I posted:
Beyond mentioning the “wealthy and well connected” in the second paragraph, his speech doesn’t even mention the powerful (except Cuomo the Scion), much less vilify them. ⬇️⬇️
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Beyond mentioning the “wealthy and well connected” in the second paragraph, his speech doesn’t even mention the powerful (except Cuomo the Scion), much less vilify them. ⬇️⬇️
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Zohran Mamdani drops the mask
The mayor-elect divides New Yorkers into two groups: the oppressed and their oppressors.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 9, 2025 at 10:47 PM
!!! Did Bezos write this? The comment I posted:
Beyond mentioning the “wealthy and well connected” in the second paragraph, his speech doesn’t even mention the powerful (except Cuomo the Scion), much less vilify them. ⬇️⬇️
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Beyond mentioning the “wealthy and well connected” in the second paragraph, his speech doesn’t even mention the powerful (except Cuomo the Scion), much less vilify them. ⬇️⬇️
www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
It makes me crazy that Hax and other “advice” columnists are *always* in the most-read lists at both WP and NYT.
November 9, 2025 at 4:18 PM
It makes me crazy that Hax and other “advice” columnists are *always* in the most-read lists at both WP and NYT.
New Wealth Economics post: studying wealth accumulation and distribution, while ignoring 10s of $trillions in capital gains wealth accumulation over decades, is a non-starter. @jarobb.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/wealthec...
open.substack.com/pub/wealthec...
Inequality Researcher David Splinter Really Doesn’t Like (or Understand) Haig-Simons Income
And economists have widely ignored it, even while dubbing it the “preferred” measure of income.
open.substack.com
November 6, 2025 at 7:35 PM
New Wealth Economics post: studying wealth accumulation and distribution, while ignoring 10s of $trillions in capital gains wealth accumulation over decades, is a non-starter. @jarobb.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/wealthec...
open.substack.com/pub/wealthec...
“Imperial“ is right. He doesn’t want to be a king, he wants to be an emperor.
With large portraits of himself, 24-karat golden adornments and a triumphal arch, President Trump is asserting his power through what might be called an imperial aesthetic, or visual cues designed to project personal command and grandeur.
The imperial aesthetic at the heart of Donald Trump’s presidency
In addition to his accumulation of political power, Trump has embraced visual cues designed to project personal command and grandeur.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 4, 2025 at 2:39 AM
“Imperial“ is right. He doesn’t want to be a king, he wants to be an emperor.
The last ten years from the perspective of someone who only receives income for working.
Wages +16%. Home prices +95%. Shares of stock +158%.
Why we need a universal Common Wealth Dividend, to distributed the unearned property income that we all create together.
Wages +16%. Home prices +95%. Shares of stock +158%.
Why we need a universal Common Wealth Dividend, to distributed the unearned property income that we all create together.
November 3, 2025 at 3:58 PM
The last ten years from the perspective of someone who only receives income for working.
Wages +16%. Home prices +95%. Shares of stock +158%.
Why we need a universal Common Wealth Dividend, to distributed the unearned property income that we all create together.
Wages +16%. Home prices +95%. Shares of stock +158%.
Why we need a universal Common Wealth Dividend, to distributed the unearned property income that we all create together.
Here’s hoping for a serious coattails effect in this year‘s election, and next…
Trump posts his worst-ever net approval rating in a CNN poll this morning, 37% to 63% (-26) s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
s3.documentcloud.org
November 3, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Here’s hoping for a serious coattails effect in this year‘s election, and next…
SCOTUS should rule that the 1977 IEEPA is unconstitutionally broad. Good luck with that…
November 3, 2025 at 2:28 PM
SCOTUS should rule that the 1977 IEEPA is unconstitutionally broad. Good luck with that…
I’m not a supporter of Democratic Socialists because with only a handful of brief exceptions, every self-proclaimed socialist government has been or is a single-party state. And that’s directly at odds with democracy.
Social Democracy, count me in, with bells on!
Social Democracy, count me in, with bells on!
November 3, 2025 at 12:24 AM
I’m not a supporter of Democratic Socialists because with only a handful of brief exceptions, every self-proclaimed socialist government has been or is a single-party state. And that’s directly at odds with democracy.
Social Democracy, count me in, with bells on!
Social Democracy, count me in, with bells on!
Reposted by Wealth Economics
A new poll finds 79% of Americans say the Citizens United decision was wrong—and that unlimited campaign spending makes our democracy weaker.
The numbers show a deep backlash against a system where political power is tied to wealth.
Via @levernews.com https://bit.ly/4qCMPWc
The numbers show a deep backlash against a system where political power is tied to wealth.
Via @levernews.com https://bit.ly/4qCMPWc
Citizens United Against Citizens United
A new survey shows that Americans are overwhelmingly in favor of campaign spending restrictions, and one state could be making that a reality.
www.levernews.com
October 31, 2025 at 6:12 PM
A new poll finds 79% of Americans say the Citizens United decision was wrong—and that unlimited campaign spending makes our democracy weaker.
The numbers show a deep backlash against a system where political power is tied to wealth.
Via @levernews.com https://bit.ly/4qCMPWc
The numbers show a deep backlash against a system where political power is tied to wealth.
Via @levernews.com https://bit.ly/4qCMPWc
The whole damn point of the welfare state is to deliver income to the 50% who Don't Work: mostly children, elderly, caregivers (~3% are "unemployed")
Do they have sufficient "merit" that they "deserve" a decent, comfortable, secure life w/o a working adult supporting them?
Do they have sufficient "merit" that they "deserve" a decent, comfortable, secure life w/o a working adult supporting them?
October 31, 2025 at 5:24 PM
The whole damn point of the welfare state is to deliver income to the 50% who Don't Work: mostly children, elderly, caregivers (~3% are "unemployed")
Do they have sufficient "merit" that they "deserve" a decent, comfortable, secure life w/o a working adult supporting them?
Do they have sufficient "merit" that they "deserve" a decent, comfortable, secure life w/o a working adult supporting them?
Reposted by Wealth Economics
Boy, North Carolina Republicans sure don't want the attached story to circulate. I sure hope that this stupid threat from their spokesperson doesn't boomerang on them and have a lot more people read and share the story, which once again, is conveniently attached below. That would be a shame.
October 30, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Boy, North Carolina Republicans sure don't want the attached story to circulate. I sure hope that this stupid threat from their spokesperson doesn't boomerang on them and have a lot more people read and share the story, which once again, is conveniently attached below. That would be a shame.
“His administration has all but shuttered the department’s Public Integrity Section, an elite crime-fighting unit created after Watergate to investigate and prosecute corrupt public officials. Its force has been reduced from more than 30 prosecutors to two.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
Opinion | All It Took for Trump to Dismantle the Justice Dept.
www.nytimes.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:36 PM
“His administration has all but shuttered the department’s Public Integrity Section, an elite crime-fighting unit created after Watergate to investigate and prosecute corrupt public officials. Its force has been reduced from more than 30 prosecutors to two.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/30/o...
Best Halloween book you've never heard of:
David Mitchell's Slade House. www.goodreads.com/book/show/40...
David Mitchell's Slade House. www.goodreads.com/book/show/40...
Slade House
Keep your eyes peeled for a small black iron door. Do…
www.goodreads.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:01 PM
Best Halloween book you've never heard of:
David Mitchell's Slade House. www.goodreads.com/book/show/40...
David Mitchell's Slade House. www.goodreads.com/book/show/40...
"Economics has an elitism problem." Ya think?
(HHI = Herfindahl-Hirschman Index value, commonly used to measure industries' concentration of firms, for example.)
hanzhezhang.github.io/research/240...
(HHI = Herfindahl-Hirschman Index value, commonly used to measure industries' concentration of firms, for example.)
hanzhezhang.github.io/research/240...
October 30, 2025 at 1:58 PM
"Economics has an elitism problem." Ya think?
(HHI = Herfindahl-Hirschman Index value, commonly used to measure industries' concentration of firms, for example.)
hanzhezhang.github.io/research/240...
(HHI = Herfindahl-Hirschman Index value, commonly used to measure industries' concentration of firms, for example.)
hanzhezhang.github.io/research/240...
It’s like Trump is dead-set on laying claim to the term “trumped up” to burnish his legacy.
‘I’ll show you trumped-up!’
(All the way back into Old French, tromper means to deceive, dupe, trick, fool, or mislead, or in the reflexive form, to be mistaken. English “trumped up” emerged in the 1600s.)
‘I’ll show you trumped-up!’
(All the way back into Old French, tromper means to deceive, dupe, trick, fool, or mislead, or in the reflexive form, to be mistaken. English “trumped up” emerged in the 1600s.)
October 30, 2025 at 1:17 PM
It’s like Trump is dead-set on laying claim to the term “trumped up” to burnish his legacy.
‘I’ll show you trumped-up!’
(All the way back into Old French, tromper means to deceive, dupe, trick, fool, or mislead, or in the reflexive form, to be mistaken. English “trumped up” emerged in the 1600s.)
‘I’ll show you trumped-up!’
(All the way back into Old French, tromper means to deceive, dupe, trick, fool, or mislead, or in the reflexive form, to be mistaken. English “trumped up” emerged in the 1600s.)
it’s getting increasingly scary to criticize TrumpCo/Maga here or anywhere. How long until they get down to going after nobodies like me?
October 28, 2025 at 6:22 PM
it’s getting increasingly scary to criticize TrumpCo/Maga here or anywhere. How long until they get down to going after nobodies like me?
This strikes me as a really big deal. While I have immense admiration for aspects of America and especially its founding, I don’t feel that I can claim any credit much less pride simply for having been born here… That would be groundlessly self-congratulatory, so v distasteful to me.
October 28, 2025 at 5:59 PM
This strikes me as a really big deal. While I have immense admiration for aspects of America and especially its founding, I don’t feel that I can claim any credit much less pride simply for having been born here… That would be groundlessly self-congratulatory, so v distasteful to me.
On the emotional burden and depression that an oppressive regime imposes on a people:
In Q1, the first published edition of Hamlet (it’s a badly degraded text), Hamlet includes an item in the "To be..." speech that might make life not worth living. Not in the Second Quarto or First Folio editions.
In Q1, the first published edition of Hamlet (it’s a badly degraded text), Hamlet includes an item in the "To be..." speech that might make life not worth living. Not in the Second Quarto or First Folio editions.
October 28, 2025 at 3:26 PM
On the emotional burden and depression that an oppressive regime imposes on a people:
In Q1, the first published edition of Hamlet (it’s a badly degraded text), Hamlet includes an item in the "To be..." speech that might make life not worth living. Not in the Second Quarto or First Folio editions.
In Q1, the first published edition of Hamlet (it’s a badly degraded text), Hamlet includes an item in the "To be..." speech that might make life not worth living. Not in the Second Quarto or First Folio editions.
Trump doesn’t want to be a king. He wants to be an emperor.
October 26, 2025 at 1:14 PM
Trump doesn’t want to be a king. He wants to be an emperor.
How much of households’ total property income is *not* from "yield" — which is the NIPAs' measure of property income.
How much of of HHs' property income, total return on assets, comes instead from capital/holding gains accrued and accumulated over lifetimes?
Curious, just pulled this graph.
How much of of HHs' property income, total return on assets, comes instead from capital/holding gains accrued and accumulated over lifetimes?
Curious, just pulled this graph.
October 25, 2025 at 6:47 PM
How much of households’ total property income is *not* from "yield" — which is the NIPAs' measure of property income.
How much of of HHs' property income, total return on assets, comes instead from capital/holding gains accrued and accumulated over lifetimes?
Curious, just pulled this graph.
How much of of HHs' property income, total return on assets, comes instead from capital/holding gains accrued and accumulated over lifetimes?
Curious, just pulled this graph.
lol no this is not The Onion.
Isaac Stein makes his living as an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service, working mostly on his own, writing retirement plan regulations in a Washington office building.
Washington lawyer on furlough lives out dream of running a hot dog cart
Isaac Stein makes his living as an attorney for the Internal Revenue Service, working mostly on his own, writing retirement plan regulations in a Washington office building.
reut.rs
October 24, 2025 at 7:09 PM
lol no this is not The Onion.
Reposted by Wealth Economics
Since Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidates and "dark money" groups have raised more money than Republicans--often doubling them.
So much of the Dem money is wasted. Publishing a piece on this Sunday explaining these graphs and much more. I need your help to make the piece viral. Thanks!
So much of the Dem money is wasted. Publishing a piece on this Sunday explaining these graphs and much more. I need your help to make the piece viral. Thanks!
October 23, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Since Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidates and "dark money" groups have raised more money than Republicans--often doubling them.
So much of the Dem money is wasted. Publishing a piece on this Sunday explaining these graphs and much more. I need your help to make the piece viral. Thanks!
So much of the Dem money is wasted. Publishing a piece on this Sunday explaining these graphs and much more. I need your help to make the piece viral. Thanks!
This sounds for all the world like a video clip from Justin Wolfers. @justinwolfers.bsky.social
Here’s the original clip of Ronald Reagan from April 25, 1987, where he delivered a complete and total rebuke against tariffs. Trump's calling Reagan’s words here “FAKE” and “fraudulent.” They’re 100% real. And the original clip is actually far worse for Trump, as much is left out of the ad:
October 24, 2025 at 5:16 PM
This sounds for all the world like a video clip from Justin Wolfers. @justinwolfers.bsky.social