Yu-Ming Liou
@yumingliou.bsky.social
Unfrozen caveman political economist. In my day, we didn't have fancy tools like causal identification, but we knew how to ask: “cui bono?"
Former political scientist. Now I do research for an internet thing. The good one, though.
Washington, DC
Former political scientist. Now I do research for an internet thing. The good one, though.
Washington, DC
This may be true! But the price signal is very clear on this: demand for dense urban living in these United States far outstrips supply.
There are far more people who want to live like I (and Will, presumably) do than can at present!
There are far more people who want to live like I (and Will, presumably) do than can at present!
One of the most shocking moments of my education was when a professor showed a visual of the same plot of land divided two different ways: 20 houses with yards, and one big condo with a park, lake, stores, amenities. She asked "Which do you prefer?"
The vote: 19 for the houses, 1 for the lake (me)
The vote: 19 for the houses, 1 for the lake (me)
I love my urban lifestyle, but a lot of people think that the way I live - small apartment, electric scooter, public transportation - is insane. Regs can influence things to a degree, but Americans want that big yard, standalone house and it's hard to convince them my lifestyle is better. I do try!
November 18, 2025 at 11:43 PM
This may be true! But the price signal is very clear on this: demand for dense urban living in these United States far outstrips supply.
There are far more people who want to live like I (and Will, presumably) do than can at present!
There are far more people who want to live like I (and Will, presumably) do than can at present!
What do you think might make high housing prices in a handful of metros important? I wonder.
November 18, 2025 at 10:06 PM
What do you think might make high housing prices in a handful of metros important? I wonder.
This whole thing is so American.
Low-level antisocial behavior is bizarrely commonplace here compared to other rich countries.
Extreme antisocial behavior (which frequently purports to be in retaliation to low-level antisocial behavior) is even more bizarrely and horribly commonplace here.
Low-level antisocial behavior is bizarrely commonplace here compared to other rich countries.
Extreme antisocial behavior (which frequently purports to be in retaliation to low-level antisocial behavior) is even more bizarrely and horribly commonplace here.
I am way more concerned about the guy doing the Travis Bickle monologue in his head about the guy watching videos with no headphones than the guy watching videos with no headphones
November 18, 2025 at 7:45 PM
This whole thing is so American.
Low-level antisocial behavior is bizarrely commonplace here compared to other rich countries.
Extreme antisocial behavior (which frequently purports to be in retaliation to low-level antisocial behavior) is even more bizarrely and horribly commonplace here.
Low-level antisocial behavior is bizarrely commonplace here compared to other rich countries.
Extreme antisocial behavior (which frequently purports to be in retaliation to low-level antisocial behavior) is even more bizarrely and horribly commonplace here.
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
Of course the White House is leaning into this. Because apparently they don't realize we exported more higher ed last year than natural gas & coal *combined*
November 17, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Of course the White House is leaning into this. Because apparently they don't realize we exported more higher ed last year than natural gas & coal *combined*
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
can bad prose be sexually transmitted
November 18, 2025 at 2:02 AM
can bad prose be sexually transmitted
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
This would herald the end of opt-in panel-based survey methods, since like Gresham's law or Akerlof's market for lemons, without being able to distinguish between real and fake respondents, fake respondents will drive the market price for real responses to zero.
We can no longer trust that survey responses are coming from real people.”
A Researcher Made an AI That Completely Breaks the Online Surveys Scientists Rely On
We can no longer trust that survey responses are coming from real people.”
www.404media.co
November 18, 2025 at 1:54 AM
This would herald the end of opt-in panel-based survey methods, since like Gresham's law or Akerlof's market for lemons, without being able to distinguish between real and fake respondents, fake respondents will drive the market price for real responses to zero.
Truth and *retribution* commission
i understand the prosecutor's concern but no retaliation means this will happen again
Trump will not just be four years of bad management. The culture of these organizations will be fucked for a long time. The pressure to retaliate and clean house will be strong, and no-one wants to work in a war zone.
November 18, 2025 at 1:57 AM
Truth and *retribution* commission
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
this is what machiavelli called "public morality" vs "private morality." private morality judges interpersonal conduct and it is the language we are familiar with. public morality is about whether republics survive. machiavelli was an italian patriot. are you an american patriot?
November 17, 2025 at 9:55 PM
this is what machiavelli called "public morality" vs "private morality." private morality judges interpersonal conduct and it is the language we are familiar with. public morality is about whether republics survive. machiavelli was an italian patriot. are you an american patriot?
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
feels like how if you make your LLM racist it also becomes bad at programming
it’s pretty remarkable how every single facet of Nuzzi is universally awful all the way down to the little stuff of “I refuse to help manage an invasive species”
November 17, 2025 at 8:29 PM
feels like how if you make your LLM racist it also becomes bad at programming
🎶 In armed harms of an angel 🎶
I regret to inform you that Olivia Nuzzi's book appears to be Perfect
insane, stupid, comically overwritten, dishy, politically indefensible I cannot wait to get my hands on it I must accept this is who I am as a person at some deep level whether I like it or not www.vanityfair.com/news/story/o...
insane, stupid, comically overwritten, dishy, politically indefensible I cannot wait to get my hands on it I must accept this is who I am as a person at some deep level whether I like it or not www.vanityfair.com/news/story/o...
November 17, 2025 at 8:13 PM
🎶 In armed harms of an angel 🎶
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
Fascinating paper that used Cretaceous period geological formations as an instrumental variable by Acharya et al. (2016) that sort of blows up the idea that Southern Whites Are Like That Simply Because Of Voter Suppression
November 17, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Fascinating paper that used Cretaceous period geological formations as an instrumental variable by Acharya et al. (2016) that sort of blows up the idea that Southern Whites Are Like That Simply Because Of Voter Suppression
“Some high-cost metros have real issues.”
Economic and social opportunities are highly concentrated in those metros.
Sorry, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in suburban Ohio just because I grew up there.
Economic and social opportunities are highly concentrated in those metros.
Sorry, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in suburban Ohio just because I grew up there.
What, precisely, is the crisis? When will it be resolved? People have been talking about housing crises since the 80s. I agree that there’s a long-run upward drift in housing costs; I agree some high-cost metros have real issues. But what are we seeing right now that’s a nationwide crisis?
Stancil being a housing crisis denier is the darnedest thing
November 17, 2025 at 7:02 PM
“Some high-cost metros have real issues.”
Economic and social opportunities are highly concentrated in those metros.
Sorry, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in suburban Ohio just because I grew up there.
Economic and social opportunities are highly concentrated in those metros.
Sorry, I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life in suburban Ohio just because I grew up there.
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
Not a danish politics specialist but the Social Democrats losing Copenhagen because they are too right wing on immigration would be exactly what political scientists would expect.
Alienate core supporters in the diverse cities + chase rural voters who will be at best temporary allies = uh oh.
Alienate core supporters in the diverse cities + chase rural voters who will be at best temporary allies = uh oh.
November 17, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Not a danish politics specialist but the Social Democrats losing Copenhagen because they are too right wing on immigration would be exactly what political scientists would expect.
Alienate core supporters in the diverse cities + chase rural voters who will be at best temporary allies = uh oh.
Alienate core supporters in the diverse cities + chase rural voters who will be at best temporary allies = uh oh.
Call me a neoliberal if you like, but in the current moment would I rather benefit the shareholders of a public corporation (ultimately mostly people with 401ks or pensions) or “family farmers” (rural gentry)?
🤔
🤔
some other familiar grocery store names that are brands for producer-owned agricultural co-ops:
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
Blue Diamond
Bob's Red Mill
Land O'Lakes
Tillamook
Welch's
My #SuperlativeCannedGoo tweet from the old place is making rounds again. Support co-op cranberry growers!
November 17, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Call me a neoliberal if you like, but in the current moment would I rather benefit the shareholders of a public corporation (ultimately mostly people with 401ks or pensions) or “family farmers” (rural gentry)?
🤔
🤔
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
Even if the Epstein emails only result in banishment of garbage D elites like Summers it will be a salutary effect. But if POS like him are allowed to maintain their prestige and influence....well, then its just time to burn everything to the ground.
NEW: Before the recent Epstein disclosures, Larry Summers was poised to lead the economic policy plank for the Democrats' "Project 2029" effort at the Center for American Progress. He signed off on a housing policy paper CAP was prepping for next week.
prospect.org/2025/11/14/e...
prospect.org/2025/11/14/e...
Epstein Confidant Larry Summers Guiding Democrats’ ‘Project 2029’ - The American Prospect
Summers was overseeing the economic policy plank of the Center for American Progress’s effort. Emails released this week show him in regular contact with Jeffrey Epstein.
prospect.org
November 14, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Even if the Epstein emails only result in banishment of garbage D elites like Summers it will be a salutary effect. But if POS like him are allowed to maintain their prestige and influence....well, then its just time to burn everything to the ground.
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
a notable thing here is that Jin is about as powerful and privileged as you can be - first-tier Chinese aristocracy, basically, super-connected - and that still didn't prevent her from being harassed by Summers
The Harvard Crimson has ID'ed and published the name of a well-known economist who was the subject of emails between Larry Summers and Epstein.
Born in China, she did her B.A. – Ph.D. at Harvard.
The code name that Summers and Epstein used in their emails about her was "peril." What a vile pig.
Born in China, she did her B.A. – Ph.D. at Harvard.
The code name that Summers and Epstein used in their emails about her was "peril." What a vile pig.
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender Jef...
www.thecrimson.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:07 AM
a notable thing here is that Jin is about as powerful and privileged as you can be - first-tier Chinese aristocracy, basically, super-connected - and that still didn't prevent her from being harassed by Summers
Let’s not forget his long career of undermining state capacity in favor of a non-profit industrial complex.
relatedly, ralph nader deserves to be remembered for the rest of time as someone who voluntarily assisted in a critical attack on american democracy, the importance of which far outweighs any of his consumer advocacy
bush v gore is the hinge upon which basically everything awful from the last quarter century swings on
November 17, 2025 at 4:40 AM
Let’s not forget his long career of undermining state capacity in favor of a non-profit industrial complex.
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
Is Baby Bobby the new drip king, or is he just getting rizzed up by Livvy?
November 14, 2025 at 5:37 PM
Is Baby Bobby the new drip king, or is he just getting rizzed up by Livvy?
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
@govpritzker.illinois.gov I want you to watch this video of me slammed to the ground- why are you allowing this to happen to people you know are on the right side of history. They tied my hands behind my back and when I asked them to be loosened because I was going numb they said, “STFU.”
at one point, i watched a cook county sheriff’s officer (who appears to be in charge) point out a priest in the crowd.
he and a couple officers then went into the crowd , dragged him into the street, and arrested him.
situation is still tense as crowd jostles with police to get into the street.
he and a couple officers then went into the crowd , dragged him into the street, and arrested him.
situation is still tense as crowd jostles with police to get into the street.
November 15, 2025 at 5:34 PM
@govpritzker.illinois.gov I want you to watch this video of me slammed to the ground- why are you allowing this to happen to people you know are on the right side of history. They tied my hands behind my back and when I asked them to be loosened because I was going numb they said, “STFU.”
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
bush v gore is the hinge upon which basically everything awful from the last quarter century swings on
i don't think that bush v. gore is the *worst* ruling in the history of the supreme court, but i do think it is the most openly *corrupt* ruling in its history. a real disgrace.
November 17, 2025 at 3:51 AM
bush v gore is the hinge upon which basically everything awful from the last quarter century swings on
It literally already is!
Hukou is left-NIMBYism’s fundamental policy aspiration.
Hukou is left-NIMBYism’s fundamental policy aspiration.
This makes me realize that a hukou system in America would be incredibly popular with the burrito taxi set
November 17, 2025 at 3:00 AM
It literally already is!
Hukou is left-NIMBYism’s fundamental policy aspiration.
Hukou is left-NIMBYism’s fundamental policy aspiration.
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
It’s sort of clarifying to see him describe this dynamic so directly www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 17, 2025 at 2:28 AM
It’s sort of clarifying to see him describe this dynamic so directly www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: Jeffrey E. Epstein.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
As Summers Sought Clandestine Relationship With Woman He Called a Mentee, Epstein Was His ‘Wing Man’ | News | The Harvard Crimson
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: convicted sex offender…
www.thecrimson.com
November 17, 2025 at 1:45 AM
When former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers was pursuing a romantic relationship with a woman he described as a mentee, he turned to a longtime associate for guidance: Jeffrey E. Epstein.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Reposted by Yu-Ming Liou
This is a common misconception!
There's actually fairly substantial differences between rural white voters in the South and the non-mountain west North -- looking at an election map that starts at R+75 (purple) and ends at R+0 (yellow) you can see a fairly clear line between North/South
There's actually fairly substantial differences between rural white voters in the South and the non-mountain west North -- looking at an election map that starts at R+75 (purple) and ends at R+0 (yellow) you can see a fairly clear line between North/South
November 16, 2025 at 2:39 AM
This is a common misconception!
There's actually fairly substantial differences between rural white voters in the South and the non-mountain west North -- looking at an election map that starts at R+75 (purple) and ends at R+0 (yellow) you can see a fairly clear line between North/South
There's actually fairly substantial differences between rural white voters in the South and the non-mountain west North -- looking at an election map that starts at R+75 (purple) and ends at R+0 (yellow) you can see a fairly clear line between North/South
One share one vote
November 16, 2025 at 11:24 PM
One share one vote