Aaron Sojourner
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aaronsojourner.org
Aaron Sojourner
@aaronsojourner.org

Labor econ @upjohninstitute.bsky.social & @IZA.org. Formerly senior economist for labor at White House CEA, UMinn prof, union organizer, bike courier, house painter, dishwasher... Minneapolis. Views mine.

aaronsojourner.org

Be kind • Work hard • Have fun .. more

Aaron Sojourner is an American economist and senior researcher at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. He was formerly an associate professor of economics at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and senior economist for the Council of Economic Advisers. His work has been widely covered by the media, particularly on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market in the United States. .. more

Economics 31%
Education 27%
Pinned
For Bluesky-Curious Econ Lovers, a Quick Start guide to plugging into the economics community here.

It aims to lower the costs & boost the benefits for folks to engage here.

If it seems useful, please share it here & especially on X.
📉📈 #️⃣#️⃣
aaronsojourner.org/for-bluesky-...
For Bluesky-Curious Econ Lovers - Aaron Sojourner
This Quick Start guide aims to help econ lovers easily join Bluesky’s growing economics community. The Bluesky User FAQ covers generic basics, like how to start an account. This guide orients you to e...
aaronsojourner.org

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

"Nathaniel Raymond, a public health scholar and the executive director of the lab, estimates that between 30,000 and 100,000 people may have been killed in six weeks, with 60,000 as a plausible midpoint."
Opinion | This Is What the Murder of a Whole City Looks Like
www.nytimes.com
The Wisconsin component of the analysis here is revealing. Evidence is consistent with DOGE strategically delaying contract terminations in WI until after the 2025 state Supreme Court elections to mitigate electoral risk.

War on Christmas.
bsky.app/profile/long...
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.

Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.

"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.

"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.

Yakima, Washington

"Efficiency" has many definitions.

In DOGE's case, it is defined as lower taxes on the wealthy & more government contracts in their pockets.

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

The Trump admin is targeting people who combat disinformation and hate online because the Trump admin is filled with people devoted to spreading disinformation and hate online (the president included). www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec...
US judge blocks Trump administration from deporting UK anti-disinformation campaigner
Imran Ahmed of Center for Countering Digital Hate files complaint against senior Trump allies
www.theguardian.com

And USA manufacturing employment down 58,000 since then too

Celebration of neoliberal policy went over fine.
bsky.app/profile/aaro...
A win for neoliberal policy
bsky.app/profile/mark...
Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan…

* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M

So YES this has been a huge success.

bsky.app Bluesky @bsky.app · Nov 19
Also new in today's v1.110 release:

We’ve redesigned the “who can reply” settings to make them clearer and easier to use. You can also now save your choices as the default for future posts, giving you easier control over the conversations you start.

Agree with Lukas. I don't feel much toxicity here. I am quick to block for it.

Difference is not in presence/absence of toxic accounts but the presence of better tools to cultivate the experience you want -- feeds, lists, strong block, comment controls, detach quote...
Two stories side by side in WashPost

What Would Jesus Do?
DOGE was A LOT less likely to cancel contracts from companies that donated money to Republicans than companies that donated to Democrats.

I would care very much. Stop being hateful. Merry Christmas.

Contributing good poasting to X adds value to network. Its owner is bending it to promote white supremacist ideology. Its power is harmful to many people & threatening to me. I'd rather invest in a community built on a platform with better aims. Many don't share this analysis, tho some do. More will
ICE detain father shopping on Christmas Eve—then steal his family's groceries.

Then 3 agents divvy up his paid for food—taking what they want for themselves.

"Can I just get the wife's number to call and let her know?" woman asks.

"No, guess he should've complied," agent says.

Yakima, Washington
And… TRO granted!

A sweet Christmas present for @imranahmed.bsky.social, @counterhate.com--& for their mission of fighting antisemitism & protecting kids online. Also nice for our all-star legal team.

A lump of coal in the stockings of authoritarians & the merchants of disinformation

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

💕🕊✝️

Merry Christmas!

When an explosive truth must be hidden but also must come out, a strategy is to surround it in an overwhelming flood of boring truth, boring falsehood, and explosive falsehood.

Tough to zero in on explosive truths & discredited explosive falsehoods erode credibility of any explosive truths.

Reposted by Gerald Friedman

If you are picking fights with pediatricians, you are the baddie.
The federal government abruptly cut nearly $12 million in grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics in retaliation for criticizing policies of Health Secretary RFK Jr., the organization alleged in a new lawsuit.
National pediatrics association sues, claiming HHS grant cuts were retaliatory
The American Academy of Pediatrics says nearly $12 million in grants cuts were made because it criticized Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policies.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

Important work using U.S. tax data shows businesses have absorbed minimum wage increases without affecting employment, and through higher revenue-likely reflecting price & productivity offsets. Also shows how reallocation towards more productive firms offers another margin of adjustment.

People can also take pics and report. I have seen pics of two vehicles next to each other with the same plate (splitting a front and back plate pair into 2 backs).

Scrambling plates makes it harder for people to track movements & operations. Anything that reduces that helps.
The federal government abruptly cut nearly $12 million in grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics in retaliation for criticizing policies of Health Secretary RFK Jr., the organization alleged in a new lawsuit.
National pediatrics association sues, claiming HHS grant cuts were retaliatory
The American Academy of Pediatrics says nearly $12 million in grants cuts were made because it criticized Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s policies.
www.washingtonpost.com

Good, they are doing this all the time
The director of Minnesota’s Driver and Vehicle Services is warning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents that they’re violating state law and could be cited if they switch out or remove license plates on their unmarked vehicles. (1) www.mprnews.org/story/2025/1...
Minnesota DVS warns ICE agents they’re violating state law by switching license plates
The director of Minnesota’s Driver and Vehicle Services told federal homeland security officials to stop license plate switching immediately. Gov. Tim Walz called tampering with plates “criminal activ...
www.mprnews.org

As the self-proclaimed champions of free speech and opponents of cancel culture take power, a golden age of free expression dawns...

Reposted by Aaron Sojourner

feels quaint to even mention it at this point but the supreme court's total lack of interest in defending the lower court judges who routinely receive maga death threats and swatting attempts for ruling against trump really illustrates who utterly lawless the high court has become
"Even after accounting for the upfront costs and delayed benefits, enrolling marginal applicants to public universities generates substantial net returns for society, the marginal students themselves, and the government budget."

Public Universities FTW!