Betsey Stevenson
@betseystevenson.bsky.social
Former Member of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers & Chief Economist at Labor. Current academic economist at Michigan. Always an economist at home.
Millions of food insecure Americans are being treated like bargaining chips in a political showdown. They have no political power, no lobbyists, and no way to influence whether the government reopens. Using them as leverage is cruel.
November 9, 2025 at 4:26 PM
Millions of food insecure Americans are being treated like bargaining chips in a political showdown. They have no political power, no lobbyists, and no way to influence whether the government reopens. Using them as leverage is cruel.
People aren't happy with the state of the economy and the real weakness for the GOP is that independents are less happy about it than they were a year ago. You can't just lie to people about energy prices, they will open their heating bill and see the difference pretty clearly.
November 7, 2025 at 8:25 PM
People aren't happy with the state of the economy and the real weakness for the GOP is that independents are less happy about it than they were a year ago. You can't just lie to people about energy prices, they will open their heating bill and see the difference pretty clearly.
You might be getting bored of tariff talk but the rubber is going to hit the road in the coming months as price increases hit. Walmart tells investors that it's raising prices later this month. And inflation expectations have shot up a shocking amount in the Michigan consumer survey released today.
May 16, 2025 at 8:52 PM
You might be getting bored of tariff talk but the rubber is going to hit the road in the coming months as price increases hit. Walmart tells investors that it's raising prices later this month. And inflation expectations have shot up a shocking amount in the Michigan consumer survey released today.
On @allinwithchris.bsky.social @chrislhayes.bsky.social asked me why tariffs will raise prices if a higher minimum wage doesn't always lead to higher prices.
The answer: People are not things. They respond to a change in their compensation, a sippy cup doesn't.
The answer: People are not things. They respond to a change in their compensation, a sippy cup doesn't.
May 16, 2025 at 2:27 PM
On @allinwithchris.bsky.social @chrislhayes.bsky.social asked me why tariffs will raise prices if a higher minimum wage doesn't always lead to higher prices.
The answer: People are not things. They respond to a change in their compensation, a sippy cup doesn't.
The answer: People are not things. They respond to a change in their compensation, a sippy cup doesn't.
My concern is that we'll see a weaker employment report in June and July, of course the labor market was strong in April. That report measured the weak after liberation day and despite the shock of Trump's tariffs, employers aren't going to shed workers that quickly.
May 7, 2025 at 10:07 PM
My concern is that we'll see a weaker employment report in June and July, of course the labor market was strong in April. That report measured the weak after liberation day and despite the shock of Trump's tariffs, employers aren't going to shed workers that quickly.
I didn't post my NBC Fed preview before the press conference. Luckily my preview was exactly what they did and said.
May 7, 2025 at 9:11 PM
I didn't post my NBC Fed preview before the press conference. Luckily my preview was exactly what they did and said.
Yesterday I said that a slowing job market doesn't start with a monthly jobs report that shows a dramatic drop in jobs added, it starts with a slowdown in openings being posted (which we are seeing). This jobs report shows an economy that is still strong, but that doesn't mean that it is stable.
May 2, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Yesterday I said that a slowing job market doesn't start with a monthly jobs report that shows a dramatic drop in jobs added, it starts with a slowdown in openings being posted (which we are seeing). This jobs report shows an economy that is still strong, but that doesn't mean that it is stable.
Large tariffs on China will cause some American small business owners market to collapse, taking the jobs of the workers who support them. Their problem is that they don't have Tim Cook's political clout to get "helped" by President Trump.
April 21, 2025 at 8:56 PM
Large tariffs on China will cause some American small business owners market to collapse, taking the jobs of the workers who support them. Their problem is that they don't have Tim Cook's political clout to get "helped" by President Trump.
I have a lot of dumb kitchen gadgets, made in China, but designed by & employing lots of Americans. We aren't going to make these things in the US, we are just going to have less of them and Americans will have fewer jobs.
April 21, 2025 at 12:52 PM
I have a lot of dumb kitchen gadgets, made in China, but designed by & employing lots of Americans. We aren't going to make these things in the US, we are just going to have less of them and Americans will have fewer jobs.