Erik Sherman
@eriksherman.bsky.social
Journalist covering business, tech, economics, finance, commercial real estate, legal/regulatory, and other things from my outpost in Western MA. Enjoy coffee, food, art, family, the dog (my boss), and other things like puns and dad jokes. Can get cranky.
Aside from business as usual (or not), I have a free Substack newsletter. Unpredictable frequency, impossible-to-predict contents. Today I published, "With the First Line of Art Comes Grief".
eriksherman.substack.com/p/with-the-f...
eriksherman.substack.com/p/with-the-f...
With the First Line of Art Comes Grief
There is a sadness that accompanies the realization of freedom’s full end.
eriksherman.substack.com
December 3, 2025 at 5:55 PM
Aside from business as usual (or not), I have a free Substack newsletter. Unpredictable frequency, impossible-to-predict contents. Today I published, "With the First Line of Art Comes Grief".
eriksherman.substack.com/p/with-the-f...
eriksherman.substack.com/p/with-the-f...
Ever hear of civet coffee? That very expensive type in which Asian civets eat coffee cherries and excrete the beans? Here's a picture of a civet, presumably after doing its part for coffee aficionados.
October 20, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Ever hear of civet coffee? That very expensive type in which Asian civets eat coffee cherries and excrete the beans? Here's a picture of a civet, presumably after doing its part for coffee aficionados.
New LinkedIn-based scam.
An email claimed someone I didn't know messaged me on LI. I clicked the link and ended up at a sign-in page but should have been logged in already. No new messages. I checked the email again and noticed the strange URL.
Be wary out there.
An email claimed someone I didn't know messaged me on LI. I clicked the link and ended up at a sign-in page but should have been logged in already. No new messages. I checked the email again and noticed the strange URL.
Be wary out there.
October 10, 2025 at 2:20 PM
New LinkedIn-based scam.
An email claimed someone I didn't know messaged me on LI. I clicked the link and ended up at a sign-in page but should have been logged in already. No new messages. I checked the email again and noticed the strange URL.
Be wary out there.
An email claimed someone I didn't know messaged me on LI. I clicked the link and ended up at a sign-in page but should have been logged in already. No new messages. I checked the email again and noticed the strange URL.
Be wary out there.
Without a simulator, here's a way to visualize it. You make one choice and have 1/3 chance at the price. The host has two, one of which is guaranteed to be wrong. The host shows you that. The other may also be bad, but the chance that the pair has the prize is still 2/3. That's why you switch.
I was watching a thing about the Monty Hall problem last night and still finding it hard to accept the math behind it so I made a little interactive proving that it's true.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it.
pbump.net/montyhall/
If you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it.
pbump.net/montyhall/
MONTY HALL SIMULATOR
pbump.net
September 29, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Without a simulator, here's a way to visualize it. You make one choice and have 1/3 chance at the price. The host has two, one of which is guaranteed to be wrong. The host shows you that. The other may also be bad, but the chance that the pair has the prize is still 2/3. That's why you switch.
New from me on Forbes: "Longer Unemployment Outside A Recession Is The New Normal"
For the first time since at least 1948, the amount of time people are out of work has been growing without being triggered by a recession.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
For the first time since at least 1948, the amount of time people are out of work has been growing without being triggered by a recession.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
Longer Unemployment Outside A Recession Is The New Normal
What once was a pattern that only happened during and after a recession is now, disturbingly, becoming an everyday trend.
www.forbes.com
September 29, 2025 at 5:02 PM
New from me on Forbes: "Longer Unemployment Outside A Recession Is The New Normal"
For the first time since at least 1948, the amount of time people are out of work has been growing without being triggered by a recession.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
For the first time since at least 1948, the amount of time people are out of work has been growing without being triggered by a recession.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
The Hill: two influential GOP senators are uneasy over RFK Jr.’s ouster of Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which led to the resignations of four other high-ranking CDC officials."
Big deal. The GOP will do nothing.
thehill.com/homenews/sen...
Big deal. The GOP will do nothing.
thehill.com/homenews/sen...
thehill.com
August 28, 2025 at 11:09 PM
The Hill: two influential GOP senators are uneasy over RFK Jr.’s ouster of Susan Monarez as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which led to the resignations of four other high-ranking CDC officials."
Big deal. The GOP will do nothing.
thehill.com/homenews/sen...
Big deal. The GOP will do nothing.
thehill.com/homenews/sen...
So, Trump takes over the DC police, at least for 30 days without congressional action. His approach with most everything is to rely on emergency declarations and toss things into the air.
According to The Hill, crime in DC has been dropping sharply.
According to The Hill, crime in DC has been dropping sharply.
August 11, 2025 at 4:48 PM
So, Trump takes over the DC police, at least for 30 days without congressional action. His approach with most everything is to rely on emergency declarations and toss things into the air.
According to The Hill, crime in DC has been dropping sharply.
According to The Hill, crime in DC has been dropping sharply.
Reposted by Erik Sherman
2017-2024 QAnon: Only Trump can destroy the global-controlling Babylonian Death Cult that feeds off the blood of children and causes all wars.
2025 QAnon: If Trump says Ghislaine Maxwell did nothing wrong, that's good enough for me.
2025 QAnon: If Trump says Ghislaine Maxwell did nothing wrong, that's good enough for me.
August 1, 2025 at 5:40 PM
2017-2024 QAnon: Only Trump can destroy the global-controlling Babylonian Death Cult that feeds off the blood of children and causes all wars.
2025 QAnon: If Trump says Ghislaine Maxwell did nothing wrong, that's good enough for me.
2025 QAnon: If Trump says Ghislaine Maxwell did nothing wrong, that's good enough for me.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has had a decades-long congressional mandate to provide a public media system. It is now shutting down completely because of GOP defunding efforts.
Here's the release:
cpb.org/pressroom/Co...
Here's the release:
cpb.org/pressroom/Co...
Corporation for Public Broadcasting Addresses Operations Following Loss of Federal Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 1, 2025) – The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced today that it will begin an orderly wind-down of its operations following the passage of a federal rescissio...
cpb.org
August 1, 2025 at 5:48 PM
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting has had a decades-long congressional mandate to provide a public media system. It is now shutting down completely because of GOP defunding efforts.
Here's the release:
cpb.org/pressroom/Co...
Here's the release:
cpb.org/pressroom/Co...
Interesting post by a long-time colleague arguing for the presence of more men in teaching, grade school and up.
www.momsforequalparenting.org/p/male-teach...
www.momsforequalparenting.org/p/male-teach...
What the male teacher shortage discussion ignores
Girls, men, schools, women, parents, society also benefit when men are embraced as caring leaders
www.momsforequalparenting.org
July 29, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Interesting post by a long-time colleague arguing for the presence of more men in teaching, grade school and up.
www.momsforequalparenting.org/p/male-teach...
www.momsforequalparenting.org/p/male-teach...
House Republicans are trying to rename the Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump. They're doing this through an amendment to the interior, environment, and related agencies annual spending bill according to The Hill.
thehill.com/blogs/in-the...
thehill.com/blogs/in-the...
thehill.com
July 22, 2025 at 9:36 PM
House Republicans are trying to rename the Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump. They're doing this through an amendment to the interior, environment, and related agencies annual spending bill according to The Hill.
thehill.com/blogs/in-the...
thehill.com/blogs/in-the...
Reposted by Erik Sherman
Trump is closing all four climate observatory stations in Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, and Antartica. Because you can't have high CO2 levels if you don't *measure* CO2 levels.
roll_safe.gif
roll_safe.gif
After 7 Decades of Measurements From a Peak in Hawaii, Trump’s Budget Would End Them
www.nytimes.com
July 19, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Trump is closing all four climate observatory stations in Alaska, Hawaii, American Samoa, and Antartica. Because you can't have high CO2 levels if you don't *measure* CO2 levels.
roll_safe.gif
roll_safe.gif
Reposted by Erik Sherman
“For consumers, this means the era of ‘fair’ pricing is over. The price you see is the price the algorithm thinks you’ll accept, not a universal rate.” 💀
July 16, 2025 at 10:12 PM
“For consumers, this means the era of ‘fair’ pricing is over. The price you see is the price the algorithm thinks you’ll accept, not a universal rate.” 💀
"Amid bipartisan concern, NOAA nominee pledges to make Weather Service staffing a ‘top priority’" — The Hill
How surprising. Just over six months this administration has been in office. How many other surprises will we face?
How surprising. Just over six months this administration has been in office. How many other surprises will we face?
July 9, 2025 at 11:30 PM
"Amid bipartisan concern, NOAA nominee pledges to make Weather Service staffing a ‘top priority’" — The Hill
How surprising. Just over six months this administration has been in office. How many other surprises will we face?
How surprising. Just over six months this administration has been in office. How many other surprises will we face?
My latest at Forbes: "Trump Megabill Threatens Low-Income Health Insurance And Nursing Homes"
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
Trump Megabill Threatens Low-Income Health Insurance And Nursing Homes
The problems would spread much further than low-income people and all be the result of Medicaid cuts, so that upper-end tax benefits could pass Senate rules.
www.forbes.com
July 9, 2025 at 2:02 AM
My latest at Forbes: "Trump Megabill Threatens Low-Income Health Insurance And Nursing Homes"
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
Reposted by Erik Sherman
When the courthouse doors open tomorrow, my law firm will be litigating 55 voting and election cases in 24 states. Yes, that is a lot. In advance of 2026, Republicans and their allies are trying to make it harder for you to vote and easier for them to cheat.
July 6, 2025 at 5:37 PM
When the courthouse doors open tomorrow, my law firm will be litigating 55 voting and election cases in 24 states. Yes, that is a lot. In advance of 2026, Republicans and their allies are trying to make it harder for you to vote and easier for them to cheat.
And most people aren't recognizing that something like 63% of nursing home payments come from Medicaid. Commercial real estate is one of my regular beats. This could well become devastating at a time that the need for senior housing is rapidly growing because of demographic changes.
"No one will lose Medicaid"
"No one will lose Medicare"
"No hospitals will close"
"No one will lose insurance"
Man, seems like it might just be a good idea to check with someone other than administration flaks to see if that actually happens over the next year.
"No one will lose Medicare"
"No hospitals will close"
"No one will lose insurance"
Man, seems like it might just be a good idea to check with someone other than administration flaks to see if that actually happens over the next year.
Hassett is just gonna lie right through it: "I think that nobody is gonna lose their insurance."
July 6, 2025 at 5:52 PM
And most people aren't recognizing that something like 63% of nursing home payments come from Medicaid. Commercial real estate is one of my regular beats. This could well become devastating at a time that the need for senior housing is rapidly growing because of demographic changes.
Can we please stop talking about the GOP's struggles to cut government spending? They want to cut certain types of government spending to spend more on tax cuts and other expenditures that focus on the wealthy.
June 26, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Can we please stop talking about the GOP's struggles to cut government spending? They want to cut certain types of government spending to spend more on tax cuts and other expenditures that focus on the wealthy.
I have a new piece out on Forbes.com: "Does Elon Musk’s Borrowing Show A Super Low Tesla Stock Valuation?"
There are questions about the stock he uses as loan collateral, how much he's allowed to borrow under recent company rules, and what's being disclosed.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
There are questions about the stock he uses as loan collateral, how much he's allowed to borrow under recent company rules, and what's being disclosed.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
Does Elon Musk’s Borrowing Show A Super Low Tesla Stock Valuation?
If that isn’t the case, then Tesla’s board seems to be enabling Musk to borrow against his shares to a much larger degree than the rules they’ve set out.
www.forbes.com
June 5, 2025 at 6:42 PM
I have a new piece out on Forbes.com: "Does Elon Musk’s Borrowing Show A Super Low Tesla Stock Valuation?"
There are questions about the stock he uses as loan collateral, how much he's allowed to borrow under recent company rules, and what's being disclosed.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
There are questions about the stock he uses as loan collateral, how much he's allowed to borrow under recent company rules, and what's being disclosed.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
Must read.
Hooooly shit.
We've created a fake bullshit artist.
No wonder human bullshit artists love it.
We've created a fake bullshit artist.
No wonder human bullshit artists love it.
I... oh my god.
amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...
amandaguinzburg.substack.com/p/diabolus-e...
June 3, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Must read.
Another day, another administration outrage in a campaign to undermine the Constitution. When will GOP members drop the hypocrisy and react the same way as they would had the parties' roles been reversed? (An obviously rhetorical question.)
thehill.com/homenews/hou...
thehill.com/homenews/hou...
thehill.com
June 3, 2025 at 1:23 PM
Another day, another administration outrage in a campaign to undermine the Constitution. When will GOP members drop the hypocrisy and react the same way as they would had the parties' roles been reversed? (An obviously rhetorical question.)
thehill.com/homenews/hou...
thehill.com/homenews/hou...
Something new from me on Forbes: "The Basic Corporate Error Of Maximizing Shareholder Returns"
So many people claim that maximizing shareholder returns is a legal and even moral responsibility. They're wrong.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
So many people claim that maximizing shareholder returns is a legal and even moral responsibility. They're wrong.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
The Basic Corporate Error Of Maximizing Shareholder Returns
Many heartless and shortsighted decisions in business and society are based on thought that under U.S. law, companies owe everything to shareholders. It’s not true.
www.forbes.com
May 30, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Something new from me on Forbes: "The Basic Corporate Error Of Maximizing Shareholder Returns"
So many people claim that maximizing shareholder returns is a legal and even moral responsibility. They're wrong.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
So many people claim that maximizing shareholder returns is a legal and even moral responsibility. They're wrong.
www.forbes.com/sites/eriksh...
The current throes of the economy and society are what happen when you take someone who isn't bright, although crafty, and doesn't know much, with hidden personal agendas and a twisted upbringing, who insists that they're right and gets enough power to have their way.
May 30, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The current throes of the economy and society are what happen when you take someone who isn't bright, although crafty, and doesn't know much, with hidden personal agendas and a twisted upbringing, who insists that they're right and gets enough power to have their way.
Attorney General Pam Bondi won't let the American Bar Association vet judicial nominees because of "the bias in its rating process."
The administration is probably upset that the ABA wants thoroughly qualified candidates.
thehill.com/regulation/c...
The administration is probably upset that the ABA wants thoroughly qualified candidates.
thehill.com/regulation/c...
thehill.com
May 30, 2025 at 12:50 AM
Attorney General Pam Bondi won't let the American Bar Association vet judicial nominees because of "the bias in its rating process."
The administration is probably upset that the ABA wants thoroughly qualified candidates.
thehill.com/regulation/c...
The administration is probably upset that the ABA wants thoroughly qualified candidates.
thehill.com/regulation/c...
Rubio wants to restrict foreign nationals who are deemed “responsible for censorship of protected expression," according to a story in @thehill.
Talk about gall. How about all the people in the administration who want to quash speech they don't like? Jesus.
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
Talk about gall. How about all the people in the administration who want to quash speech they don't like? Jesus.
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
thehill.com
May 28, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Rubio wants to restrict foreign nationals who are deemed “responsible for censorship of protected expression," according to a story in @thehill.
Talk about gall. How about all the people in the administration who want to quash speech they don't like? Jesus.
thehill.com/homenews/adm...
Talk about gall. How about all the people in the administration who want to quash speech they don't like? Jesus.
thehill.com/homenews/adm...