Sam B. (he/him)
@sbarbour.bsky.social
Community college econ instructor; music nerd
Ruben Gallegos demonstrates the dilemma of American politics is that everyone wants improvements at the individual level but also for everything else to stay the same.
Everybody wants a big-ass truck; nobody wants to live in a reality where everyone drives a big-ass truck.
Everybody wants a big-ass truck; nobody wants to live in a reality where everyone drives a big-ass truck.
November 23, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Ruben Gallegos demonstrates the dilemma of American politics is that everyone wants improvements at the individual level but also for everything else to stay the same.
Everybody wants a big-ass truck; nobody wants to live in a reality where everyone drives a big-ass truck.
Everybody wants a big-ass truck; nobody wants to live in a reality where everyone drives a big-ass truck.
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
From someone on the ground STOP USING AI
October 12, 2025 at 2:36 AM
From someone on the ground STOP USING AI
I read through Weiss's ten principles that she presented as guiding journalism at CBS under her leadership and it came across as "we'll be fair and objective."
Provocative columnist Bari Weiss publicly quit the New York Times in 2020, then cofounded The Free Press as an alternative to legacy media. Here's what to know as she takes the helm of CBS News.
Who is Bari Weiss? CBS News' new editor-in-chief is a vocal critic of legacy media
Provocative columnist Bari Weiss publicly quit the New York Times in 2020, then cofounded The Free Press as an alternative to legacy media. Here's what to know as she takes the helm of CBS News.
n.pr
October 11, 2025 at 10:15 PM
I read through Weiss's ten principles that she presented as guiding journalism at CBS under her leadership and it came across as "we'll be fair and objective."
"Wealthy people funding universities, funding science, funding our future."
That's it. That's the strategy.
That's it. That's the strategy.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
Many U.S. universities embody “a culture of victimhood — a glorification of victimhood — that is ultimately bad for Western civilization and bad for the country,” May Mailman says to Ross Douthat on this episode of “Interesting Times.”
Many U.S. universities embody “a culture of victimhood — a glorification of victimhood — that is ultimately bad for Western civilization and bad for the country,” May Mailman says to Ross Douthat on this episode of “Interesting Times.”
Opinion | The Grand Strategy Behind Trump’s Crackdown on Academia
Ending the “culture of victimhood” on campus.
nyti.ms
September 26, 2025 at 5:17 AM
"Wealthy people funding universities, funding science, funding our future."
That's it. That's the strategy.
That's it. That's the strategy.
It dawned on me this morning that the "glorification of victimhood" that so irks conservatives is basically about the use of pathos to counteract domination - i.e., it's harder to bully people when they can call on the empathy of their peers.
September 25, 2025 at 12:43 PM
It dawned on me this morning that the "glorification of victimhood" that so irks conservatives is basically about the use of pathos to counteract domination - i.e., it's harder to bully people when they can call on the empathy of their peers.
This passage from Ezra Klein's interview with Ben Shapiro seems like an exactly wrongheaded view of religion, but also a fair representation of American conservatism - it's basically "good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people."
September 17, 2025 at 4:31 AM
This passage from Ezra Klein's interview with Ben Shapiro seems like an exactly wrongheaded view of religion, but also a fair representation of American conservatism - it's basically "good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people."
I've wanted to be able to use the WS-PS model in the classroom, but have always had a hard time setting up the math. And today I finally figured out that you have to set labor productivity equal to Okun's coefficient (at least, I think that's right).
September 10, 2025 at 7:18 PM
I've wanted to be able to use the WS-PS model in the classroom, but have always had a hard time setting up the math. And today I finally figured out that you have to set labor productivity equal to Okun's coefficient (at least, I think that's right).
Reading Klein this morning I had a couple of thoughts: 1) part of the problem that elected Democrats (and Klein) face is that Republicans can plausibly claim hypocrisy in response by saying that Dems are bought and paid for by private interests; and 2) I think we're missing the bigger picture.
/1
/1
September 7, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reading Klein this morning I had a couple of thoughts: 1) part of the problem that elected Democrats (and Klein) face is that Republicans can plausibly claim hypocrisy in response by saying that Dems are bought and paid for by private interests; and 2) I think we're missing the bigger picture.
/1
/1
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
New in PN: @itsafronomics.bsky.social on why Trump's attack on Lisa Cook is an attack on Black women & Black economists
"In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"
"In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"
Trump's attack on Lisa Cook is an attack on Black women
We all stand to lose if he gets away with it.
www.publicnotice.co
September 6, 2025 at 4:41 PM
New in PN: @itsafronomics.bsky.social on why Trump's attack on Lisa Cook is an attack on Black women & Black economists
"In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"
"In a time where there are attempts to erase the contributions of Black people & more specifically Black women from the history books, her leadership is needed now more than ever"
I'm glad she's standing up for herself. Every economist in the country should stand behind her.
August 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM
I'm glad she's standing up for herself. Every economist in the country should stand behind her.
Liberty means "not a slave." You can't understand Liberty, or freedom, if you like, without understanding slavery.
in the end liberalism is the philosophy of freedom. it speaks to our deepest aspirations to chart the course of our own lives--and, i think, helps us to understand what it means to be free, *really* free animals, in a world where that is no simple thing
August 18, 2025 at 6:05 AM
Liberty means "not a slave." You can't understand Liberty, or freedom, if you like, without understanding slavery.
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
As agents patrol popular areas in the nation’s capital, many Black residents are worried about being over overpoliced.
Black D.C. Residents Say Trump’s Tactics Bring More Fear, Not Safety
As agents patrol popular areas in the nation’s capital, many Black residents are worried about being over overpoliced.
capitalbnews.org
August 14, 2025 at 10:04 PM
As agents patrol popular areas in the nation’s capital, many Black residents are worried about being over overpoliced.
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
But wait, there's more!
'Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country... mainly from China'
And ofc no one knows how "transshipment" will be defined
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
'Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country... mainly from China'
And ofc no one knows how "transshipment" will be defined
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Trump’s 40% Penalty for Tariff Dodging Missing Key Details
President Donald Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country, a punishment aimed at stopping goods main...
www.bloomberg.com
August 2, 2025 at 2:07 AM
But wait, there's more!
'Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country... mainly from China'
And ofc no one knows how "transshipment" will be defined
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
'Trump has threatened to pile an additional 40% tariff on any product that Washington determines to be “transshipped” through another country... mainly from China'
And ofc no one knows how "transshipment" will be defined
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
I teach economics (at a community college), often online. I give them applied problem solving assignments that I walk through in posted videos and grade for completion. Most students turn in pictures of handwritten work. Not AI proof, at least I know they're paying attention.
July 15, 2025 at 7:01 PM
I teach economics (at a community college), often online. I give them applied problem solving assignments that I walk through in posted videos and grade for completion. Most students turn in pictures of handwritten work. Not AI proof, at least I know they're paying attention.
There's some good analysis here, but it does not address a key question with regards to domination: how do you overcome the desire for hierarchy enforced by violence?
Today in "@ksabeelrahman.bsky.social says what I want to say only better."
lpeproject.org/blog/anti-do...
lpeproject.org/blog/anti-do...
Anti-Domination and the Future of Progressive Administration
The Trump administration is simultaneously dismantling, weaponizing, and centralizing state capacities in order to enact a reactionary vision of administration — one which seeks to roll back efforts…
lpeproject.org
June 24, 2025 at 3:33 PM
There's some good analysis here, but it does not address a key question with regards to domination: how do you overcome the desire for hierarchy enforced by violence?
Abundance!
Trump Administration to End Protections for 58 Million Acres of National Forests
www.nytimes.com
June 24, 2025 at 5:00 AM
Abundance!
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
I’m not putting anyone on a pedestal but at every opportunity to be a shithead who throws marginalized people under a bus this man chooses the opposite and he’s wildly popular because of it and I don’t understand what about that isn’t clicking for other dems
Gov. Tim Walz is doubling down on trans rights — and criticizing members of his party who are retreating — at a time when the issue has become a political lightning rod nationally and back home in Minnesota.
Gov. Tim Walz backs transgender kids as Democrats grapple with debate over sports bans
The Minnesota Democrat has been critical of other members of his party who are retreating at a time when the issue has become a political lightning rod nationally and in Minnesota.
www.startribune.com
June 4, 2025 at 4:35 PM
I’m not putting anyone on a pedestal but at every opportunity to be a shithead who throws marginalized people under a bus this man chooses the opposite and he’s wildly popular because of it and I don’t understand what about that isn’t clicking for other dems
There's some part of me that kind of supports this...? But mostly I'm just amused at the sheer naivete. Like, in what world are employers giving up the leverage of providing access to health care?
June 4, 2025 at 7:04 PM
There's some part of me that kind of supports this...? But mostly I'm just amused at the sheer naivete. Like, in what world are employers giving up the leverage of providing access to health care?
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
My abundance agenda: get rid of inefficiencies that redistribute income upward, starting with government-granted patent and copyright monopolies substack.com/home/post/p-...
My Abundance Agenda
Since “abundance” is apparently the in-thing, I thought I should get in on the act.
substack.com
June 1, 2025 at 11:37 AM
My abundance agenda: get rid of inefficiencies that redistribute income upward, starting with government-granted patent and copyright monopolies substack.com/home/post/p-...
Douthat in today's Times pretends to be unaware of the double standard of judgement on politicians in this country.
Glad to know I can still be shocked, I guess?
Glad to know I can still be shocked, I guess?
May 31, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Douthat in today's Times pretends to be unaware of the double standard of judgement on politicians in this country.
Glad to know I can still be shocked, I guess?
Glad to know I can still be shocked, I guess?
Reposted by Sam B. (he/him)
Another thing I learned living in the South is that the gentry does not aspire to be richer in absolute terms, but is singularly obsessed with being richer in relative terms.
"King Shit of Turd Mountain" was the expression I heard tossed around.
"King Shit of Turd Mountain" was the expression I heard tossed around.
I wonder if in economically destitute places like Louisiana, land/business owners actually get a bigger share of economic surplus, or if they just feel like they do because they have so much power over workers
May 28, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Another thing I learned living in the South is that the gentry does not aspire to be richer in absolute terms, but is singularly obsessed with being richer in relative terms.
"King Shit of Turd Mountain" was the expression I heard tossed around.
"King Shit of Turd Mountain" was the expression I heard tossed around.
Read NYT Douthat's interview w right-wing influencer Jonathan Keeperman, found it unsettling. Dude cites Bronze Age Pervert as an important 21st century thinker.
Riddle me this, oh right-wingers: are leftists worthy foes or barbarian scum? We can't be both.
Riddle me this, oh right-wingers: are leftists worthy foes or barbarian scum? We can't be both.
May 5, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Read NYT Douthat's interview w right-wing influencer Jonathan Keeperman, found it unsettling. Dude cites Bronze Age Pervert as an important 21st century thinker.
Riddle me this, oh right-wingers: are leftists worthy foes or barbarian scum? We can't be both.
Riddle me this, oh right-wingers: are leftists worthy foes or barbarian scum? We can't be both.
It's weird to me that my first thought on seeing this was "oh, Noah Smith will be so pleased."
May 2, 2025 at 5:39 PM
It's weird to me that my first thought on seeing this was "oh, Noah Smith will be so pleased."
I'm thinking about attending the J. of Econ Teaching conference in St. Louis and it occurred to me I'd gladly spend the money on a few hours with another econ instructor going over the myriad teaching materials I've generated over the last few years.
Please respond if interested.
Please respond if interested.
April 30, 2025 at 5:39 PM
I'm thinking about attending the J. of Econ Teaching conference in St. Louis and it occurred to me I'd gladly spend the money on a few hours with another econ instructor going over the myriad teaching materials I've generated over the last few years.
Please respond if interested.
Please respond if interested.