Tom Davidoff
tomdavidoff.bsky.social
Tom Davidoff
@tomdavidoff.bsky.social
Economist at UBC Sauder
You watched the election and decided that caving to authoritarians in exchange for nothing was wise? Are you aware that the big brand problem for Dems (and a brand problem for Dems means disaster for America) is fecklessness? Not too late for you to undo this stupid betrayal of party and country.
November 10, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Video has arrived of our annual UBC Sauder School of Business panel discussion, this year on the future of multifamily housing finance. Thanks to our panelists Graham Drexel, Suzana Goncalves, Nick Marks, and Neil Levecque, P. Eng. I certainly learned a lot. www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/dvk8f...
www.dropbox.com
November 4, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Wouldn't the city make bank by putting in red light / stop sign cams? Is there really a plurality of people stupid or narcissistic enough to think it's a bad idea? "Let's have a negative NPV policy that kills and maims people."
I live close to this intersection and actively avoid it because it feels so dangerous. Cars rip down 16th, don't stop for pedestrians...

Of course, the city does nothing. Pedestrian safety just isn't a priority. And this will only get worse with the upcoming budget cuts.

Heartbreaking :(
“We’ve asked for about four or five years now to get a crossing light put in. The city always comes back with ‘We can only do 10 maximum a year.’"

The bad news is with ABC's budget cuts, that pace will be even slower. Ken Sim and ABC are failing to keep Vancouver residents safe.
October 15, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Solution to BC condo glut: let developers do short-term rental for a fee, somewhat lower than empty homes + spec tax, have to make good faith effort to market properties. Help fend off bank losses, preserve developer liquidity, ease hotel shortage. Hard to see who loses.
October 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Reposted by Tom Davidoff
NEW: Rachel Maddow drops unseen bodycam footage of feds coordinating the arrest of Newark Mayor Baraka.

I REPEAT: the feds ordered his arrest even though he wasn’t breaking any laws.

Federal agent: “We are arresting the mayor right now per the Deputy Attorney General of the United States.”
September 30, 2025 at 2:05 AM
Reposted by Tom Davidoff
I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)
September 25, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Two good things about @rebeccaleebligh.bsky.social from what I have seen:
1. Works hard and listens to reason.
2. Fundamentally a decent and kind person. I wouldn't be very worried about corruption stuff if she were mayor and I think she'd give a lot of attention to homelessness/addiction.
Vancouver councillor Rebecca Bligh makes official she will run for mayor next year under a new banner of “Vote Vancouver”.

Bligh was first elected in 2018 with the NPA, left them, joined Sim’s ABC Party and was re-elected, before she was booted from ABC, mostly on divisions over social issues.
September 22, 2025 at 5:15 PM
This is an interesting metric. I suspect there are similar abuses of speech "rights" with respect to COVID, herpes, and warts.
Trump: "When 97% of the stories are bad about a person, that's no longer free speech."
September 19, 2025 at 10:52 PM
The evening of October 23rd, we will be hosting a panel discussion on the future of multifamily housing finance. I think a very important topic and a great opportunity to schmooze with real estate industry and policy professionals. www.sauder.ubc.ca/event/future.... I hope to see you there.
The Future of Multifamily Housing Construction Financing
With housing still unaffordable, governments at every level have committed to increasing multifamily construction. However, in Canada’s most expensive cities, new projects have stalled. This panel wil...
www.sauder.ubc.ca
September 19, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Some locals wrote up advice to @gregorrobertson.bsky.social , here is my reply to their advice docs.google.com/document/d/1...
docs.google.com
July 25, 2025 at 8:54 PM
The enemy of my enemy is my enemy? The enema of my enemy is my enemy?
June 5, 2025 at 9:11 PM
Question about the Big Beautiful Bill: the Supreme Court has decided that tipping politicians for a job well done is legal, and the bill deletes taxes on tips. So if a rich guy gives a pol a bribe/performance bonus, is that now non-taxable?
June 2, 2025 at 6:37 PM
Reposted by Tom Davidoff
Every book published in the United States is sent to the Library of Congress. Also, if you are under 16 you cannot use the reading room or order books.
Reporter: The president fired the Librarian of Congress. Why? 

Leavitt: There were quite concerning things she had done at the Library of Congress in the pursuit of DEI and putting inappropriate books in the library for children.
May 9, 2025 at 10:15 PM
Reposted by Tom Davidoff
Rep Sara Jacobs (D-CA) introduced formal amendment to limit “use of funds for a makeup studio for the Secretary of Defense”
April 29, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Nice example of problems with first past the post.
Quite the dramatic split in one of the only remaining uncalled races in Canada:
April 29, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Is anyone doing a same-store-sales analysis of the vote?
April 28, 2025 at 11:54 PM
This does raise an interesting question: are benches entitled to due process? Can the criminal bench be sent to a foreign prison without a hearing because of its alleged criminality? I would think generally benches *can* be sent abroad, but does the alleged criminality imply human rights?
Bondi on Judge Hannah Dugan: "This is a criminal judge sitting on a criminal bench."
April 28, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Tom Davidoff
Abrego Garcia's wife: "I will not stop fighting until I see my husband alive. Kilmar, if you can hear me, stay strong. God hasn't forgotten about you. Our children are asking when you will come home ... they miss their dad so much."
April 15, 2025 at 7:47 PM
Thanks @harvard.edu for taking a stand today. I just gave a token donation to say "good job."
April 14, 2025 at 7:24 PM
A bearish theory of Trump: he indulges himself in whatever bad stuff until the market screams. So if market isn’t screaming, bad stuff to come. Or, an optimizer (even with bad motives) won’t leave slack in a costly constraint.
April 14, 2025 at 3:57 PM
I had the opportunity to talk to a great civic group this AM on the formerly interesting topic of housing, here are the slides. blogs.ubc.ca/davidoff/fil...
blogs.ubc.ca
April 10, 2025 at 9:54 PM
The market got sick and tired of winning today.
April 8, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Just listening to @thestrategists.ca making fun of people who worry about fluoride in water.
Mike Johnson on RFK Jr pushing to remove fluoride from water: "From what I've read and what I understand, it deserves real evaluation. There's a concern that it may be having a negative impact on the health of children ... I don't have the answers."
April 8, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Unfortunate, I think that the EU is going soft on retaliation. Trump will lose a lot of support if things worsen. As with law firms and universities, I think bespoke negotiations make things worse for everyone, including 🇺🇸
April 7, 2025 at 2:54 PM