Victor Matheson

I asked everyone I could at the rally I was at, and no one could tell me where to sign up for my check.

Being a member of the Economics and Accounting Department at my college, I even filled out a W-9 ahead of time!

Basketball - NBA: Nach der Enthüllung des Betrugsskandals

Somehow I sound much more authoritative when translated into German!

And yeah, the NBA gambling scandal is a big enough deal to get attention across the pond.

open.spotify.com/episode/6qQs...

How sports gambling has become crucial to leagues’ bottom lines | CNN Business Do you think that the NBA gambling scandal will cause leagues to put some distance between themselves and sports gambling? Don’t bet on it.

It will take more than a few bad headlines for sports leagues to turn away from the deluge of gambling money.

I have to admit I feel a bit star-struck to be one of two experts quoted along with Michael Lewis of Moneyball and Liar's Poker fame.

www.cnn.com/2025/10/25/b...

Sports ticket prices are getting more expensive — and pricing out many fans For sports fans, there's nothing as exciting as going to see your team play. But what was once an affordable form of entertainment is becoming increasingly more expensive and pricing some loyal fans o...

All I know is that it is a lot cheaper to hear me talk about ticket prices on NPR's Morning Edition today than it is to buy tickets to any sporting events nowadays.

www.npr.org/2025/10/23/n...

So, they screwed up the stadium design in a way that prevents any large concerts.

That being said, no large concerts were going there anyways. No real band wants to play outdoors at a MiLB park when venues like Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston or even Indian Ranch in Webster are available.

Mamdani hasn’t been elected yet and he’s already driving criminals out of New York.

I am shocked, shocked I tell you, to find out that the Worcester MiLB baseball stadium has not lived up to its economic expectations!

www.telegram.com/story/news/l...

The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted - Freakonomics The Merger You Never Knew You Wanted - Freakonomics

Happy to be featured on the latest episode of Freakonomics Radio discussing the crazy(???) idea of the NFL and NCAA merging and forming a promotion/relegation league.

freakonomics.com/podcast/the-...

I am passing up a B-52s/Devo concert to attend this

“Insights into Educational Inequality” better be as much a banger as “Whip It” or “Love Shack”!

If only Al Gore instead of GWB had been appointing SC Justices in the 2000s…

Why is everyone buying lottery tickets? With $103 billion spent on tickets in 2023, big jackpots and economic stress continue to fuel America’s lottery habit.

Why is everyone buying lottery tickets? I will tell you on @marketplace.org!

www.marketplace.org/story/2025/0...

Even if the WNBA has racked up operating losses of $500 million, the Mohegan Tribe alone has just earned a $315M capital gain by buying the CT Sun for $10M in 2003 and receiving a $325M bid to sell them this summer.

That alone covers over 1/2 of the league's "losses."

What I can't believe is legal is a government appointee using his role as director of the FHFA to target political opponents by selectively investigating Democratic lawmakers and appointees.

Imagine the outcry if Obama or Biden had done that to Republicans.

I don't know why anyone would trust a (reverse)carpetbagger like you to know anything about the Worcester sports market.

It's just too bad there aren't any decent sports economists in Worcester who could have given the city decent advice about the stadium.

Here's a good article showing how far Trump has split MAGA and traditional business Republicans. AEI, a wildly conservative traditional thinktank, is talking about how to improve electric cars. Trump is talking about how to eliminate them.

www.aei.org/research-pro...

But to be fair, Steve Ballmer living out his midlife crisis by buying a sports team with his billions is probably better than Elon Musk living out his midlife crisis by destroying democracy.

Bears, Without State Funding, Officially Pivot Stadium to Suburbs The Bears have declared their days along the downtown Chicago lakefront as numbered, announcing plans for a new stadium in Arlington Heights.

Good job by the state of Illinois understanding the basics of stadium finance. While you ***might*** be able to argue for local subsidies, there is no way the state makes anything simply moving a stadium from one location in the state to another.

frontofficesports.com/bears-withou...

Nope. Huge stadium subsidy for Boston’s new NWSL team.

I’ll try to think of some others…

If NFL stadiums cause great neighborhoods, why does the current neighborhood next to the new stadium need to be revitalized? It's been next to an NFL stadium for almost 30 years?

I wonder if any economists have studied the economic benefits of new stadiums…

US military ‘conducted a lethal strike’ on alleged ‘drug vessel’ in southern Caribbean, Rubio says | CNN Politics The United States “conducted a lethal strike” against an alleged “drug vessel” in the southern Caribbean, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday.

So, the US military is now engaging in extrajudicial assassinations of citizens of countries we are not at war with?

That somehow sounds bad when I say it like that...

www.cnn.com/2025/09/02/p...

We’ll invite you to a seminar at Holy Cross sometime, and grab one afterwards.

Hah! Almost just stopped by Treehouse on my way home from Worcester. So add,

5) Day not ruined by random
visit from economist crashing your pleasant beer at Treehouse.

Firing the head of BLS. Dismantling the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Trump's BLS nominee E.J. Antoni suggests suspending monthly jobs report E.J. Antoni, an economist nominated by President Trump to lead the Bureau of Labor Statistics, said the jobs report is flawed.

It is wildly depressing that our primary economic data collection agency is now slated to be run by a guy with such poor qualifications that he wouldn't be competitive for an assistant professor job at my college.

www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-bls-nominee-e-j-antoni-suspending-monthly-jobs-report/

Duffy to announce nuclear reactor on the moon This is the first major agency effort by the interim NASA administrator, who is also the Transportation secretary and a former Fox News host.

Can’t we think of a more efficient use of taxpayer money like maybe sports stadiums?

www.politico.com/news/2025/08...

Met this guy walking with my dog today.

Fortunately coyotes are typically only dangerous if you have small animals, your pet is unleashed, or the coyote is carrying any packages labeled “ACME”.

Yeah, I don’t think this is right at all. The only thing Wolfers got potentially wrong in 2020 is to say that the BLS hadn’t been compromised in any way ***yet***.

Trump 2025 is a way different (and worse) beast than Trump 2020.

August 1, 2025 AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION Committee on Economic Statistics and Committee on Government Relations Statement from the American Economic Association on the Dismissal of the BLS Commissioner Leaders of the American Economic Association express their grave concern over the dismissal of the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) earlier today. The independence of the federal statistical agencies is essential to the proper functioning of a modern economy. Accurate, timely, and impartial statistics are the foundation upon which households, businesses, and policymakers make critical decisions. Undermining the independence or credibility of these agencies threatens the integrity of the information that markets, institutions, and the public rely on every day. Measuring the vast and dynamic U.S. economy in real time is inherently challenging. It is standard practice for statistical estimates to be revised as more complete and higher-quality data become available. These revisions reflect the commitment of statistical agencies to accuracy, transparency, and methodological rigor-not failure or bias. The BLS has long had a well-deserved reputation for professional excellence and nonpartisan integrity. Safeguarding this tradition is vital for the continued health of the U.S. economy and public trust in our institutions. We call upon elected officials to respect and preserve the independence of the nation's statistical infrastructure. Lawrence Katz President, American Economic Association Katharine Abraham President-Elect, American Economic Association Karen Dynan Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Economic Statistics Kenneth Troske Chair, American Economic Association Committee on Government Relations

Statement from the largest economics association about the BLS firing

As context: AEA approximately never makes such public statements

This is a big deal

This is what totalitarian regimes do, cook the numbers to please Dear Leader