Michael Roberts

From where I sit at the University, UH and NCSU before that, boys were falling off and behind long before the manosphere showed up. Nearly 2/3 of new college students at UH are female, and boys predominate at the bottom, even in traditionally male-dominated economics.

Yes, of course. But we should look deeper. Boys and men are facing real challenges. The manosphere came about from exploiting their challenges and underlying insecurities for profit and power. Let’s try to understand why boys and men are failing and help them be better people.

No, he's using the sharpie to fire the data analysts when they report inconvenient numbers.
www.nytimes.com/live/2025/07...

The government employs thousands of data analysts, our statistical agencies collect millions of data points, conference rooms full of trade economists spend decades studying how to make sense of it all, and he's inside the residence scribbling numbers with a sharpie, isn't he.

How I wish America’s congestion-obsessed transportation engineers understood Paul Krugman’s point here

paulkrugman.substack.com/p/the-limits...

Motherfucking wind farms…

Great news for the terrible air pollution in these countries.

And if long term rates continue to rise, then what?

I grew up listening Tom Lehrer. We need his kind of humor today to both lighten the load and challenge the hypocrisy of our times.

If you haven't heard of him, you can find all his classics on You Tube.

Up is down -- Russ Vought claims "the patience that the president has demonstrated toward Chairman Powell is in fact a defense of Fed independence"

Underwater image of a sea lion hunting salema fish in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

Why do some say marine protected areas are just “paper parks”? And are industrial fishers actually staying out of these no-fishing zones?

New in @science.org: We used AI + satellite radar to find out. doi.org/10.1126/scie...

#ScienceResearch #OceanConservation #OceanTransparency #30x30 #Fisheries

CBS Canceling ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ After Next Season

This is so sad. Not for Colbert, but for CBS. Now I'll try to avoid watching Paramount Global. But I'll look forward to following whatever Colbert does next.

Aside: One of my greatest regrets was turning down a chance to be on The Colbert Report in 2012.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/b...

Capacity metrics can be misleading when coal plants run at 90% and solar/wind at 20-30%. The average journalist doesn't pay much attention, so long as the headline sounds good.

Anyhow, hopefully solar accelerates fast. It should--it would save both $ and lives.

Trump & Republicans: It's not just the abject cruelty, and the stupidity of giving the future to China.

In a better world, the US-China rivalry would foster competition for the betterment of all humanity.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/o...

ICE Set to Vastly Expand Its Reach With New Funds

These funds could sustain the National Science Foundation for 17 years and make the US a great country. Instead, they'll be used to terrorize people in the US.

More Woody Guthrie Songs? Yes, From a Trove of Homemade Recordings.

The world could use a little more Woody Guthrie today.

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/14/a...

Incidentally: I've learned that with media it's important to pay attention to the *journalist*. Even the best outlets like NYT can have misleading articles.

@jeannasmialek.bsky.social is definitely a good one to follow. The right stories and very well done.

American Allies Want to Redraw the World’s Trade Map, Minus the U.S.

Trump is awful. However, many reactions to this administration will bring broad benefits for generations to come. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/13/w...

When the going gets rough, invent new Serious vocabulary. Goodbye sustainability. Hello, circular economy.

This @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social video is absolutely INCREDIBLE. The numbers he cites, the strategy and results they produced — it’s the future. When have you heard *any* campaign talk about this, ever? (Video split in 2 to fit in Bluesky’s limits)

The main reason why the DOW is up and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq are down is the Big Beautiful Bill slashes Medicaid, which will force millions of poor people to to buy overpriced insurance from the private sector.

The Dollar Has Its Worst Start to a Year Since 1973

In the words of the late great Tom Petty, we're Free Fallin'.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/b...

Dividend yield of the S&P is approaching an all-time low. www.multpl.com/s-p-500-divi...

The Shiller PE ratio is in nose bleed territory. Perhaps we should reconsider rational expectations? www.multpl.com/shiller-pe

fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgr...

NCAs are designated as HISAs and must comply with federal HISA requirements, as well as the GCRA and other applicable laws and policies. This memo outlines the organizational roles and responsibilities in NCA5, federal HISA requirements, and how these requirements and other best practices were implemented throughout the report’s development.

In addition, the National Climate Assessment qualifies as a Highly Influential Scientific Assessment which means it must be digitally accessible.

From the former globalchange.gov website:

How much could clean electricity adoption change without tax credits? Existing modeling suggests that annual additions could slow by roughly half for many technologies to 2035. But these studies omit recently proposed excise taxes, which could further reduce project deployment.

Trump Steps Up Pressure Campaign on Powell With Handwritten Note

The breakeven spread appears much too low. Massive deficits, money printing, and a Fed captured by a lunatic king seem like a recipe for hyperinflation.

Where do markets hide? Inflation-indexed bonds?

If only we could rely on the integrity of the CPI.

www.nytimes.com/2025/06/30/b...

True. But they are crossing lines they haven't in the past. Combine the medicaid cuts and clean energy cuts and rural communities in WV and many southern states will be stark.

It's odd to be dogpiled on a post like that.

Perhaps I was naive, but I figured they'd balk at reversing too much of the IRA b/c since they were targeted at Republican constituents. They really are hurting themselves. And now they want to tax clean energy 🤦.

Shameless. Likely foolish.