Joe Soss

Join us for a talk with Legal Plunder authors, @joesoss.bsky.social & @joshpage.bsky.social, exploring how our fines & fees system came to be & what it will take to dismantle it.

In-person registration is closed — but there’s still time to join virtually!

🗓️ 12/3, 12 PM ET
🎟️ tinyurl.com/3bnpprvb

If you're interested in hearing about my new book with @joesoss.bsky.social, Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice, join us virtually this Wednesday for a spirited discussion with @finesandfeesjc.bsky.social.

Join FFJC Co-ED Joanna Weiss for a conversation with the authors of Legal Plunder, @joesoss.bsky.social & @joshpage.bsky.social, exploring how our fines & fees system took shape and what it will take to dismantle it.

🗓️ 12/3, 12 PM ET
📍 Online or at New York Law School
🎟️ tinyurl.com/3bnpprvb

Indentured Citizens - Joshua Page & Joe Soss - Inquest Making incarceration profitable—for both the state and corporations—generates untold hardship not only for incarcerated people but also for their families and communities.

"Penal operations that isolate, deprive, and control do more than just warehouse; they make incarcerated populations productive by ushering them into projects that generate substantial public and private revenues." @joshpage.bsky.social & @joesoss.bsky.social on prisons & $$$

Very much looking forward to this event in NYC with @finesandfeesjc.bsky.social. Please join us in person or online for a spirited discussion about Legal Plunder. cc/ @joesoss.bsky.social

Folks can join online as well!

If you're in or near NYC on December 3, I hope you'll join us for this important conversation. Free and open to the public.

Picture of Ace Frehley in his signature makeup and outfit, holding a beautiful electric guitar

The moral arc of The New York Groove is long, but it bends toward "a wicked lady sittin' by my side, sayin', where are we?" RIP Ace Frehley.

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez 80000 60000 40000 20000 0 Bernie Sanders 200000 Number of Donations 150000 100000 50000 Elizabeth Warren 60000 40000 20000 01 25 50 Donor Age 75

Hakeem Jeffries 40000 30000 20000 10000 Nancy Pelosi 100000 Number of Donations 75000 50000 25000 Suzan DelBene 2000 1500 1000 500 25 50 75 Donor Age

AOC has just officially become the top House fundraiser, beating out Hakeem Jeffries. Now lemme take a big sip of coffee as I look at the age distribution of donors to AOC vs Jeffries

Just... wow

Unwarranted: How the Criminal Justice System Expands ICE’s Reach Email from FWD.us October 16, 2025 Just a Minute on Warrants Bad premises beget worse policies. Spend just a minute with us so that we can do better.     Mathieu Lewis-Rolland via Getty Images In the

Important: @fwd.us just posted a nice short piece on how ICE agents are using bench warrants -- often for unpaid criminal legal debts -- as pretexts for raiding private properties and indiscriminately detaining residents. #LegalPlunder
myemail.constantcontact.com/Unwarranted-...

The Supreme Court’s majority right wing indicated in oral arguments that they think racism is over on the same day that the vice president defended the “I love Hitler” guy, and that the NYT reported that the current administration plans to accept only white, English-speaking refugees.

Oct. 15, 2025 PENTAGON PRESS ASSOCIATION STATEMENT Today, the Defense Department confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America. It did this because reporters would not sign onto a new media policy over its implicit threat of criminalizing national security reporting and exposing those who sign it to potential prosecution. The Pentagon Press Association's members are still committed to reporting on the U.S. military. But make no mistake, today, Oct. 15, 2025 is a dark day for press freedom that raises concerns about a weakening U.S. commitment to transparency in governance, to public accountability at the Pentagon and to free speech for all. PPA

“The Defense Department has confiscated the badges of the Pentagon reporters from virtually every major media organization in America,” the Pentagon Press Association said

Trump Halts Billions in Grants for Democratic Districts During Shutdown (Gift Article) The Trump administration has frozen or canceled nearly $28 billion primarily located in Democratic-led districts, according to an analysis by The New York Times.

Trump is upfront in saying he will use the shutdown to punish Democrats, and here are the receipts. About $27.2 billion cut from Dem districts compared to about $0.7 billion in GOP districts.
We all complain about the media, but need this type of in-depth journalism.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Worth Rises — How the “Big Beautiful Bill” Has Transformed the Prison Industry One hundred days ago, on July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA), which launched a dangerous and sweeping escalation of indiscriminate U.S. immigration en...

Great post from @worthrises.bsky.social on how the "big beautiful bill" is showering public funds on the prison industry, supercharging profits and transforming detention and incarceration in America. #LegalPlunder
worthrises.org/blogpost/202...

@biancatylek.bsky.social
@joshpage.bsky.social

This week, our colleague Dr. Mark Bray came under attack by Turning Point USA’s Rutgers chapter for his public scholarship. Rutgers AAUP-AFT and the Rutgers Adjunct Faculty Union condemn this campaign and stand in solidarity with our colleagues. Read our full statement here: https://loom.ly/BDXasRY

Minnesota law enforcement asset seizures up last year • Minnesota Reformer Minnesota law enforcement agencies seized and kept over $6 million in cash, vehicles and other property in 2024, according to the state auditor’s most recent asset forfeiture report. That’s 14% more t...

Excellent report on asset seizures in Minnesota and Minneapolis
#LegalPlunder
minnesotareformer.com/2025/10/09/m...

Court Rules in AAUP v Rubio: Trump Admin Violated First Amendment The AAUP and partners sued to block the Trump administration from carrying out large-scale arrests, detentions, and deportations of noncitizen students and faculty members for ideological reasons.

Once again, it is *faculty*—not administrators—who brought this case and won. Including UC Faculty Association chapters of the AAUP.

Cover of legal plunder: the predatory dimensions of criminal justice

Excited to read this! Thanks @joesoss.bsky.social & @joshuapage.bsky.social

Thanks, Don!

How Can We Live Together? - Boston Review Ezra Klein is wrong: shame is essential.

"Common decency stigmatizes people that do not participate in it—removes them from voluntary association. We indeed have to live with one another, but terms and conditions apply."

me on why Ezra Klein should be ashamed / why shame is Good Actually

www.bostonreview.net/articles/how...

The brain tricks us constantly. It mistakes scrolling and "seeking information" for DOING THINGS. That is not doing. You have to act.

Outstanding! Congratulations.

Panelists will include Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, George Mason University Law Professor Ilya Somin, and UMN Professor of Anthropology Karen Ho. With registration at the link above, the event is free and open to the public, both for in-person and online.

Legal Plunder: Making Money Off Policing and Punishment Over the past 40 years, the campaign to “get tough on crime” has been redesigned to generate vast revenue streams for governments and corporations. Today, practices that criminalize, police, and punis...

For those who might be interested: The Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the Humphrey School will host a book launch event for my new book with Josh Page, Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice, on September 19, noon-1:00. docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Thank you!

Please buy this book and read it. The system is rigged against non-White American citizens. Soss’s prior book describes vividly how policy penalizes the poor. At 30% off, brilliance at a bargain!

Thank you @chriswarcraft.bsky.social !

The cover for Legal Plunder: The Predatory Dimensions of Criminal Justice, by Joshua Page and Joe Soss

Just finished the intro to this book (Legal Plunder) and I can already tell it’s gonna be a good one. @joshpage.bsky.social & @joesoss.bsky.social are diving deep into how the government and businesses use policing, punishment, and immigrant detention to extract revenues from communities.