Douglas N. Harris

Someone I'm close to lives in Latin America w/ his wife & kids. They were planning to move to the U.S. for all our opportunities. Now they are too afraid to come.

Some would say preference skilled workers. OK, 1 is an engineer, 1 a small business owner.

This is what we've wrought.

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

First ever repost of Michael R. Strain.

Hard to overstate how important this issue is for the future of democracy.

#BLS

Many thanks Sean and EFP. Unfortunately, with declining enrollments, more closures are coming. Some useful lessons in the paper about how to make the best of these difficult situations. Related commentary here: www.edweek.org/leadership/o...

The average young person today is on course to spend 25 years of their life on their phone. (Plus more on other screens.) Most of them don't want to live this way, but feel trapped.

How about we delay giving smartphones and tablets till at least 14?

Embarrassing indeed. It's great to see Goldin working with the players on this; and seeing through the subterfuge & accounting games.

Each of these projects has been a team effort. Too many people to even tag. (I think 250+ people have been directly involved.) If you're one of them, thank you. It's been a real pleasure working with you. This also gives me hope that we can use data & research to help dig out of our various messes.

The State of the Nation Project: Assessing America's Progress How's America doing? State of the Nation provides objective, data-driven reports on US progress across key areas. Explore expert insights and public opinion on national well-being.

State of the Nation Project (launched in Feb.). We built a progress report for the country across a wide variety of dimensions--from the economy and education to mental and physical health. Incredible bipartisan, cross-disciplinary board repr 8 leading national think tanks. See: stateofnation.org

Evidence-Based Education Policy Research | Live Handbook Explore evidence-based education policy research at our digital hub. Access data-driven insights to improve learning outcomes and shape effective policies.

AEFP Live Handbook (launched in March). Objective, rigorous, comprehensive, useful, & timely research abt #EducationPolicy for policymakers, journalists & researchers. 8,000+ users & 50+ chapters already w/ key conclusions abt #ECE, #Schools, & #HigherEd. Stellar editorial board. livehandbook.org

Homepage | REACH The mission of REACH is to provide objective, rigorous, and applicable research that informs and improves school choice policy design and implementation to increase opportunities and outcomes for disa...

REACH: Our IES center grant on #SchoolChoice nationwide is ending but this is just the start for REACH. With additional research funding, we're turning our attention to the rapid expansion of universal #vouchers & #ESAs. First report on that next month. See more REACH work here: reachcentered.org

Home

ERA-New Orleans: This is the 20th anniv of #HurricaneKatrina. Hard to believe. We've released 50+ reports about the resulting school reforms. A new report last month provides an integrated summary of them all. See the anniversary report here: educationresearchalliancenola.org

It's been such an action-packed year for me already that I'm doing my "year end" in July. I'm especially excited about some of my new initiatives that you probably haven't heard about. (Yes, I keep adding things without subtracting much. It's an issue.) Here are some updates:

Many thanks, Dan. Right back atcha.

Glad to re-engage. I haven't been even on Twitter for much of the past year. Did I miss anything? Anything exciting going on in the world? Sigh...