Prof. Jo-Ellen Pozner

We should start tallying Bobby's body count now. It's going to be big.

I cannot for the life of me square this circle. Three economics degrees and you'd think I could understand his simple math. Unless . . . .

So much this!

I was a USAID contractor in 1994-95, just after college graduation. The work we did supporting land use and housing programs in transitioning countries in Eastern Europe was impactful and important, the people doing the work were dedicated experts. This will break my heart and people's lives.

I spent an hour last night with my brilliant colleague and friend, @profsunitasah.bsky.social Sunita Sah, discussing her new book, Defy: The Power of No in a World That Demands Yes. Ok, it wasn't in person, it was on an episode of my favorite interview hour, KQED's Forum. Listen and order her book!

Great question! We don’t have performance data, sadly. The family business literature finds that families have a lower bar than other founders. Our data suggest that this may be even more true for craft founders because they are value- not economically-rational. $ is much less important to them!

Craft Ventures Founded by Couples Enjoy Greater Longevity A study of chocolate makers shows that shared values, commitment, and a long-term outlook are good for both relationships and business.

I'm excited to see a paper I'm so proud of getting some attention. Interested in what married couples and craft chocolate have in common? Look no further!
eiexchange.com/content/craf...

I feel like you got everything on your list but the bacon. What happened to the bacon?

Carter Names Record Number of Minorities to Federal Bench

Please remember that President Carter appointed more minorities and women to the bench than all previous presidents combined. He was the first President to embrace the concept of bringing racial diversity to the federal bench. A key aspect of his legacy.
www.washingtonpost.com/archive/poli...

This is basically how we Jews “celebrate” Christmas - couldn’t ask for a better plan!

But they’ll say it was the Dems fault and their base will beleive it! 😢

Walmart’s DEI Compromise Holds Lessons for Corporate America Just five days after hearing from activist Robby Starbuck, the retailer chose to short-circuit a protracted battle.

Thanks to Jeff Green for including me in this important reporting on changes in the DEI ether.

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

🤣🤣

What have you left for me to buy?

Do Lay Leaders Actually Lead? — Sources Journal Joshua Ladon and Jo-Ellen Pozner Fall/Winter 2024

I am excited to share this piece on lay leadership, out in Sources, the Hartman Institute journal. (The whole issue is terrific - check it out!) Working on this with my friend, Joshua Ladon, under the guidance of the incisive and insightful Claire Sufrin, was a highlight of my fall term.

Shocked & not surprised that people celebrate the murder of a health insurance CEO and bemoan that health insurance is in business to make money. How many of prefer universal healthcare? Or support Trump's DOGE plans because, you know, government should be run like a business!

While I join the world in celebrating the end of the Assad regime, I am very nervous that Syria's new leadership may not be interested in personal freedom. Might this be a case of out of the frying pan, into the fire? I would love to hear others' thoughts, especially those with specific expertise!

I’d say they were Fleetwood Mac before the partner swapping and breakups. No anti-depressants needed . . . Yet. Same effect, at the end of the day.

In sum, this is an awful idea. I’m nervous about what might happen and how we can defend against it!
/end rant

And if you outsource those sorts of functions to private companies that can perform them more efficiently, you as the “customer” (rather than citizen) will be the last in line for rents, behind shareholders and managers. That means less service, not more, in the name of efficiency. 4/

What we want is effectiveness, which is harder to measure and requires slack resources. An efficient FEMA or VA hospital, for example, would be disasterous, because little-used resources would inevitably be cut and then unavailable when the emergencies they were intended for inevitably arise.
3/

Government is not a business and should not be run like one. There are no shareholders demanding returns, nor should there be, so cost efficiency is an irrelevant goal, prima facie. what we realky want is government effectiveness, which is much harder to measure and requires slack resources. 2/

Opinion | If DOGE Treats Government Like a Business, It Could Be a Disaster (Gift Article) A lot of what the government does is hard to quantify and involves complicated tasks that inevitably require bureaucratic coordination and, yes, inefficiency.

Why DOGE is a spectacularly bad idea. 1/several

Do we think this is because Harvard educates its students better than other universities, name recognition, or alumni network? Or does Harvard admit more people who are well-positioned to become elite due to increased risk tolerance (i.e., family wealth and connections)?

Winner!

So bleak. And I’ve spoken to three reporters about that this week so I’m sitting in the bleakness.

I can’t figure out if they are intentionally destroying higher ed, the opportunities it brings to their base, and the innovation it creates, or if they really don’t understand how devastating this will be for the next three generations of Americans and American business.

Graph titled "Entire Programs Musk and Ramaswamy propose cutting."

I'm curious to see how higher ed leaders respond to these proposals. Eliminating Pell Grants and NIH funding would hit university budgets on multiple fronts

I did not know you were a fan! I just saw Trixie Mattel at the Cyndi Lauper concert and nearly did a death drop of my own. <3

If I were Rudy, I wouldn't cast aspersions on anybody's pardon right now.