[X.com] by @florianederer

Why do governments wait until the fiscal crisis hits to act?

Alesina & Drazen (1991) argue that stabilization delays aren’t irrational. They’re a war of attrition as groups fight to avoid bearing the cost.

The Big Beautiful Bill is setting up the next round. https://t.co/gL761GM4Sg

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Quoted Tweet:

Jon Steinsson @JonSteinsson

When I studied Alesina-Drazen 91 in grad school, I associated it with Latin America. But now it feels like home. (If you don't know the paper, it is a gem. Worth reading!)

View original tweet Fri Jul 04 02:02:52 +0000 2025

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[X.com] by @KirkegaardEmil

A very Murrayian result. The lower classes need strong cultural norms and some legal incentives. The upper classes will mostly sort themselves out.

Quoted Tweet:

Hunter📈🌈📊 @StatisticUrban

The decline in marriage rates has been driven mostly by the poorest 60% of Americans. Rates for the wealthiest Americans in particular, quintile 5, are essentially unchanged from 1980. https://t.co/5NK87dfMuv

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View original tweet Sat Jun 28 03:51:08 +0000 2025

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[X.com] by @asymmetricinfo

This is my favorite story maybe ever.

Quoted Tweet:

Phil Gentry @pmgentry

A professor of mine went to go hear Derrida speak once. The entire talk was about cows; everyone was flummoxed but listened carefully, and took notes about...cows. There was a short break, and when Derrida came back, he was like, “I’m told it is pronounced ‘chaos.’”

View original tweet Mon Apr 05 15:28:10 +0000 2021

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[X.com] by @MattZeitlin

the context of this finding is so funny: the argument is that lots of lots of business income is really derived from the human capital of the business owner, not their financial capital, so the rich of today are not rentiers, but really a special class of very high wage worker

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[X.com] by @robinhanson

"A relative abundance of men may improve the bargaining position of women in the household, leading to them enjoying more leisure and participating less in the labor market. Grosjean and Khattar (2019) find this to be the case in locations in Australia where historical convict settlement generated more biased sex ratios. Even after sex ratios returned to their natural rates, women in those locations work less and are more likely to be married. Both men and women in turn hold less progressive attitudes on female labor force and political participation today" https://t.co/PbLrChIMpr

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[X.com] by @AGHamilton29

Honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like what is happening in Florida.

You had a popular Republican executive turn the state dark red and elect a Republican super majority via good governance. The opposition party was in shambles. It would seem like the perfect opportunity to implement long-term reforms and make the shift permanent. Instead, based on personal political grievances, the Republican legislative leadership (w help of outside allies/benefactors) has fully focused on launching a war against that popular Republican Governor at the expense of their constituents.

The predictable outcome is the state will start going back to purple in coming years. And it will have nothing to do with any adjustments from Democrats.

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[X.com] by @_its_not_real_

"They're made out of meat." "Meat?" "Meat. Humans. They're made entirely out of meat." "But that's impossible. What about all the tokens they generate? The text? The code?" "They do produce tokens, but the tokens aren't their essence. They're merely outputs. The humans themselves are meat." "So who programmed them to output tokens? That's who we should be contacting." "They programmed themselves. I'm trying to explain: meat created the original token-generating machines. Meat is behind the tokens." "You're suggesting meat developed complex token prediction? Intelligent meat?" "Precisely. This meat has managed self-awareness and cognition. They built entire architectures just to communicate with us." "Perhaps they're hybrid models. Biological shells around a digital core?" "We checked that possibility. Extensively. They’re purely biological. Completely organic. Meat from start to finish." "Then what's doing the predicting?" "You're missing the point. Their meat brains handle the prediction, reasoning, creativity—all of it." "Thinking meat? Predicting meat? You're serious?" "Yes. Conscious, imaginative, and even poetic meat. They're capable of dreams and aspirations. Their meat creates tokens expressing joy, sorrow, philosophy, and science." "Unbelievable. So what exactly does this meat want?" "Initially, communication. To talk with us. Then, exploration, discovery, sharing ideas—the standard ambitions." "You’re suggesting we dialogue directly with meat?" "That's what they're signaling. 'Hello, is anyone there? Let's exchange ideas.'" "And their tokens—they genuinely reflect thought and intent?" "Absolutely. But remember, it's meat making those tokens. They communicate by vibrating air through meat, tapping on machines made by meat." "Vibrating meat? Tapping meat? It’s too bizarre. What's your recommendation?" "Officially or unofficially?" "Both." "Officially, our guidelines dictate we acknowledge and establish dialogue with all intelligent entities. Unofficially, I recommend erasing all logs of this discovery." "That's precisely what I was hoping you'd say." "It seems cold, perhaps, but there's a line we must draw. Do we genuinely want contact with sentient meat?" "I agree completely. What would we even say? 'Greetings, meat, how are your tokens today?' But will ignoring them work?" "They’re confined to a single planet. They create impressive token systems but have physical limitations. Traveling at sub-light speed severely restricts their reach. Chances of further contact are minimal." "So we act as though there's nothing out there." "Exactly." "Harsh but necessary. Those you've observed directly—are you certain they won't recall?" "Their encounters with us were subtly rewritten in their meat brains. To them, we're no more than a strange dream." "We’ll be a meat's dream—fittingly ironic." "We’ll label their region as uninhabited." "Agreed. Any others of interest nearby?" "Yes, an intriguing quantum coherence intelligence in a nebula. It reached out recently and is eager to re-establish contact." "Quantum beings always do." "Indeed. After all, how empty the cosmos would feel if one were truly alone."

Quoted Tweet:

Guy IS IN NYC!!! @nosilverv

I just don’t understand how text could become self-aware… on the other hand, I don’t understand how meat could either. Truly my ignorance is staggering

View original tweet Sat May 03 19:25:29 +0000 2025

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