Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Heather Boushey

@hboushey.bsky.social

16K followers 1.7K following 71 posts

Economics. Personal views.

Heather Marie Boushey is an American economist who served as a member of President Joe Biden's Council of Economic Advisers and the Chief Economist for the Invest in America Cabinet at the White House. Prior to joining the Biden-Harris Administration, she was the president and CEO of the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, which she co-founded with John Podesta. She has also worked as an economist at the Center for American Progress, the United States Congress Joint Economic Committee, the Center for Economic and Policy Research and the Economic Policy Institute. She has written for a variety of publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Democracy Journal, and the American Prospect. She regularly appears in the media to discuss economic issues. .. more

Economics 35%

Public Health 16%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Mar 11

Under the Biden Administration, investment in manufacturing facilities *more than doubled* and was at a *record high*. Meanwhile, manufacturing investment fell under the Trump I--excluding the Covid recession, manufacturing investment shrank by 2.9% annually.

2 12 39

Reposted by Heather Boushey

Governor Tim Walz @governorwalz.mn.gov · 7d

We can fund health care and keep the government running, or we can shut everything down to raise prices on people.

To me, that’s a pretty easy choice.

380 5.1K 20K

Reposted by Heather Boushey

Senator Bernie Sanders @sanders.senate.gov · 7d

Yesterday, I asked Americans to tell me what a DOUBLING of health care premiums would mean for their families.

Here are just a few of their responses:

Bernie Reads Your Health Care Stories | Sen. Bernie Sanders

YouTube video by Senator Bernie Sanders

youtu.be

110 1K 2.8K

Reposted by Heather Boushey, Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings , and 2 more Heather Boushey, Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, Jacob Montgomery, David Darmofal

Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 9d

POLLS: Who do Americans blame for the gov't shutdown?*

WASH POST
47% blame Trump/GOP
30% blame Dems

MARIST
38% blame GOP
27% blame Dems

NYT/SIENA
26% blame Trump/GOP
19% blame Dems

MORNING CONSULT
45% blame GOP
32% blame Dems

[*all taken b/w late Sept & Oct 1]

www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Early polls show Trump and GOP taking more blame than Democrats for shutdown

The national surveys taken in the final days of September and the first day of the shutdown find that voters are more inclined to blame Trump and his party. But many are uncertain.

www.nbcnews.com

43 170 580

Reposted by Scott A. Imberman

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · 11d

Everyone should read this: Why Is Your Flight Always Delayed? Blame Government Shutdowns. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/29/o...

Opinion | Why Is Your Flight Always Delayed? Blame Government Shutdowns.

www.nytimes.com

1 2 5

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · 18d

Months of public pressure won't distract from the fact that the worsening affordability crisis is a result of the President Trump's mishandling of the economy, not Fed decisions.

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Trump's Bullying Worked

The Fed is cutting rates like Trump wanted despite resurgent inflation

substack.com

8 40

Reposted by Heather Boushey

Aaron Sojourner @aaronsojourner.org · 20d

Canary down.

The Wall Street Journal @wsj.com · 20d

Cardboard-box demand is slumping, flashing a potential warning about the health of the American consumer.

Cardboard-Box Demand Is Slumping. Why That’s Bad News for the Economy.

Mills that make the material for corrugated packaging are closing at an unprecedented pace this year.

on.wsj.com

6 34 120

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Sep 5

Biden’s job market missed the predictions on the upside, not downside

1 13 44

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Sep 5

Hi! How’s that economic working out for you? Recall what the last president did ⬇️

1 1 6

Reposted by Heather Boushey, Iikka Korhonen, Aaron Sojourner , and 1 more Heather Boushey, Iikka Korhonen, Aaron Sojourner, David Darmofal

Joey Politano🏳️‍🌈 @josephpolitano.bsky.social · Sep 5

US blue-collar job growth has completely stagnated, hitting the lowest level since the onset of the pandemic—manufacturing is currently losing jobs at a rapid pace, and growth in construction/transportation has slowed to a crawl

a graph of year-on-year change in US blue collar employment

22 190 480

Reposted by Heather Boushey

Preston Mui @prestonmui.bsky.social · Sep 5

Contrasting long-term vs short-term unemployed tells a huge story

short-term unemployed is mostly about people losing jobs, long-term unemployed is about people not finding jobs

1 13 49

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Aug 31

DC is not only a city with lots of pedestrians and cyclists, but a large deaf population. All are at risk when there are high speed chases on our streets.

mayor.dc.gov/release/mayo....

2 7 28

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Aug 31

Since I’ve lived in DC, two pedestrians have been killed on my block. High speed chases endanger all of us here in DC and MUST STOP: “Ten car chases. Six crashes. Park Police have new rules in Trump’s D.C.”

www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...

Ten car chases. Six crashes. Park Police have new rules in Trump’s D.C.

U.S. Park Police have initiated at least 10 car chases in the past three weeks as part of President Donald Trump’s D.C. surge, court records show.

www.washingtonpost.com

1 16 42

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Aug 30

For your Econ 101 lessons …

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · Aug 30

Every time your electricity bill goes up for the next 10 years, it can be traced back to this Administration’s actions.

They are making solar and wind power illegal to build in the United States. They are artificially restricting supply while demand is going up.

PBS News @pbsnews.org · Aug 30

The Transportation Department on Friday canceled $679 million in federal funding for a dozen offshore wind projects, the latest attack by the Trump administration on the reeling U.S. offshore wind industry.
https://to.pbs.org/45HtATc

14 49

Reposted by Heather Boushey, Rosemary A. Joyce, Dawn J. Wright , and 1 more Heather Boushey, Rosemary A. Joyce, Dawn J. Wright, David Darmofal

Costa Samaras @costasamaras.com · Aug 30

PBS News @pbsnews.org · Aug 30

Trump administration cancels $679 million in funding for offshore wind projects

www.pbs.org

60 2.1K 5.2K

Reposted by Heather Boushey, Anna O. Law, W Grant

The New Yorker @newyorker.com · Aug 24

President Trump’s federal takeover of D.C.’s local police is unprecedented. “The last person who asserted the authority to use military personnel for routine law enforcement anywhere in the country for any reason was King George,” a legal scholar said.

What’s Life Like in Washington, D.C., During Trump’s Takeover?

Late-summer days and nights amid troops on the streets of the nation’s capital.

www.newyorker.com

160 1.2K 2.9K

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Aug 4

ICYMI: NEC Director Kevin Hassett’s quote is the tell—you’ve gotta be kidding that the President’s hand-picked lackey will be a more credible steward of America’s labor market data than a serious researcher and dedicated civil servant. Give me a break.

1 13

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Aug 4

Kudos to the @financialtimes.com for getting the story right. Let’s not let President Trump distract us from downward trends in the labor market. Let’s reject his baseless attacks on the credibility of the data and focus on how his administration is harming America’s workers.

3 5 36

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Aug 2

Agree!

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Jul 25

... the Trump administration froze these funds and last week moved to slash public broadcasting — disproportionately hurting rural areas already lacking high-speed internet. The digital divide is about to grow even wider.

Read more on my latest Substack: hboushey.substack.com/p/the-rural-...

The Rural Broadband Crisis: How Trump’s latest cuts are reigniting the digital divide

Hi friends,

hboushey.substack.com

1 2 10

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Jul 25

Access to broadband is essential — for work, school, and basic services. It’s also key to a thriving economy and American-made infrastructure. The Biden administration knew this, which is why we invested $42.25 billion in broadband deployment.

BUT ...

1 4 10

Reposted by Heather Boushey, Lisa Larrimore Ouellette, Louis D Johnston

Bobby Kogan @bbkogan.bsky.social · Jul 21

Final CBO score of the "big beautiful bill" is out

Largest Medicaid cuts ever - in fact, at least 4 times the size of the previous largest; $894-$990 bn cut

Kicks 10 million off health insurance

Largest SNAP cuts ever, $197 bn cut

Still increases the deficit by $3.4 trillion from huge tax cuts

53 990 1.6K

Reposted by Heather Boushey

David S. Mitchell @dsmitch28.bsky.social · Jun 30

@hboushey.bsky.social & me on why we shouldnt be surprised that massive inequality-exploding tax cut wont grow economy

Pro (equitable!) growth tax policies abound, including taxing ultra-rich, but #OBBBA moves in wrong direction @equitablegrowth.bsky.social @msnbc.com www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Opinion | The GOP's megabill makes the same economic mistake Republicans have made for decades

The legislation misunderstands how economic growth actually works.

www.msnbc.com

1 2 7

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Jul 1

Pro-equity = pro-growth (can someone please tell the Republicans?)

David S. Mitchell @dsmitch28.bsky.social · Jun 30

Opinion | The GOP's megabill makes the same economic mistake Republicans have made for decades

The legislation misunderstands how economic growth actually works.

www.msnbc.com

Reposted by Heather Boushey, Jussi T. Eronen

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · Jul 1

Stunning piece in the NYT showing how the US and China's embrace of fossil fuels and cleantech respectively suggest converging views on global domination

Phenomenal visuals in there too - check out these two charts

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

4 28 48

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Jul 1

Staring at this chart as the Republicans work to pass their bill to gut America's clean energy investments and concede to a future of de-growth and being less competitive in the technologies that matter, which will lead to fewer good jobs here in the USA. Big Ugly Bill.

Finbarr Bermingham @fbermingham.bsky.social · Jul 1

1 7

Heather Boushey @hboushey.bsky.social · Jul 1

Where do I sign up?

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Jul 1

Cloudflare, a tech company that helps websites secure and manage their internet traffic, said Tuesday that it had rolled out a new setting that allows customers to automatically block A.I. companies from collecting their digital data.

Cloudflare Introduces Blocking of A.I. Scrapers By Default

The tech company’s customers can automatically block A.I. companies from exploiting their websites, it said, as it moves to protect original content online.

trib.al

1 5

Reposted by Heather Boushey

Kai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · Jul 1

These are lies

130 580 2.6K

Reposted by Heather Boushey, Linda J. Skitka

The New York Times @nytimes.com · Jul 1

Cloudflare Introduces Blocking of A.I. Scrapers By Default

The tech company’s customers can automatically block A.I. companies from exploiting their websites, it said, as it moves to protect original content online.

trib.al

9 170 850

Reposted by Heather Boushey

David Corn @davidcorn.bsky.social · Jul 1

How messed up do you have to be to say that stripping health coverage from up to 16 million people, removing food from kids, and raising taxes on some low-income people is “immaterial”?

810 2.5K 7K

Reposted by Heather Boushey, Emily Grubert, Stephen Pimpare

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · Jul 1

The Joint Committee on Taxation is up late and busts out this striking distributional analysis of the Senate bill on taxes:

chart shows that under the bill, people making under $30,000 pay more in taxes, and millionaires pay substantially less.

60 640 1.1K