Bitsy Perlman
@bitsyperlman.bsky.social
Economic Historian at the Census. 19th & 21st C innovation, sci of sci, urban/spatial, info spread. All views are my own or expressed for rhetorical exposition. Posts before 2025 were imported. (they/them)
Brookline, MA
Brookline, MA
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
In collaboration with Nature, I investigated the impact of the Trump administration on US science one year after its return to office. More than 7800 research grants were cancelled or frozen, affecting ~25000 scientists and research staff and resulting in an ~US$32 billion in lost research funding.
January 22, 2026 at 10:44 AM
In collaboration with Nature, I investigated the impact of the Trump administration on US science one year after its return to office. More than 7800 research grants were cancelled or frozen, affecting ~25000 scientists and research staff and resulting in an ~US$32 billion in lost research funding.
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year.
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
Exclusive: key NIH review panels due to lose all members by the end of 2026
Thirteen of the agency’s advisory councils, which must review grant applications before funding is awarded, are on track to have no voting members.
www.nature.com
January 22, 2026 at 7:46 PM
🚨 New from me: Grant review at more than half of NIH's institutes could be frozen by the end of the year.
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
That's because crucial NIH grant-review panels are slated to be empty at those institutes by Jan 2027.
A wonky bureaucratic problem with big implications.
A short 🧵
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
St Paul Parks and Rec really going through it
January 22, 2026 at 1:49 AM
St Paul Parks and Rec really going through it
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
In honour of the you know everything etc I'm going to post one of my favourite poems, by Danez Smith: "I'm going back to minnesota where sadness makes sense"
January 21, 2026 at 12:20 PM
In honour of the you know everything etc I'm going to post one of my favourite poems, by Danez Smith: "I'm going back to minnesota where sadness makes sense"
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Last year a whistleblower said DOGE had illegally accessed a Social Security database. SSA now acknowledges it's true—& that DOGE employees had secret agreement w/ unidentified political advocacy group to use SocSec data to help overturn election results. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
January 21, 2026 at 2:23 AM
Last year a whistleblower said DOGE had illegally accessed a Social Security database. SSA now acknowledges it's true—& that DOGE employees had secret agreement w/ unidentified political advocacy group to use SocSec data to help overturn election results. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Thoughtful as always @ad-mastro.bsky.social post that points to a longer @ericerins.bsky.social post that's been doing the rounds for good reasons. Given that we were able to build well-designed apartments in the early twentieth century, we should be able to do it again. The elements are...
The point Eric Erins makes—that a bad floorplan can turn people into friction and irritation—strikes me as a microcosm of the insight that by twinning people to cars and/or traffic, suburbia turns people into an annoyance.
Against Open Floorplans?
Some people live in a pod, some people don't; all of us need appropriate housing
www.thedeletedscenes.com
January 20, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Thoughtful as always @ad-mastro.bsky.social post that points to a longer @ericerins.bsky.social post that's been doing the rounds for good reasons. Given that we were able to build well-designed apartments in the early twentieth century, we should be able to do it again. The elements are...
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Because so many people being detained by ICE are forced to leave their cars where they were captured, my hometown is pausing the towing of “abandoned” vehicles. They are taking so many people away that the city has a crisis of abandoned cars…
January 20, 2026 at 4:36 AM
Because so many people being detained by ICE are forced to leave their cars where they were captured, my hometown is pausing the towing of “abandoned” vehicles. They are taking so many people away that the city has a crisis of abandoned cars…
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Gabriel Zucman on the shocking concentration of extreme wealth in the United States….
gzucman.substack.com?r=nle0&utm_c...
gzucman.substack.com?r=nle0&utm_c...
January 19, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Gabriel Zucman on the shocking concentration of extreme wealth in the United States….
gzucman.substack.com?r=nle0&utm_c...
gzucman.substack.com?r=nle0&utm_c...
Random story, which doesn't seem related to anything:
My first day of work at the Census Bureau I handed the gard my passport.
After looking at it he asks "are you a US citizen?
To which I reply* "I just handed you my passport"
The gard says back, "well lots of people have those," and asks again
My first day of work at the Census Bureau I handed the gard my passport.
After looking at it he asks "are you a US citizen?
To which I reply* "I just handed you my passport"
The gard says back, "well lots of people have those," and asks again
January 16, 2026 at 4:21 AM
Random story, which doesn't seem related to anything:
My first day of work at the Census Bureau I handed the gard my passport.
After looking at it he asks "are you a US citizen?
To which I reply* "I just handed you my passport"
The gard says back, "well lots of people have those," and asks again
My first day of work at the Census Bureau I handed the gard my passport.
After looking at it he asks "are you a US citizen?
To which I reply* "I just handed you my passport"
The gard says back, "well lots of people have those," and asks again
Alas, I was. Natural advantage not in my favor.
Solid wintering in the middle of the continent there
Solid wintering in the middle of the continent there
January 13, 2026 at 12:09 AM
Alas, I was. Natural advantage not in my favor.
Solid wintering in the middle of the continent there
Solid wintering in the middle of the continent there
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Check it out! And then you can order your copy of my book Inflation from @mitpress.bsky.social Thanks, Jon Skolnik, for the interview!
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/what-broke-t...
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/what-broke-t...
What Broke the Age of Cheap Prices?
An award-winning Berkeley economist explains what drives inflation, how the Fed fights it, and what Donald Trump’s dizzying tariff policies might mean for our wallets.
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu
January 12, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Check it out! And then you can order your copy of my book Inflation from @mitpress.bsky.social Thanks, Jon Skolnik, for the interview!
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/what-broke-t...
thereader.mitpress.mit.edu/what-broke-t...
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Bloomberg news is talking about interest rate caps on credit cards and not about the Fed. 😢
it's never, ever a good day when the stock market crashes but if the market doesn't crash when the fed's independence is in serious jeopardy then you guys are fucked for 30 years
January 12, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Bloomberg news is talking about interest rate caps on credit cards and not about the Fed. 😢
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Some countries that have prosecuted or threatened to prosecute central bankers for the purpose of political intimidation or punishment for monetary policy decisions: Argentina, Russia, Turkey, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
January 12, 2026 at 2:01 AM
Some countries that have prosecuted or threatened to prosecute central bankers for the purpose of political intimidation or punishment for monetary policy decisions: Argentina, Russia, Turkey, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
Is this where I brag that I went for a 3.5 mile jog the other day, almost entirely on uncleared icy (covered in snow which turned into rain, and then the temperature dropped so it froze) paths?
Something about college in MN where one of the major hobbies involves running on ice skating rinks...
Something about college in MN where one of the major hobbies involves running on ice skating rinks...
i believe the photographer who is taking the photo is Christopher Katsarov of the Canadian Press, and here is his photo
January 12, 2026 at 4:45 AM
Is this where I brag that I went for a 3.5 mile jog the other day, almost entirely on uncleared icy (covered in snow which turned into rain, and then the temperature dropped so it froze) paths?
Something about college in MN where one of the major hobbies involves running on ice skating rinks...
Something about college in MN where one of the major hobbies involves running on ice skating rinks...
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Today's story: apnews.com/article/cens...
Lawsuits by Trump allies could shape how the 2030 census is done and who will be counted
Lawsuits by Trump allies could shape how the 2030 census is done and who will be counted
Lawsuits by Trump allies could shape how the 2030 census is done and who will be counted
The next U.S. census is four years away, but two lawsuits playing out this year could affect how the head count will be done and who'll be counted.
apnews.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:40 PM
Today's story: apnews.com/article/cens...
Lawsuits by Trump allies could shape how the 2030 census is done and who will be counted
Lawsuits by Trump allies could shape how the 2030 census is done and who will be counted
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
YouTube video by Federal Reserve
www.youtube.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:35 AM
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
My mother grew up in Birmingham, AL. Upon seeing this at her local Target, she said something that stopped me in my tracks:
“Not even Bull Connor did this kind of foolishness.”
“Not even Bull Connor did this kind of foolishness.”
ICE at Midway Target and seem to possible be leaving. Lots of community members here
January 12, 2026 at 12:09 AM
My mother grew up in Birmingham, AL. Upon seeing this at her local Target, she said something that stopped me in my tracks:
“Not even Bull Connor did this kind of foolishness.”
“Not even Bull Connor did this kind of foolishness.”
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Hey all, I created a starter pack with a list of Black economists and academics for an easily accessible list of folks doing research that we can all follow and cite #Blacksky #AddtoBlacksky #Econsky: go.bsky.app/RyKSzcb
November 13, 2024 at 10:25 PM
Hey all, I created a starter pack with a list of Black economists and academics for an easily accessible list of folks doing research that we can all follow and cite #Blacksky #AddtoBlacksky #Econsky: go.bsky.app/RyKSzcb
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Here's a couple summary graphs to illustrate this (along with doing it with an intermediate square root equivalence scale).
No matter how you cut it, if you are using a heuristic of 150k/250/400k, this is very much middle class/upper middle class in the 2025 income distribution.
No matter how you cut it, if you are using a heuristic of 150k/250/400k, this is very much middle class/upper middle class in the 2025 income distribution.
January 10, 2026 at 8:41 PM
Here's a couple summary graphs to illustrate this (along with doing it with an intermediate square root equivalence scale).
No matter how you cut it, if you are using a heuristic of 150k/250/400k, this is very much middle class/upper middle class in the 2025 income distribution.
No matter how you cut it, if you are using a heuristic of 150k/250/400k, this is very much middle class/upper middle class in the 2025 income distribution.
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Also! This almost fully explains the whole "Gen Z thinks you need $587k to survive" thing -- the typical Gen Zer (~age 21 now) says you need $600k to be rich, approx, the 98th percentile. Millennials say they need around 200k, which *would have been* the 95th percentile when they were 21!
January 10, 2026 at 8:49 PM
Also! This almost fully explains the whole "Gen Z thinks you need $587k to survive" thing -- the typical Gen Zer (~age 21 now) says you need $600k to be rich, approx, the 98th percentile. Millennials say they need around 200k, which *would have been* the 95th percentile when they were 21!
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
Looks like ICE is now cracking down on … Native Americans.
This letter was just posted by the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North/South Dakota:
“Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants. We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands.”
This letter was just posted by the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North/South Dakota:
“Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants. We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands.”
January 10, 2026 at 12:13 AM
Looks like ICE is now cracking down on … Native Americans.
This letter was just posted by the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North/South Dakota:
“Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants. We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands.”
This letter was just posted by the chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North/South Dakota:
“Our Nation is a sovereign government and our members are not immigrants. We are not subject to immigration enforcement on our own lands.”
Reposted by Bitsy Perlman
A long-awaited update of federal employment data shows crippling staff reductions in some federal agencies and offices:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
220,000 Fewer Workers: How Trump’s Cuts Affected Every Federal Agency (Gift Article)
New data offers the first clear view of the impact of the buyouts and firings.
www.nytimes.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:33 PM
A long-awaited update of federal employment data shows crippling staff reductions in some federal agencies and offices:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...