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David Simon

@davidesimon.bsky.social

300 followers 290 following 14 posts

Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Connecticut

Economics 72%

Engineering 10%

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Reposted by David P. Simon

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · Apr 30

By ordering the Columbia student's presence in his courtroom and ordering his release then and there, a federal judge robbed Trump and his team of the opportunity to defy his order, which was implemented on the spot by court officers. www.politico.com/news/2025/04...

Judge frees Columbia student activist whom Trump administration wants to deport

Mohsen Mahdawi was arrested as part of a crackdown on pro-Palestinian students who were legally studying in the United States.

www.politico.com

Reposted by Michael Müller, David P. Simon

Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg @theradr.bsky.social · Apr 15

Reminders:

"Concentration camps" aren't the same as "extermination camps." Both were/are horrific.

Most Nazi camps were *outside Germany*, away from the eyes of German citizens.

Those trains? Were to, uh, deport the category of people whose lives were deemed unimportant.

Never again is now.

Reposted by Anna G. Busse, David P. Simon

Eric Columbus @ericcolumbus.bsky.social · Mar 31

Conservative writer for @nationalreview.bsky.social has zero affection for Rumeysa Öztürk but slams her arrest and detention.

Let’s uplift conservatives when they oppose outrageous Trump actions.

I remain open to being persuaded by subsequent revelations, should they come. But if the case against Öztürk reduces to little more than her having written a column in support of the boycott, divest, and sanctions movement and/or her "not liking the Jews," then I reject this. I reject it vehemently on a prudential, legal level and on a moral level.

Revoking a visa for criminal violence or active subversion is one thing, a commonsense
matter of civic hygiene. But to capriciously eject people from the country without warning merely for publishing an unpopular political opinion in a student newspaper is, no matter what Trump's defenders or special pleaders may beg, utterly abhorrent. I will accept the legal point, if you insist: No visitor or immigrant truly has a First Amendment right to free speech until the second after he has taken his formal oath of citizenship. And I will tell you in response that no modern administration has insisted on this standard before, and the idea that foreigners who are here on valid visas should live under fear that their every political opinion might become grounds for sudden incarceration in Louisiana or El Salvador is inhumane and close to un-
American in spirit. Remember: Unless another shoe is about to drop, Rumeysa Oztürk hasn't been accused of leading "Death to Israel" chants with a bullhorn or of occupying school buildings. She is accused of venturing a bad opinion in print.

Make no mistake: I yield to none in my loathing for antisemites and idiot protesters alike. And I agree that lawbreaking should earn any foreigner a one-way ticket home. But Secretary Rubio has indicated in his responses to this case that lawbreaking is not the issue; it is speech, and the nature of it. Regardless of whether his actions are within the bounds of the law, are you comfortable with immigrants being ejected for exercising basic speech rights? Are you comfortable with this novel standard being introduced? I am not.
Maybe you reject my ethical qualms. Even so, this sets a hugely dangerous precedent, one nearly limitless in its potential abuse. Again, I concede the secretary of state's right to eject any noncitizen. But now imagine that power maximally interpreted, as Trump's team has chosen to do, in the hands of the next several Democratic administrations. Which foreign-born individuals might the government choose to summarily eject from the country on the grounds of those individuals' having expressed opinions contrary to the previous administration's foreign policy? It wouldn't be someone with negative opinions about Israel, I can assure you of that. It would be the next Ayaan Hirsi Ali, or Douglas Murray, or Charles C. W. Cooke for that matter.

I have seen people cheer too many times as they watch the pitiless gears of government suddenly weaponized to crush their ideological enemies, unaware of how but for the grace of God they go untouched. Every time it happens, my long-dormant inner libertarian awakens, imagining those same gears grinding down on myself and those I love. Today, the victim may not be particularly sympathetic. Tomorrow — or ten years from now, but likely sooner - it might be your ox getting gored.
So, my question, to conclude: Where do you draw the line? I draw it here. I concede the legality of the administration's act: It is probably within its right to revoke Rumeysa Öztürk's visa and deport her. I reject the morality and the prudence of it. Deporting noncitizens for expressing unpopular political opinions (as opposed to committing crimes) doesn't just violate the spirit of the First Amendment. It opens Pandora's box: When this administration - and popular opinion
- changes, as it inevitably must, this same malevolent spirit of the law, now unleashed, will be turned on us all.

Reposted by David P. Simon

ACLU @aclu.org · Mar 18

BREAKING: A court overturned Ohio's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

This is a critical victory for trans rights.

David Simon @davidesimon.bsky.social · Mar 18

This month’s topic explores inflation.

In February inflation came in hot, and the Federal reserve has continued to hit pause on lowering interest rates: signaling that they are unlikely to decrease before September...

for more: www.healthaffairs.org/insider ) 5/5

Health Affairs Insider

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www.healthaffairs.org

David Simon @davidesimon.bsky.social · Mar 18

When possible, I intend to introduce concepts from economic theory and findings from cutting-edge research to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the issues. 4/5

David Simon @davidesimon.bsky.social · Mar 18

I will be taking big picture looks at economic trends, data, and forces; shedding light on how they forecast and shape the provision of health care services as well as the overall affordability, and quality of our health care systems. 3/5

David Simon @davidesimon.bsky.social · Mar 18

They released a pre-view copied below (for the full article see: www.healthaffairs.org/insider )

Inflation’s Challenge to Health Care Operations

Welcome to my newsletter! My goal is to provide you with ongoing commentary on the economy and its intersections with the health care industry. 2/5

David Simon @davidesimon.bsky.social · Mar 18

I picked up a side-hustle to write bi-monthly newsletters on how economic trends/event impact health and the health care industry. The newsletter is part of health affairs Insider, offering access to reports on health care, newsletters, and virtual events. 1/5

Reposted by Alan J. Singer, David P. Simon

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · Mar 12

Trump: "Schumer is a Palestinian as far as I'm concerned. He's become a Palestinian. He used to be Jewish. He's not Jewish anymore. He's a Palestinian."

Reposted by Samuel Gerald Collins, David P. Simon

The New Republic @newrepublic.com · Mar 10

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex condemned ICE’s detainment of Mahmoud Khalil, calling it a “tyrannical” move.

“If the federal government can disappear a legal US permanent resident without reason or warrant, then they can disappear US citizens too."

AOC Rips “Tyrannical and Un-American” Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a serious warning about the ICE arrest of Palestinian activist (and U.S. green card holder) Mahmoud Khalil.

newrepublic.com

Reposted by Judith Scott-Clayton, David P. Simon

Dr. David Miller 🏳️‍🌈 @davidimiller.bsky.social · Mar 8

💯 This op-ed by ed research leaders made that essential point quite forcefully:

"Abruptly ending near-complete projects does not drive efficiency. Instead, it ensures that the public sees no benefit from the investments already made, converting what was productive spending into waste."

Cutting research funding would make education less effective and efficient

Presidents of education research associations explain the impacts of recent funding cuts to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

www.brookings.edu

David Simon @davidesimon.bsky.social · Mar 8

I just can't get that excited about using AI to produce lit reviews. I am VERY excited about AI eventually being able to fill out travel reimbursement paperwork for me.

Reposted by Jesse Rothstein, David P. Simon

Peter Bergman @peterbergman.bsky.social · Mar 7

The farce that this is to protect Jews is beyond offensive and insulting. Cancelling grants, threatening deportation of students based on their speech does not make me feel either safe or supported as a Jew. No admin in my life has made me feel *less* safe. Disgusting. www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

DOJ, HHS, ED, and GSA Announce Initial Cancelation of Grants and Contracts to Columbia University Worth $400 Million

Government agencies today announced the immediate cancelation of approximately $400 million in federal funding to Columbia University due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent h...

Reposted by David P. Simon

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Mar 1

Clearly maintaining the White House dress code is very important

Reposted by David P. Simon

Madison Parlopiano @mparlopiano.bsky.social · Feb 5

Hundreds of protesters have gathered at Richmond Capitol Square against Donald Trump’s execution actions and Elon Musk’s involvement in the federal government.
Protesters call out:
“Stand up fight back” and “Truth sets us free”

@vcucns.bsky.social

Reposted by David P. Simon

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Feb 3

Any news outlet reporting Mexico conceded anything to Trump to get him to delay tariffs has not done its homework.
Trump boasts he got Mexico to commit to stationing 10K troops at our border. Apparently he didn't realize Mexico already has 15K troops deployed there
prami.ibero.mx/informes-y-i...

Reposted by Christoph Scherber, Jana Lasser, David P. Simon

Jonathan Ladd @jonmladd.bsky.social · Feb 2

Arguably the biggest national security breach in U.S. history. Private employees downloading personnel data on every federal employee and tax and social security data on every American onto private unsecured servers. Needless to say, completely illegal and subject to major prison sentences.

Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · Feb 2

3/ different pieces fit together. There also seems to be a significant amount of downloading government data onto private servers, etc, totally outside any cybersecurity regime. Additionally it’s unclear to the people inside whether the people doing these things actually work for the US govt…

Reposted by David P. Simon

Chloe N East (she/her) @chloeneast.bsky.social · Jan 23

Just had to explain to a reporter that yes, I did start working on a paper six years before it was finally published....

Reposted by David P. Simon

Leo Murray @crisortunity.bsky.social · Jan 23

Too much bad news this week, please enjoy some good news
(HT @dougparr.bsky.social )
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Graph showing EU solar power generation has overtaken coal for the first time

Reposted by David P. Simon

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · Jan 20

The first visual of the Trump presidency at the border; a sobbing woman in Ciudad Juárez stands outside the Paso Del Norte port of entry, clutching a pole as she weeps having learned that her 1:00PM appointment for a chance to seek asylum in the US has been cancelled. x.com/arelisrhdz/s...

Arelis R. Hernández post on X: "Migrants in Ciudad Juárez who were waiting for their 1 pm CBP1 parole appointments learned 20 minutes ago that the app has shut down & those appointments are no longer valid." There is a screenshot of video. A woman lays her head in her hands, leaning against a pole, and cries. As the video playes, multiple cameras are pointed at her and there is the sound of a DSLR or film camera shutter going off.

Reposted by David P. Simon

Gaby Aboulafia @gabyaboulafia.bsky.social · Jan 15

this part is the most remarkable to me -

as a % of total ACA-related coverage, the share of people with marketplace coverage is now just *more than* the share of people with coverage through Medicaid expansion

Reposted by David P. Simon

Ben Golub @bengolub.bsky.social · Jan 5

Paul Bloom on Tyler Cowen's podcast is fantastic

conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/pau...

Paul Bloom on the Psychology of Children, and the Morality of Empathy and Disgust (Ep. 218)

It’s 2024. Do you know where your children are at? Psychologically?

conversationswithtyler.com

Reposted by David P. Simon

Chloe N East (she/her) @chloeneast.bsky.social · Dec 29

Went to the amazing Museo de las Americas in Denver this afternoon. I was particularly struck by these items that were left behind in the desert by people trying to come to the US

Reposted by Juan-Camilo Cárdenas, Luca Tiberti, Graham Brownlow , and 1 more Juan-Camilo Cárdenas, Luca Tiberti, Graham Brownlow, David P. Simon

NBER @nber.org · Dec 26

Using an analysis of over 8,000 economics PhDs and their advisors to find what determines economics PhD student research success, from Joshua Angrist and Marc Diederichs https://www.nber.org/papers/w33281

Reposted by David P. Simon

Peter Hull @instrumenthull.bsky.social · Nov 18

I have a new WP out today with Jason Baron, Joe Doyle, and Natalia Emanuel, on discrimination in foster care placement

www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/l6nft...

This time we study the whole united states, and look at heterogeneity over time and space

A few key takeaways 👇

David Simon @davidesimon.bsky.social · Nov 16

Exciting to see so many faces/voices from the old Econ Twitter who I haven't heard from in awhile. I feel like some of the old/intense intellectual discourse is really starting to be reborn: :) .

Reposted by David P. Simon

David Simon @davidesimon.bsky.social · Nov 14

And there are plenty of reasons to believe that quietly his administration is using this time to do what it can behind the scenes to reinforce the bureaucracy against Trump. So there is kind of a quasi-third option of passive resistance.

Reposted by David P. Simon

Florian Ederer @florianederer.bsky.social · Nov 14

Teaching Econ 101 just got harder.

Landlords of identical rental units pass through idiosyncratic cost increases (due to property tax variation) to renters thereby violating the law of one price.