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Zak Taylor

@mzak.bsky.social

780 followers 510 following 620 posts

Prof. of public policy at Georgia Tech. My posts don't represent my university or USG. They are random reads & vents that I find interesting or provocative.

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Reposted by Zak Taylor

The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 29m

Which ‘seven wars’ did Trump end? His claims fact-checked.

He may have missed out on the Nobel peace prize, but the US president claims to have solved multiple conflicts ⬇️

Which ‘seven wars’ did Trump end? His claims fact-checked

Has Trump ended seven wars? Which wars did Donald Trump end?

www.thetimes.com

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 56m

Also, a total lie that American students have been crowded out by international students. International students effectively subsidize the tuition of American students!

Jameel Jaffer @jameeljaffer.bsky.social · 1h

Quite a feat to go from this to "and therefore universities must ban faculty and students from belittling conservative ideas"

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 41m

Clever strategy...but will it work?

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1h

JB Pritzker has also been emphatically placing Trump's mental decline squarely on the agenda. On our pod, he adds a new element: People around Trump are using his decline to manipulate him, so they're less likely to intervene. More Dems should say this. 1/

newrepublic.com/article/2016...

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 1h

Applause & congratulations to Trump for his achievements thus far on the Israel-Palestine Peace Agreement! Best wishes for success on this going forward. If he can pull this off, and it maintains over time, then maybe he does deserve a prize.

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 3h

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/o...

Opinion | I Investigated Corruption. The Homan Affair Is Full of Red Flags.

www.nytimes.com

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 17h

C) MAGA mishandles a major crisis and thereby ruins their legitimacy (I think this one's most likely, perhaps even a crisis produced by their own policy mistakes); 9/

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 17h

B) Infighting amongst MAGAs (now barely starting, and as the racket gradually kills off the rewards upon which it feeds (e.g., federal benefits disappear & stagflation sets in) then this infighting should pick up); 8/

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 17h

Finally, Project 2025 tells us where they want to wind up in the end.

Historically, there are 5 things that tend to stop this sort of thing:

A) Widespread electoral defeats (though I'm not optimistic that MAGA will allow this in 2026 or 2028); 7/

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 17h

However, he is also vastly increasing the scope & scale of his redistribution of wealth & power and severely narrowing the win-set. And every week, some new action by Trump and his supporters builds more scaffolding and cements his racket. 6/

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 17h

Then they use some of that authority to redistribute wealth & power to their allies. And some of the problems & solutions are more real/objective than others. From this POV, Trump is just being more overt about it. 5/

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 17h

In other words, the US government is becoming a massive racketeering operation.

Now, to a certain degree, this is true of all governments throughout history. They select & exaggerate particular problems in order to get the power & resources to address them. 4/

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 17h

...enrich himself & his allies, punish his enemies, and advance the policies of wealthy donors and white Christian nationalists who back him & staff his administration. Critics of this are marginalized, demonized, bullied, defunded, deported/arrested where possible. 3/

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 17h

However, it vibes with the imagination of the MAGA base, so they support Trump. So Congressional Republicans give Trump the power he demands.

Trump then performs some theater that "solves" the non-existent problem. But what Trump really does with that power is... 2/

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Barry Ritholtz @ritholtz.bsky.social · 17h

Last three hours of the sale!

Get the hardcover while it’s cheaper than the paperback (which won’t be out until next May)

Barry Ritholtz @ritholtz.bsky.social · 1d

Amazon is having a big sale on How NOT to Invest!
It's $21.19 -- 36% off -- with free overnight delivery.

Grab a copy now, and give some away as gifts!

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/...

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 18h

Maybe next time, farmers. 😞

FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 18h

Bessent Says Today They Directly Purchased Argentine Pesos Bessent Says They Have Finalized $20 Billion Currency Swap Framework With Argentina’s Central Bank

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 1d

As the Supreme Court term begins, keep this framework in mind: Autocratic Legalism.

Instead of “rule of law” (law constrains the power), we get “rule by law” (law as a weapon for power).

Authoritarians usually have to install allies. Trump started his second term with that step already complete.

The only effective opposition is through the language of morality and documented harm—not legal technicalities that can be swept away with a 6–3 vote.” The text is centered on a neutral background, with “morality” and “documented harm” slightly emphasized to underscore the moral and empirical contrast with “legal technicalities.”

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Lucius Fox In The Box @carnegro.bsky.social · 23h

Pope Leo is spitting.

www.npr.org/2025/10/09/n...

Leo questioned a world where the wealth of the elite grows
"exponentially" while many "millions of people die of hunger or survive in conditions unfit for human beings." He also criticized "ideologies that defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation,"
with false promises "that a free-market economy will automatically solve the problem of poverty."

Leo described a "new tyranny," which shuns any kind of oversight and where the economy is structured "in such a way that sacrifices are demanded of the masses in order to serve the needs of the powerful." The poor, he wrote, are only allowed "drops that trickle down."

The pope openly challenged "prosperity theology" and called Christians to the practice of giving charity. "It will not solve the problem of world poverty, yet it must still be carried out, with intelligence, diligence and social responsibility," he wrote.

Popular movements that challenge "the empire of money," invite people to take on the cause to combat poverty alongside the poor, instead of on their behalf, and "make history," the pope said. It our duty, Leo said, to "make their voices heard, albeit in different ways, in order to point out and denounce such structural issues, even at the cost of appearing foolish or naïve."

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Elizabeth N. Saunders @profsaunders.bsky.social · 1d

“This battle holds bigger lessons. The greatest weapon that the forces of regime change possess is the fear of inevitability. If everyone believes that Mr. Trump will succeed in reshaping America, he will.”

A great @himself.bsky.social column in the @nytimes.com.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/o...

Opinion | You Beat Trumpism by Banding Together. It’s as Hard and as Simple as That.

www.nytimes.com

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 2d

-don't make it about Trump, make it about those behind him.
-don't make it about redistribution & fairness, make it about lies & theft via DOGE and Vought.

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 2d

If Democrats want to win again, then:
-don't make it about democracy, make it about The Bill of Rights
-don't make it about race/woke, make it about oligarchy
-don't make it about data & policy details, make it about jobs and affordability
-don't make it about Trump, make it about those behind him.

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Meredith Shiner @meredithshiner.com · 2d

“Let Republicans have the literal blood of American citizens on their hands—and make that the central issue of the shutdown. Otherwise, enjoy having your health care subsidy debate in the gulags these people would happily send us all to. I hear that poll-tests great.”

The Case for the Forever Shutdown

Senate Democrats actually allowing the GOP to stop funding the government is only the first step. Now they have to make the case that Trump’s government is illegitimate.

newrepublic.com

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 2d

JB Pritzker and Gavin Newsom are doing something new and important: They understand Stephen Miller's theory of fascist power politics, and they've developed a theory on how to combat it. More Dems need to reckon with Miller's understanding of the moment.

New from me:
newrepublic.com/article/2014...

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule

He wants to supercharge searing civil tensions to get low-information voters to embrace their inner authoritarian. Exactly two Democrats appear to fully grasp this.

newrepublic.com

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 2d

Source?

Reposted by Zak Taylor

Robin Marty @robinmarty.com · 2d

Can’t wait for Alito to explain why you have a right to pray at midfield on public school property but should be shot in the head with “less” lethal ammo when you do it in front of an immigration detention facility

Kurt @flglchicago.bsky.social · 2d

Here’s video of the incident

Zak Taylor @mzak.bsky.social · 2d

Corruption & self-dealing are the surest consequences of authoritarianism.

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 2d

I’m shocked.