Steve B. Holt
@stevebholt.bsky.social
Associate Professor. Public Management, Education Policy, Econometrics. https://stevebholt.github.io/
What the admin is trying to do to Mark Kelly does seem to exploit a separation of powers issue for veterans serving in Congress. Kind of makes the "what if we just find veterans? Will that make you love us?" strategy that Democrats have adopted in purplish areas seem not without risk.
November 26, 2025 at 1:57 PM
What the admin is trying to do to Mark Kelly does seem to exploit a separation of powers issue for veterans serving in Congress. Kind of makes the "what if we just find veterans? Will that make you love us?" strategy that Democrats have adopted in purplish areas seem not without risk.
I've said it before, but the thing that's most broken in higher education is the incentives facing Presidents and Provosts. Functionally, they see every job as 2-3 years to build some fiefdoms and do something big enough to land the next job before they have to deal with the fallout.
www.wsj.com/opinion/mont...
Another one of my colleagues weighs in on the “restructuring” of our home college. This time in the Wall Street Journal. It’s paywalled, so screenshots to follow.
Another one of my colleagues weighs in on the “restructuring” of our home college. This time in the Wall Street Journal. It’s paywalled, so screenshots to follow.
Opinion | Montclair State’s Inhumanity to the Humanities
Goodbye, English department. Hello, Institute for Complex Systems and Algorithmic Infused Societies.
www.wsj.com
November 18, 2025 at 5:15 AM
I've said it before, but the thing that's most broken in higher education is the incentives facing Presidents and Provosts. Functionally, they see every job as 2-3 years to build some fiefdoms and do something big enough to land the next job before they have to deal with the fallout.
Honestly, I think states exist primarily for people to debate what boundaries constitute the informal regions of that state.
November 16, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Honestly, I think states exist primarily for people to debate what boundaries constitute the informal regions of that state.
Reposted by Steve B. Holt
Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man
One analytical model shows that, as of November 5th, the dismantling of U.S.A.I.D. has already caused the deaths of 600,000 people, two-thirds of them children. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/jUzNSc
The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands
The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 7, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Hundreds of thousands of people, dead because of a decision made by the world's richest man
Perfect time to be flying to Seattle through Detroit for a conference, I'm learning.
November 7, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Perfect time to be flying to Seattle through Detroit for a conference, I'm learning.
Cuomo's entire tenure as governor faced credible accusations of being a quiet Republican and enabling Republican governance under himself. The close of his career is Cuomo-world not beating the charges at all.
lol at andrew cuomo doing assad numbers in staten island and nowhere else
November 5, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Cuomo's entire tenure as governor faced credible accusations of being a quiet Republican and enabling Republican governance under himself. The close of his career is Cuomo-world not beating the charges at all.
Reposted by Steve B. Holt
Thank you @teenvogue.com politics section for letting me explain to teens why the Great Recession is the key to understanding why politics sucks now
November 4, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Thank you @teenvogue.com politics section for letting me explain to teens why the Great Recession is the key to understanding why politics sucks now
Reposted by Steve B. Holt
I wrote in the New York Times about how I think companies saying women are leaving because of "return to office" is a cop out. Nursing, a fundamentally in person job, is almost 90% female. So what do women really want? Boundaries.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
Opinion | What Women Really Want: Work Boundaries
www.nytimes.com
November 2, 2025 at 1:33 PM
I wrote in the New York Times about how I think companies saying women are leaving because of "return to office" is a cop out. Nursing, a fundamentally in person job, is almost 90% female. So what do women really want? Boundaries.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
Republicans are literally starving millions of Americans while covering for a president engaged in the most corrupt monetization of presidential authority we've seen in generations.
Excuse me? So the company the President currently owns is teaming up with a cryptocurrency company to create a prediction market, which will take bets... on things the President himself has quite a lot of control over?
Gosh, I'm sure nothing bad will happen.
www.ft.com/content/4855...
Gosh, I'm sure nothing bad will happen.
www.ft.com/content/4855...
October 29, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Republicans are literally starving millions of Americans while covering for a president engaged in the most corrupt monetization of presidential authority we've seen in generations.
Type of guy who spends $20,000 to invite a spy device into his home.
So the $20,000 humanoid robot housekeeper actually just webcams your house to a random person in a call center with an Xbox controller www.wsj.com/tech/persona... @joannastern.bsky.social
I Tried the Robot That’s Coming to Live With You. It’s Still Part Human.
1X’s Neo wants to be your housekeeper. First, it needs to be controlled by a human in your home. Cool with you?
www.wsj.com
October 29, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Type of guy who spends $20,000 to invite a spy device into his home.
We really are under attack, huh?
Picture of the East Wing demolition of the White House taken on my flight out of DCA.
October 23, 2025 at 7:58 PM
We really are under attack, huh?
I hope there's a paper trail for the next administration.
Good: Jamie Raskin tells me he's formally demanding any/all internal communications between WH and DOJ on Trump's $230 million payoff.
More Dems should talk this way about Trump's criming. He's turning the presidency into a massive Bribe Delivery System.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2021...
More Dems should talk this way about Trump's criming. He's turning the presidency into a massive Bribe Delivery System.
New piece:
newrepublic.com/article/2021...
Trump’s Vile New $230 Million Shakedown of DOJ Just Got Even Worse
It’s bad enough that Trump wants—and DOJ will likely fork over—this tribute payment. Now, get this: It can probably be done at first without even being revealed publicly.
newrepublic.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:53 AM
I hope there's a paper trail for the next administration.
The sense that I get from this is that, in a sense, common sense has failed to set off his sense of how to construct a sentence that makes sense while evoking the sensations that trigger our various senses through the act of description with sensible words choice.
Does that make sense?
Does that make sense?
At what point can we agree Chris Mason just isn’t a very good writer?
“And there is a recurring sense of a declining sense of community: a sense that the ties that have long bound the town, the area together, are perhaps continuing to fray.”
www.bbc.com/news/article...
“And there is a recurring sense of a declining sense of community: a sense that the ties that have long bound the town, the area together, are perhaps continuing to fray.”
www.bbc.com/news/article...
October 23, 2025 at 3:11 AM
The sense that I get from this is that, in a sense, common sense has failed to set off his sense of how to construct a sentence that makes sense while evoking the sensations that trigger our various senses through the act of description with sensible words choice.
Does that make sense?
Does that make sense?
What an awesome opening night game for the NBA tonight.
October 22, 2025 at 2:16 AM
What an awesome opening night game for the NBA tonight.
Assistant Professor to Full Professor ass facial expressions here.
2007 — 2025
Kevin Durant & Jeff Green are still at it. 🔥🔥
(via theScore)
Kevin Durant & Jeff Green are still at it. 🔥🔥
(via theScore)
October 21, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Assistant Professor to Full Professor ass facial expressions here.
Worth noting that the Right has won not because they tacked to the center but that they spent decades explicitly not doing that and searching out means of minoritarian obstinance and institutional capture sufficient to enact their beliefs the moment they had power again.
“You can win elections by tacking to the middle; lots of people have. But you can also win elections by staking a moral position and convincing people to agree with you. You can earn support by demonstrating what is important to you instead of just being determined to nod along with what you hear.”
Yesterday I wrote about the effort by center-left pundits to police what people are passionate about.
www.pbump.net/o/sincerity-...
www.pbump.net/o/sincerity-...
October 18, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Worth noting that the Right has won not because they tacked to the center but that they spent decades explicitly not doing that and searching out means of minoritarian obstinance and institutional capture sufficient to enact their beliefs the moment they had power again.
Finally catching up on Strange New Worlds and got to season 3 episode 2 and I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT DR. KORBY.
October 15, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Finally catching up on Strange New Worlds and got to season 3 episode 2 and I HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT DR. KORBY.
We've reached the "brave, kind strangers hiding children from masked federal agents" part of all this.
My first thought was “wow I hope this guy didn’t give out his name because he could absolutely be charged” and yup, he is correct to stay anonymous.
This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.
This man’s account is shocking. His neighbors’ situation is shocking. The entire Chicago raid is shocking.
October 11, 2025 at 12:54 PM
We've reached the "brave, kind strangers hiding children from masked federal agents" part of all this.
Reposted by Steve B. Holt
New working paper on contemporary child labor in the U.S. and its impacts on school attendance ⬇️
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302
With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302
With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon
Contemporary Child Labor and Declining School Attendance in the U.S.
The United States has experienced a 400% increase in reported child labor violations over the past decade, coinciding with declines in K-12 school attendance and enrollment. We examine the causal rela...
edworkingpapers.com
October 10, 2025 at 8:00 PM
New working paper on contemporary child labor in the U.S. and its impacts on school attendance ⬇️
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302
With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon
edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302
With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon
Reposted by Steve B. Holt
We have a transit system that works for some people some of the time—thank you to CBS19 for amplifying voices highlighting some local non-drivers during Cville WeekWithoutDriving
Area residents share what it's like to commute without a car
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- The Week Without Driving campaign, which started Monday and runs through Sunday, invites people to imagine life without the convenience of a car.
www.cbs19news.com
October 3, 2025 at 10:25 AM
We have a transit system that works for some people some of the time—thank you to CBS19 for amplifying voices highlighting some local non-drivers during Cville WeekWithoutDriving
Hi everyone. Some exciting news. We are hiring an Assistant Professor in Public Policy here at Rockefeller College. We are pretty flexible on topic areas. We have a great team here and Albany is a great place to live. #econsky #academicsky
Posting: albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
Posting: albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
albany.interviewexchange.com
September 30, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Hi everyone. Some exciting news. We are hiring an Assistant Professor in Public Policy here at Rockefeller College. We are pretty flexible on topic areas. We have a great team here and Albany is a great place to live. #econsky #academicsky
Posting: albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
Posting: albany.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdeta...
Reposted by Steve B. Holt
This is going to sound like a copout answer, but my take is that any city of a sufficient size is going to have *something* cool and interesting going on, even if it's hidden away somewhere. The truly bleak cities are the affluent suburbs that are just McMansions, cars, and nothing else.
What’s the worst city you’ve visited?
I’ll never go back to Myrtle Beach SC if somebody paid me
I’ll never go back to Myrtle Beach SC if somebody paid me
September 29, 2025 at 8:03 PM
This is going to sound like a copout answer, but my take is that any city of a sufficient size is going to have *something* cool and interesting going on, even if it's hidden away somewhere. The truly bleak cities are the affluent suburbs that are just McMansions, cars, and nothing else.
I am begging editors to log off the internet. We do not need to still be doing this. People not terminally online or involved in culture war issues with colleges - which is most people - barely knew who Charlie Kirk was. Who is all this coverage for?
September 29, 2025 at 3:37 PM
I am begging editors to log off the internet. We do not need to still be doing this. People not terminally online or involved in culture war issues with colleges - which is most people - barely knew who Charlie Kirk was. Who is all this coverage for?
Used the one window I had to see a movie to see One Battle After Another. I cannot recommend it enough. See it in theaters - it's so worth it. The movie is an homage to the American revolutionary spirit fit into a cat and mouse film. And from beginning to end, this movie just *goes*.
September 29, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Used the one window I had to see a movie to see One Battle After Another. I cannot recommend it enough. See it in theaters - it's so worth it. The movie is an homage to the American revolutionary spirit fit into a cat and mouse film. And from beginning to end, this movie just *goes*.
Unreasonably cruel that our political economy produced a severe housing shortage in most cities, driving additional margins of people into homelessness, and the wannabe dictator regime is now using visible homelessness as a pretext for sending soldiers into the streets and not building housing.
September 28, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Unreasonably cruel that our political economy produced a severe housing shortage in most cities, driving additional margins of people into homelessness, and the wannabe dictator regime is now using visible homelessness as a pretext for sending soldiers into the streets and not building housing.