herman mark schwartz
@thunen.bsky.social
periodic posting on political economy issues, mostly charts, some shirts, weekly kittens. Sic semper tyrannis.
States vs Markets 5th edition now out: https://www.bloomsbury.com/9781350458369
States vs Markets 5th edition now out: https://www.bloomsbury.com/9781350458369
GM still can’t get the Bolt battery software right (throws off the equivalent of check engine light for phantom battery faults) while Ford built big expensive pickup trucks for big manly men who wouldn’t be seen in an EV.
RT @ModeledBehavior
One of the smartest observers in the world (@dunne_insights) on the auto industry explains what went wrong with the US EV market
The Car World is going electric, without America.
www.thefp.com/p/the-car-wo...
One of the smartest observers in the world (@dunne_insights) on the auto industry explains what went wrong with the US EV market
The Car World is going electric, without America.
www.thefp.com/p/the-car-wo...
February 17, 2026 at 11:33 PM
GM still can’t get the Bolt battery software right (throws off the equivalent of check engine light for phantom battery faults) while Ford built big expensive pickup trucks for big manly men who wouldn’t be seen in an EV.
The purpose of a system is what it produces
February 17, 2026 at 11:23 PM
The purpose of a system is what it produces
Reposted by herman mark schwartz
How is it possible that Kristi Noem still has this job. Imagine if you’re a family member or a shipmate of this guardsman.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
February 17, 2026 at 3:17 PM
How is it possible that Kristi Noem still has this job. Imagine if you’re a family member or a shipmate of this guardsman.
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
www.nbcnews.com/politics/imm...
Reposted by herman mark schwartz
If the NYT finds it too difficult to apply the same standards for AOC as for white male politicians, they should go into a different business.
February 16, 2026 at 7:49 PM
If the NYT finds it too difficult to apply the same standards for AOC as for white male politicians, they should go into a different business.
February 16, 2026 at 5:38 PM
#empiresuicidewatch 105
source: Science
as Neal Stephenson said (in 1992!): "The four things we do better than anyone else are: music, movies, microcode, high-speed pizza delivery."
so in guess they'll get jobs as doordashers
source: Science
as Neal Stephenson said (in 1992!): "The four things we do better than anyone else are: music, movies, microcode, high-speed pizza delivery."
so in guess they'll get jobs as doordashers
February 16, 2026 at 3:25 PM
#empiresuicidewatch 105
source: Science
as Neal Stephenson said (in 1992!): "The four things we do better than anyone else are: music, movies, microcode, high-speed pizza delivery."
so in guess they'll get jobs as doordashers
source: Science
as Neal Stephenson said (in 1992!): "The four things we do better than anyone else are: music, movies, microcode, high-speed pizza delivery."
so in guess they'll get jobs as doordashers
Reposted by herman mark schwartz
Folks look at you like you're crazy when you say we're in the midst of the worst, most unprecedented Article I constitutional crisis in 🇺🇸 history & then Lisa Murkowski says that no one could have anticipated how threatening to conquer our NATO allies was a distraction w/ unforeseeable consequences 🤦♂️
“Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said the issue of Greenland had “distracted in ways that I don’t think that any of us could have anticipated.”
How can you possibly fail to anticipate this? How is this a thing any adult, let alone a US Senator, can say?
How can you possibly fail to anticipate this? How is this a thing any adult, let alone a US Senator, can say?
In Munich, Lawmakers Concede Scars Remain After Trump’s Greenland Threat www.nytimes.com/2026/02/15/u...
February 16, 2026 at 3:45 AM
Folks look at you like you're crazy when you say we're in the midst of the worst, most unprecedented Article I constitutional crisis in 🇺🇸 history & then Lisa Murkowski says that no one could have anticipated how threatening to conquer our NATO allies was a distraction w/ unforeseeable consequences 🤦♂️
Reposted by herman mark schwartz
Criminality is so rampant inside CBP that it has seen one of its own agents or officers arrested every 24 to 36 hours since 2005.
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
February 13, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Criminality is so rampant inside CBP that it has seen one of its own agents or officers arrested every 24 to 36 hours since 2005.
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/accountabi...
Reposted by herman mark schwartz
Also, here’s a photo of people dying to defend a “multicultural economic zone”
February 15, 2026 at 4:29 PM
Also, here’s a photo of people dying to defend a “multicultural economic zone”
the companies' mistake was passivity in the face of the possible election of the MAGA crowd and its fossil fuel allies. if you commit this kind of money you need to commit to the politics that supports it. it's the whole point of lobbying
"It’s the single biggest capital allocation mistake in the history of the automotive industry"
Ford will take a $19.5 billion loss on its EV plants.
GM will take a $7.6 billion loss.
Others such as Honda & Volvo have all warned investors of similar losses.
www.cnbc.com/2026/02/01/e...
Ford will take a $19.5 billion loss on its EV plants.
GM will take a $7.6 billion loss.
Others such as Honda & Volvo have all warned investors of similar losses.
www.cnbc.com/2026/02/01/e...
How the EV pullback is affecting factories and jobs in the South
Automakers, suppliers and battery makers were funneling hundreds of billions of dollars into EV-related manufacturing in the U.S. Now it's all in question.
www.cnbc.com
February 15, 2026 at 2:06 PM
the companies' mistake was passivity in the face of the possible election of the MAGA crowd and its fossil fuel allies. if you commit this kind of money you need to commit to the politics that supports it. it's the whole point of lobbying
supercharging failure (today's WSJ). VW probably spent €millions to squeeze 67 extra horsepower from an ICE engine to shave 1 second off the 0-60 time - but electrics remain faster, mechanically simpler (& thus less prone to failure) w/ relatively immature battery technologies. #wrongdirection
February 15, 2026 at 1:57 PM
supercharging failure (today's WSJ). VW probably spent €millions to squeeze 67 extra horsepower from an ICE engine to shave 1 second off the 0-60 time - but electrics remain faster, mechanically simpler (& thus less prone to failure) w/ relatively immature battery technologies. #wrongdirection
Reposted by herman mark schwartz
Coming up on a year since I started this 🧵. I very much wanted to be proven wrong & shown to be exaggerating. Several hundred posts later, it's sadly clear that I was, if anything, underestimating just how quickly & markedly we would move down the road of democratic backsliding.
I gave a campus talk last night on Trump's first 100 days for the WUD Society & Politics group. A student asked me if I thought that, at some point, we might start to describe the US as a competitive authoritarian regime. I said that we were already there, it's just that most folks haven't noticed:
February 15, 2026 at 3:19 AM
Coming up on a year since I started this 🧵. I very much wanted to be proven wrong & shown to be exaggerating. Several hundred posts later, it's sadly clear that I was, if anything, underestimating just how quickly & markedly we would move down the road of democratic backsliding.
I volunteer as tribute!
Minion maxim 💯 go chocolate shopping on Feb 15
The only thing more powerful than hate is love of chocolate❣️
February 14, 2026 at 11:35 PM
I volunteer as tribute!
#theywantyoudead 111
Of course we’ll all have fun snorting cocaine off toilet seats like RFKj before we go, so there’s an upside
Of course we’ll all have fun snorting cocaine off toilet seats like RFKj before we go, so there’s an upside
Scoop: The NIH infectious-diseases institute (NIAID) will soon scrub “pandemic preparedness” and “biodefense” from its web pages, according to e-mails I obtained.
The directive is the start of a broader shake-up at NIAID, which has long been attacked by Republicans.
The directive is the start of a broader shake-up at NIAID, which has long been attacked by Republicans.
Exclusive: Key US infectious-diseases centre to drop pandemic preparation
Staff members have been instructed to scrub this topic and ‘biodefense’ from the agency’s website.
www.nature.com
February 14, 2026 at 1:11 PM
#theywantyoudead 111
Of course we’ll all have fun snorting cocaine off toilet seats like RFKj before we go, so there’s an upside
Of course we’ll all have fun snorting cocaine off toilet seats like RFKj before we go, so there’s an upside
Wow, i get to use this meme twice in one day - new levels of efficiency!
February 13, 2026 at 11:59 PM
Wow, i get to use this meme twice in one day - new levels of efficiency!
well she shot her emotional support dog, so all she has left is the blankie
February 13, 2026 at 3:55 PM
well she shot her emotional support dog, so all she has left is the blankie
Coming soon to a concentration camp near you.
CBP didn’t give her or anyone any water; she asked 3 times accg to other reports. CBP killed a 7yr old.
“8 hours after the girl & her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures & her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians. shorturl.at/d2OTJ
“8 hours after the girl & her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures & her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians. shorturl.at/d2OTJ
7-Year-Old Migrant Girl Dies Of Dehydration And Shock In U.S. Border Patrol Custody
The girl's death underscores the crisis precipitated by large groups of families seeking asylum where there are inadequate facilities to detain them.
shorturl.at
February 13, 2026 at 12:25 PM
Coming soon to a concentration camp near you.
Reposted by herman mark schwartz
I have a new piece out today in Phenomenal World, on the economics of a freeze in NYC regulated rents. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aft...
February 12, 2026 at 2:43 PM
I have a new piece out today in Phenomenal World, on the economics of a freeze in NYC regulated rents. www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/aft...
Must have been doing a PhD…
Happy birthday to one of my favourite haters, Charles Darwin
February 12, 2026 at 11:34 PM
Must have been doing a PhD…
Reposted by herman mark schwartz
Pam Bondi is now freeing accused drug dealers bc her demand that AUSAs do unethical things got all the prosecutors to quit.
www.startribune.com/case-dismiss...
www.startribune.com/case-dismiss...
February 12, 2026 at 1:59 PM
Pam Bondi is now freeing accused drug dealers bc her demand that AUSAs do unethical things got all the prosecutors to quit.
www.startribune.com/case-dismiss...
www.startribune.com/case-dismiss...
the brazilianization of america... tear down the social fabric and you end up having to build high walls. private security ends up costing more than reasonable taxes and you still have to fear the guillotine.
free link
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
free link
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
The Mega-Rich Are Turning Their Mansions Into Impenetrable Fortresses
Anxiety over high-profile violence has the wealthy spending big on armed security, bunkers and even moats to keep themselves safe from intruders.
www.wsj.com
February 12, 2026 at 2:31 PM
the brazilianization of america... tear down the social fabric and you end up having to build high walls. private security ends up costing more than reasonable taxes and you still have to fear the guillotine.
free link
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
free link
www.wsj.com/real-estate/...
The purpose of a system is what it produces.
ICE Detention Center Says It’s Not Responsible for Staff's Sexual Abuse of Detainees
(2018)
www.aclu.org/news/immigra...
(2018)
www.aclu.org/news/immigra...
February 12, 2026 at 12:30 PM
The purpose of a system is what it produces.
Per american @prospect.org magazine ICE /DHS has killed 69 people this year.
bsky.app/profile/dday...
not so surprising given that police in general killed the equivalent of 1 in 12 of all US homicides in 2024. But as ICE rolls out more aAmerican Dachaus -> “number go up”
bsky.app/profile/dday...
not so surprising given that police in general killed the equivalent of 1 in 12 of all US homicides in 2024. But as ICE rolls out more aAmerican Dachaus -> “number go up”
Court battle over surveillance footage at the Broadview ICE detention center reaches new levels of kafkaesque absurdity: The DOJ claimed it *couldn't afford* hard drives to put video footage on. Plaintiffs bought THE US GOVERNMENT hard drives. ICE "lost" them.
www.404media.co/government-l...
www.404media.co/government-l...
Government Loses Hard Drives It Was Supposed to Put ICE Detention Center Footage On
A Kafkaesque saga in which the government has failed to produce critical video footage has reached new levels of absurdity.
www.404media.co
February 11, 2026 at 11:39 PM
Per american @prospect.org magazine ICE /DHS has killed 69 people this year.
bsky.app/profile/dday...
not so surprising given that police in general killed the equivalent of 1 in 12 of all US homicides in 2024. But as ICE rolls out more aAmerican Dachaus -> “number go up”
bsky.app/profile/dday...
not so surprising given that police in general killed the equivalent of 1 in 12 of all US homicides in 2024. But as ICE rolls out more aAmerican Dachaus -> “number go up”