Will Stancil
@whstancil.bsky.social
Minnesota guy.
"This particular activist will not stop." Sen. Chris Murphy
"This particular activist will not stop." Sen. Chris Murphy
Places that aren’t high-cost coastal metros:
Detroit
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Columbus
Indianapolis
Minneapolis
St. Louis
Richmond
Raleigh-Durham
Charlotte
Memphis
Nashville
Charlotte
Louisville
Philadelphia
Dallas
Phoenix
Las Vegas
San Antonio
Milwaukee
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
Austin
Denver
El Paso
Detroit
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Columbus
Indianapolis
Minneapolis
St. Louis
Richmond
Raleigh-Durham
Charlotte
Memphis
Nashville
Charlotte
Louisville
Philadelphia
Dallas
Phoenix
Las Vegas
San Antonio
Milwaukee
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
Austin
Denver
El Paso
Bro if you sum the population of all the metros mentioned you end up with like slight more them one New York metro and you vary from metros with 7 million people to metros with 1.5M don't you find it a little exaggerative of calling these wildly different places a median for the Us as a whole
November 26, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Places that aren’t high-cost coastal metros:
Detroit
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Columbus
Indianapolis
Minneapolis
St. Louis
Richmond
Raleigh-Durham
Charlotte
Memphis
Nashville
Charlotte
Louisville
Philadelphia
Dallas
Phoenix
Las Vegas
San Antonio
Milwaukee
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
Austin
Denver
El Paso
Detroit
Cleveland
Cincinnati
Columbus
Indianapolis
Minneapolis
St. Louis
Richmond
Raleigh-Durham
Charlotte
Memphis
Nashville
Charlotte
Louisville
Philadelphia
Dallas
Phoenix
Las Vegas
San Antonio
Milwaukee
Pittsburgh
Baltimore
Austin
Denver
El Paso
Even if we stipulate that the entirety of the NYC metro and the entirety of CA have intolerable housing shortages, they represent less than a quarter of US GDP. They’re very important places, and also not the median US experience by any stretch of the imagination
Conditions in places that make up a disproportionate share of the national economy *are* in fact more important. That’s where people are much more likely to want to move!
Conditions in NYC, Boston, and SF may feel more important to you than Cincinnati and Chicago and Oklahoma City and Houston, but rather than finding a way to rationalize this instinct, I’d encourage you to recognize that it is a your perception of the country being distorted by social relationships.
November 26, 2025 at 12:14 AM
Even if we stipulate that the entirety of the NYC metro and the entirety of CA have intolerable housing shortages, they represent less than a quarter of US GDP. They’re very important places, and also not the median US experience by any stretch of the imagination
This is also something you made up! Stop accusing me of random bigotries because you dislike my views on real wage growth!
November 25, 2025 at 10:11 PM
This is also something you made up! Stop accusing me of random bigotries because you dislike my views on real wage growth!
Bluesky: “Obviously the housing crisis is the only reason anyone would choose to live outside of NYC”
Actual Americans: “Vegas, baby!”
Actual Americans: “Vegas, baby!”
November 25, 2025 at 8:27 PM
Bluesky: “Obviously the housing crisis is the only reason anyone would choose to live outside of NYC”
Actual Americans: “Vegas, baby!”
Actual Americans: “Vegas, baby!”
Reposted by Will Stancil
I'm hearing some people call this treason, and that's not fair.
I'm pretty sure treason requires overt acts; through speech, it's merely sedition.
I'm pretty sure treason requires overt acts; through speech, it's merely sedition.
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 8:18 PM
I'm hearing some people call this treason, and that's not fair.
I'm pretty sure treason requires overt acts; through speech, it's merely sedition.
I'm pretty sure treason requires overt acts; through speech, it's merely sedition.
Reposted by Will Stancil
Is the envoy to Russia or from Russia?
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Is the envoy to Russia or from Russia?
Reposted by Will Stancil
additionally, he has facial hair in this photograph
Deeply unsettled by this older photo of Mike Johnson with a beard.
November 25, 2025 at 7:57 PM
additionally, he has facial hair in this photograph
I agree the choice is an easy one personally, but many (probably most?) people wouldn’t agree, and that is a really good clue that our thinking on the subject might lead us astray
The idea that if Brooklyn rents were at Dallas or Houston levels anyone would still choose Dallas or Houston over Brooklyn is kind of insane
While it’s probably true that housing costs are keeping people out of CA and NY, there’s this notion that middle America or the sunbelt will empty out and depart to Brooklyn if Brooklyn built more units, and I’m pretty sure the people who believe this all live in Brooklyn already
November 25, 2025 at 7:15 PM
I agree the choice is an easy one personally, but many (probably most?) people wouldn’t agree, and that is a really good clue that our thinking on the subject might lead us astray
“Why would you defend Trump’s economy?”
I am not defending Trump’s economic policies, which are terrible. I am saying that Trump is a product of a hallucinatory digital dreamscape, and slipping deeper into it just because it’s temporarily turned bleak for him, is not a sustainable solution.
I am not defending Trump’s economic policies, which are terrible. I am saying that Trump is a product of a hallucinatory digital dreamscape, and slipping deeper into it just because it’s temporarily turned bleak for him, is not a sustainable solution.
November 25, 2025 at 6:55 PM
“Why would you defend Trump’s economy?”
I am not defending Trump’s economic policies, which are terrible. I am saying that Trump is a product of a hallucinatory digital dreamscape, and slipping deeper into it just because it’s temporarily turned bleak for him, is not a sustainable solution.
I am not defending Trump’s economic policies, which are terrible. I am saying that Trump is a product of a hallucinatory digital dreamscape, and slipping deeper into it just because it’s temporarily turned bleak for him, is not a sustainable solution.
Which in turn completely detonates the idea that these putative affordability crises are somehow driving national political swings
I think more important politically (working on a paper about this now!) is that affordability crises are mostly confined to blue states. The fastest growing American cities are in the South and young people are having a completely different experience with housing down there.
Okay this one irritates me so I’m gonna say something! I have never ever said “Move to Cincinnati.” I have just insist that we need to recognize that MOST AMERICANS live in places like Cincinnati or Minneapolis, not NYC, which is important if you’re going to talk about conditions in America.
November 25, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Which in turn completely detonates the idea that these putative affordability crises are somehow driving national political swings
While it’s probably true that housing costs are keeping people out of CA and NY, there’s this notion that middle America or the sunbelt will empty out and depart to Brooklyn if Brooklyn built more units, and I’m pretty sure the people who believe this all live in Brooklyn already
Will is totally I missing the rejoinder. Way more people would live in the Northeast and coastal CA if we allowed for abundant home building.
November 25, 2025 at 6:34 PM
While it’s probably true that housing costs are keeping people out of CA and NY, there’s this notion that middle America or the sunbelt will empty out and depart to Brooklyn if Brooklyn built more units, and I’m pretty sure the people who believe this all live in Brooklyn already
Okay this one irritates me so I’m gonna say something! I have never ever said “Move to Cincinnati.” I have just insist that we need to recognize that MOST AMERICANS live in places like Cincinnati or Minneapolis, not NYC, which is important if you’re going to talk about conditions in America.
Arguably you could say his takes on how you should move to Cincinnati are transphobia in practice but like that definition makes like 50% of urban liberals transphobes and imo dilutes the definition. He probably would respond saying you could also move to MSP
November 25, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Okay this one irritates me so I’m gonna say something! I have never ever said “Move to Cincinnati.” I have just insist that we need to recognize that MOST AMERICANS live in places like Cincinnati or Minneapolis, not NYC, which is important if you’re going to talk about conditions in America.
Reposted by Will Stancil
The barriers to having your conspiratorial bullshit shoveled into your head used to be high. The major downside of media democratization is that it makes filling your head with bullshit trivial -- and ppl love to have their insane ideas confirmed.
November 25, 2025 at 6:08 PM
The barriers to having your conspiratorial bullshit shoveled into your head used to be high. The major downside of media democratization is that it makes filling your head with bullshit trivial -- and ppl love to have their insane ideas confirmed.
People like to say “Ah, but humans have ALWAYS been guided by hallucinations and mass belief!”
But look around. Look at who we’ve started electing. Something has changed. And what has most clearly changed is that the systems we built to impose some standards on public discourse have broken down.
But look around. Look at who we’ve started electing. Something has changed. And what has most clearly changed is that the systems we built to impose some standards on public discourse have broken down.
I don’t think the electorate has ever not been guided by hallucinations, nor has the political aspect of government ever been rational. You do have to enter into people’s delusions and work from inside them at least somewhat, no? And have the humility to know you have some delusions of your own!
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
People like to say “Ah, but humans have ALWAYS been guided by hallucinations and mass belief!”
But look around. Look at who we’ve started electing. Something has changed. And what has most clearly changed is that the systems we built to impose some standards on public discourse have broken down.
But look around. Look at who we’ve started electing. Something has changed. And what has most clearly changed is that the systems we built to impose some standards on public discourse have broken down.
Whoever decided to rake all the leaves off their lawn on to this sidewalk should be investigated on suspicion of tax fraud
November 25, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Whoever decided to rake all the leaves off their lawn on to this sidewalk should be investigated on suspicion of tax fraud
Reposted by Will Stancil
this is what ten years of obsession with "wokeness" in the media was trying to get to btw bsky.app/profile/mari...
November 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
this is what ten years of obsession with "wokeness" in the media was trying to get to btw bsky.app/profile/mari...
Demand for bad news is insatiable, and we’ve built a media ecosystem where the vast majority of content creators have total freedom to simply invent bad news to meet that demand
local TV stations' websites will display stories about crime in *cities in other states* when there isn't enough local crime content
November 25, 2025 at 4:07 PM
Demand for bad news is insatiable, and we’ve built a media ecosystem where the vast majority of content creators have total freedom to simply invent bad news to meet that demand
Reposted by Will Stancil
local TV stations' websites will display stories about crime in *cities in other states* when there isn't enough local crime content
November 25, 2025 at 4:04 PM
local TV stations' websites will display stories about crime in *cities in other states* when there isn't enough local crime content
It’s worse than that, too: because in the unregulated information marketplace, media producers live or die entirely on their ability to compete with each other, they have a powerful structural incentive to produce more bad news and endlessly validate the gloom of audiences. Race to the bottom
I think we underestimate how addictive bad news is for people who consume it.
boy there seems to be a bottomless appetite for dogmatic economic pessimism on video platforms. clicked on one of those during the morning Zwift and now my youtube feed is WE'RE DOOMED re the stock market, jobs, car market, inflation, AI on and on
November 25, 2025 at 4:03 PM
It’s worse than that, too: because in the unregulated information marketplace, media producers live or die entirely on their ability to compete with each other, they have a powerful structural incentive to produce more bad news and endlessly validate the gloom of audiences. Race to the bottom
Reposted by Will Stancil
I think we underestimate how addictive bad news is for people who consume it.
boy there seems to be a bottomless appetite for dogmatic economic pessimism on video platforms. clicked on one of those during the morning Zwift and now my youtube feed is WE'RE DOOMED re the stock market, jobs, car market, inflation, AI on and on
November 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM
I think we underestimate how addictive bad news is for people who consume it.
The collapsing cost of media production has fragmented media into literally millions of publishers, creating a true marketplace of ideas where producers benefit by providing the exact narratives that consumers enjoy hearing the most. That means lurid doomerism is endemic
boy there seems to be a bottomless appetite for dogmatic economic pessimism on video platforms. clicked on one of those during the morning Zwift and now my youtube feed is WE'RE DOOMED re the stock market, jobs, car market, inflation, AI on and on
November 25, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The collapsing cost of media production has fragmented media into literally millions of publishers, creating a true marketplace of ideas where producers benefit by providing the exact narratives that consumers enjoy hearing the most. That means lurid doomerism is endemic
Planning a new investment in healing crystals after my six previous investments failed to cure my kidney stones
here we go again www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
Democrats plan a new investment in winning rural voters, who've fled the party
Democrats are announcing a new investment to win over voters in rural areas — where the party has suffered deep losses in recent elections — by leaning on an economic message.
www.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:26 PM
Planning a new investment in healing crystals after my six previous investments failed to cure my kidney stones
Reposted by Will Stancil
here we go again www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
Democrats plan a new investment in winning rural voters, who've fled the party
Democrats are announcing a new investment to win over voters in rural areas — where the party has suffered deep losses in recent elections — by leaning on an economic message.
www.npr.org
November 25, 2025 at 2:13 PM
here we go again www.npr.org/2025/11/25/n...
So many popular theories of politics are guided by open contempt for the electorate and nothing else. “Just give the dumb schmucks more treats and they’ll love you” - what if that’s wrong, actually? What if human beings are often guided by ideas and beliefs?
Obamacare should have included a provision where everybody gets mailed a $100 prepaid debit card every year they can use exclusively to purchase medications; dim Midwesterners who vote for President based on their opinion of the infield fly rule love that shit.
November 25, 2025 at 2:07 PM
So many popular theories of politics are guided by open contempt for the electorate and nothing else. “Just give the dumb schmucks more treats and they’ll love you” - what if that’s wrong, actually? What if human beings are often guided by ideas and beliefs?
That’s why the expanded child tax credit was so popular and there was mass public support for its renewa.. *looks at notes* oh no
I think every major policy initiative has to come with a specific Really Obvious Immediate Benefit for voters; if BBB had come with $1000 checks or nationwide free buses or some such, it would have been a huge success. You could fund universal preschool with a fraction of this year’s tax cuts.
Unlike the far right, liberals and progressives do not live inside an endlessly mutable reactionary phantasmagoria where the search for energizing narratives rules all. We have actual policy objectives. Those objectives are doomed to fail in the media dreamland we’re building
November 25, 2025 at 2:05 PM
That’s why the expanded child tax credit was so popular and there was mass public support for its renewa.. *looks at notes* oh no