banner
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher
@itaisher.bsky.social
9.2K followers 740 following 2.3K posts
Economics and Ethics, UMass Amherst
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Pinned
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · Oct 30
Nice to see that my paper on welfare weights is now in print at the AER.
3 8 110
Reposted by Itai Sher
chflachsland.bsky.social
Christian Flachsland @chflachsland.bsky.social · 13h
"A growing number of studies have found that the most widely used offset programs continue to greatly overestimate their probable climate impact often by a factor of five to ten or more. "
www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...
9 29
Reposted by Itai Sher
ezrakleinbot.bsky.social
Ezra Klein @ezrakleinbot.bsky.social · 4d
Today’s episode of The Ezra Klein Show.

The musician and record producer Brian Eno delves into his experiments with ambient music, his thoughts on generative A.I. and his deep gratitude for the uniqueness of human life.
open.spotify.com/episode/1Dio...

youtu.be/AfYY9v0Q0X4?...
Brian Eno on How Machines Can Make Us More Human
YouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show
youtu.be
23 16 82
Reposted by Itai Sher
sbagen.bsky.social
Sam Bagenstos @sbagen.bsky.social · 1d
Really important.
juddlegum.bsky.social
Judd Legum @juddlegum.bsky.social · 1d
1. Federal agents from ICE and other agencies are wrongly detaining U.S. citizens, sometimes detaining them for days, on suspicion that they are undocumented immigrants.

The raids are done without search warrants or other procedures designed to protect civil liberties.
How federal agents are terrorizing American citizens
Last week, hundreds of heavily armed federal agents descended on an apartment complex in Chicago, arriving in Black Hawk helicopters and moving trucks.
popular.info
1 57 210
Reposted by Itai Sher
kyledcheney.bsky.social
Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 1d
BREAKING: Illinois has filed suit to block Trump's deployment of the military to Chicago.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
43 830 3.4K
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 1d
I can’t claim to know what would be the most effective approach here
1
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 1d
I’ve become more sympathetic to the shutdown. By his constant lawlessness, Trump is making it impossible for Democrats. People have limits, they naturally get angry and it stops being about a political calculation.
1 12
Reposted by Itai Sher
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 2d
58 1.1K 2.3K
Reposted by Itai Sher
genevievelakier.bsky.social
Genevieve Lakier @genevievelakier.bsky.social · 4d
The Trump Administration’s “Compact of Excellence” for Universities is... far from excellent! Indeed, it’s unconstitutional. In this post, let me count the ways.

blog.dividedargument.com/p/the-uncons...
The Unconstitutional Conditions Doctrine and the Compact for Excellence
Members of the Trump administration love to say that federal funding is a privilege not a right and therefore something that can be granted or withheld based on changing administrative priorities.
blog.dividedargument.com
5 230 570
Reposted by Itai Sher
fishkin.bsky.social
Joey Fishkin @fishkin.bsky.social · 4d
The question journalists need to be asking is: WHY is the government trying this?

It’s because they want to control universities in unlawful ways that courts will not allow; it’s not working; so they’re trying to get universities to sign up “voluntarily” for unlawful levels of government control.
1 140 440
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 2d
A plausible take is that Trump is unpopular, the best approach is to wait it out and win elections, and introducing unpopular and undisciplined unrest is risky, will generate backlash and only help him.
1
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 2d
I don’t agree
1
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 2d
I think that’s playing with fire
1 1
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 2d
No but the idea that you don’t want to give them the pretext to crack down makes a lot of sense.
1 1
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 2d
I thought this was a good post from the other site.
2 1 20
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 3d
This op-ed is excellent and I encourage everyone to read it.

Universities must reject the Trump compact.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/o...
Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion
www.nytimes.com
20 43
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 3d
This articulates the concern well

bsky.app/profile/core...
coreyryung.bsky.social
Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 3d
The following paragraph contrasts acting as a "university representative" with acting in an individual capacity. But my natural reading of those two provisions is "on the clock" and "off the clock," which would radically curtail professor speech.
Reposted by Itai Sher
coreyryung.bsky.social
Corey Rayburn Yung @coreyryung.bsky.social · 3d
The following paragraph contrasts acting as a "university representative" with acting in an individual capacity. But my natural reading of those two provisions is "on the clock" and "off the clock," which would radically curtail professor speech.
2 2 4
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 3d
Because there genuinely is disagreement among faculty about institutional neutrality.

So it is important to say that regardless of how one feels about the policy, one should oppose the compact.
1
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 3d
I should add that the wording associated with institutional neutrality in the Trump compact is vague and could be interpreted as much stronger than what is ordinarily understood by the policy, muzzling professors and preventing them from criticizing the government.

ht @annmlipton.bsky.social
2 1 6
Reposted by Itai Sher
annmlipton.bsky.social
Ann Monster Lipton @annmlipton.bsky.social · 3d
Also I have no idea what this means. I don't know what a societal event is, and if I am invited to speak at a conference am I speaking as a university representative? I'm a professor at the university and speaking in that capacity.
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 4d
I support institutional neutrality if autonomously adopted by universities.

But making it a condition for preferential access to federal funding is very problematic. It effectively requires universities to avoid criticizing the government to be prioritized for support.
2 4 17
Reposted by Itai Sher
joestieb.bsky.social
Joe Stieb @joestieb.bsky.social · 3d
In general, it's f-----g insane that the sitting POTUS and VP regularly single out individual citizens for disparagement using their official gov't accounts.

I think there was a pretty strong presidential norm against this sort of thing until, well, about 8 years ago.
whstancil.bsky.social
Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 3d
What I can’t get over is just how interpersonally unpleasant this is. Think about good leaders in history, no matter who you think that is - would any of them go to a minority critic and tell them to “express a little gratitude” with a sneer? Of course not, because it makes your skin crawl
33 170 1K
itaisher.bsky.social
Itai Sher @itaisher.bsky.social · 4d
I support institutional neutrality if autonomously adopted by universities.

But making it a condition for preferential access to federal funding is very problematic. It effectively requires universities to avoid criticizing the government to be prioritized for support.
1 2 20
Reposted by Itai Sher
georgweizsaecker.bsky.social
Georg Weizsäcker @georgweizsaecker.bsky.social · 5d
„The decline was most pronounced among first-year graduate students. Illinois Urbana-Champaign has seen a 22% drop and Buffalo, 58%.“

Informative article 👇🏼 about 🇺🇸 int‘l students.

🇪🇺 has much freer speech now - so, welcome - it but should be said that silly admission restrictions exist here, too.
japantimes.co.jp
The Japan Times @japantimes.co.jp · 5d
In the latest move by U.S. colleges to cope with the disruptive policies of President Donald Trump, DePaul University told faculty it will reduce spending following a 30% decline in international enrollment this fall.
Fewer foreign students and fewer dollars make U.S. colleges feel the pinch
Dozens of schools in the U.S. have announced budget cuts in response to Trump administration policies that are upending higher education.
ebx.sh
1 3 7
Reposted by Itai Sher
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 6d
Quite a Kinsley gaffe from the Speaker of the House
36 160 820
Reposted by Itai Sher
brendannyhan.bsky.social
Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 6d
The director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute: "Their words should leave no doubt in anyone’s mind that the civilian leadership intends to use the threat and actuality of violence to infringe on Americans’ constitutional rights."
robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 6d
Kori Schake: “Yesterday morning, Trump and Hegseth behaved reprehensibly. Their speeches…were tantamount to incitement—a genuinely dangerous effort to suborn the military’s oath and condition them for using violence against their fellow Americans.” foreignpolicy.com/2025/10/01/t...
Trump’s Speech to Generals Was Incitement to Violence Against Americans
Military leaders’ quiet professionalism offers hope amid a maelstrom.
foreignpolicy.com
12 170 420