Nick Messenger
@nickmessenger.bsky.social
Senior Economist at the Ohio River Valley Institute. Studying community based approaches to economic development, the AI and chip industry, and industrial decarbonization. Dad and Ohioan. Views my own.
Pinned
This was so bizarre I had to dig into the data. Ended up writing about if $600B in 2 yrs is believable. Spoiler: it’s not. It would be over 300% of ALL major data center investments announced in the last 2 years. It’s an impressive number for an audience of 1 open.substack.com/pub/publicgo...
The tariff revenue seems to play the same role in President Trump’s mental budgeting that selling my old computer plays in our household. I’ve mentally sold that computer a lot of times to justify paying for a lot of other fun gadgets. (It is still in my closet).
December 18, 2025 at 2:37 AM
The tariff revenue seems to play the same role in President Trump’s mental budgeting that selling my old computer plays in our household. I’ve mentally sold that computer a lot of times to justify paying for a lot of other fun gadgets. (It is still in my closet).
I love when Trump always brags that he has cut prescription drug prices by 200, 400 or 600%.
By definition, a 100% price cut would be free.
By definition, a 100% price cut would be free.
December 18, 2025 at 2:23 AM
I love when Trump always brags that he has cut prescription drug prices by 200, 400 or 600%.
By definition, a 100% price cut would be free.
By definition, a 100% price cut would be free.
A new report conducted by consultants for the Ohio Chamber makes huge claims about data centers job creation. I dug in a bit and found that even their historical data for data centers employment seem to be estimated for some reason? I laid their numbers over BLS data. Their claim is 46% higher.
October 7, 2025 at 8:47 PM
A new report conducted by consultants for the Ohio Chamber makes huge claims about data centers job creation. I dug in a bit and found that even their historical data for data centers employment seem to be estimated for some reason? I laid their numbers over BLS data. Their claim is 46% higher.
Holy class solidarity. 😒
September 12, 2025 at 12:58 AM
Holy class solidarity. 😒
Reposted by Nick Messenger
The industry faces a critical choice: lock in coal for decades more, or pivot investment to clean alternatives like hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (H2-DRI), already proven and scaling globally ⚙️🌍
3/4
3/4
September 10, 2025 at 10:02 AM
The industry faces a critical choice: lock in coal for decades more, or pivot investment to clean alternatives like hydrogen-based direct reduced iron (H2-DRI), already proven and scaling globally ⚙️🌍
3/4
3/4
Bad day to be Trump’s new head of the BLS.
September 9, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Bad day to be Trump’s new head of the BLS.
Activities that teach kids morals, values, and faith aren’t bad.
But disguising it as a “get out of school” opportunity that takes away science/math/language/history classroom time and indoctrinating kids with a perverted culture war version of Jesus’s teachings is *very* bad.
But disguising it as a “get out of school” opportunity that takes away science/math/language/history classroom time and indoctrinating kids with a perverted culture war version of Jesus’s teachings is *very* bad.
“The academy will now be in 613 Ohio schools in 303 school districts for the 2025-26 school year, said Christine Czernejewski, a spokesperson for LifeWise.”
MORE: columbusunderground.com/controversia...
MORE: columbusunderground.com/controversia...
Controversial Christian Group Grows into More Ohio School Districts This Year - Columbus Underground
The academy will now be in 613 Ohio schools in 303 school districts for the 2025-26 school year, said Christine Czernejewski, a spokesperson for LifeWise.
columbusunderground.com
September 9, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Activities that teach kids morals, values, and faith aren’t bad.
But disguising it as a “get out of school” opportunity that takes away science/math/language/history classroom time and indoctrinating kids with a perverted culture war version of Jesus’s teachings is *very* bad.
But disguising it as a “get out of school” opportunity that takes away science/math/language/history classroom time and indoctrinating kids with a perverted culture war version of Jesus’s teachings is *very* bad.
Where are residents of Gaza City supposed to “evacuate” to? Israel has conquered most of the strip and 40% of Gaza City. The violence should have ended months ago. Serious question: who will administer public services and food if Israel conquers the *entire* city?
September 9, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Where are residents of Gaza City supposed to “evacuate” to? Israel has conquered most of the strip and 40% of Gaza City. The violence should have ended months ago. Serious question: who will administer public services and food if Israel conquers the *entire* city?
This was so bizarre I had to dig into the data. Ended up writing about if $600B in 2 yrs is believable. Spoiler: it’s not. It would be over 300% of ALL major data center investments announced in the last 2 years. It’s an impressive number for an audience of 1 open.substack.com/pub/publicgo...
September 8, 2025 at 7:39 PM
This was so bizarre I had to dig into the data. Ended up writing about if $600B in 2 yrs is believable. Spoiler: it’s not. It would be over 300% of ALL major data center investments announced in the last 2 years. It’s an impressive number for an audience of 1 open.substack.com/pub/publicgo...
Ohioans have faced markedly higher bills, some above $400 a month, due to rate increases that took effect this summer.
“So, the rise of these industrial-scale computing facilities that are needed for A.I. and other Internet applications is certainly one of the factors driving up prices.”
“And I think there’s a chance that A.I. is going to drive our bills even higher in the future.”
“And I think there’s a chance that A.I. is going to drive our bills even higher in the future.”
How AI infrastructure is driving a sharp rise in electricity bills
Electricity bills are climbing nationwide, rising faster than inflation in many places. The explosive growth of AI and the massive data centers behind it are driving demand and straining the grid. To ...
www.pbs.org
September 8, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Ohioans have faced markedly higher bills, some above $400 a month, due to rate increases that took effect this summer.
Reposted by Nick Messenger
SCOTUS thought they could ride the tiger and get what they wanted ideologically. In exchange, they would give him everything he wanted except the Fed. Just leave the Fed alone and you can ignore all federal law. But it ended the same way it has for everyone who tried to ride the tiger since 2016.
August 26, 2025 at 12:49 AM
SCOTUS thought they could ride the tiger and get what they wanted ideologically. In exchange, they would give him everything he wanted except the Fed. Just leave the Fed alone and you can ignore all federal law. But it ended the same way it has for everyone who tried to ride the tiger since 2016.
The institutions that stabilize the American economy are rapidly disintegrating. Politicians have been captured by corporate donors and corrupted and now those same donors want to capture economic policymakers. Democracy and stability is being eroded by a brutal form of capitalism before our eyes.
Trump says he's removing Fed Governor Lisa Cook, cites mortgage fraud allegations
President Donald Trump's removal of a Federal Reserve governor could end up being challenged at the Supreme Court.
www.cnbc.com
August 26, 2025 at 1:57 AM
The institutions that stabilize the American economy are rapidly disintegrating. Politicians have been captured by corporate donors and corrupted and now those same donors want to capture economic policymakers. Democracy and stability is being eroded by a brutal form of capitalism before our eyes.
“The legislature wants voters to compare to 2025: 'hey look, we are giving you more money than you got last year.' But what they are not saying is school districts would have received even more money if they had just funded the plan," Messenger said. www.statenews.org/government-p...
Report: Ohio House budget will cost Appalachian K-12 schools over half a billion dollars
The report took a look at the House-passed budget and its effect on schools in Ohio's Appalachian region.
www.statenews.org
April 25, 2025 at 11:09 PM
“The legislature wants voters to compare to 2025: 'hey look, we are giving you more money than you got last year.' But what they are not saying is school districts would have received even more money if they had just funded the plan," Messenger said. www.statenews.org/government-p...
Real wage growth hasn’t kept pace with productivity. Simply put, workers aren’t fully sharing in the technological advancement (and generous tax treatment) that businesses have benefited from. www.epi.org/blog/how-sho...
How should we assess and characterize worker wage growth in recent decades?
Our recently released State of Working America wages report includes new data on wages through 2024. Cumulative median wage growth was just 29% since 1979—or less than 0.6% per year on average. This w...
www.epi.org
April 25, 2025 at 11:04 AM
Real wage growth hasn’t kept pace with productivity. Simply put, workers aren’t fully sharing in the technological advancement (and generous tax treatment) that businesses have benefited from. www.epi.org/blog/how-sho...
Reposted by Nick Messenger
Mine safety is under threat as 29 @msha.gov offices have their leases terminated and black lung screenings for miners are shut down by federal officials.
Read more in this commentary from Appalachian Voices Coal Impacts Manager Willie Dodson.
www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-e...
Read more in this commentary from Appalachian Voices Coal Impacts Manager Willie Dodson.
www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-e...
April 24, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Mine safety is under threat as 29 @msha.gov offices have their leases terminated and black lung screenings for miners are shut down by federal officials.
Read more in this commentary from Appalachian Voices Coal Impacts Manager Willie Dodson.
www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-e...
Read more in this commentary from Appalachian Voices Coal Impacts Manager Willie Dodson.
www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-e...
Appalachian Ohio public school districts would lose $565.8M over the next 2 years in the state house’s proposed budget as compared to staying on the current funding plan that was enacted just 2 years ago. #econsky #edusky #Appalachia #education #Ohio ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/ohio-house-b...
Ohio House Budget Proposal Would Cost Appalachian Public Schools $565.8 Million Over the Next 2 Years – Ohio River Valley Institute
The Ohio River Valley Institute is a think tank focused on lasting job growth, clean energy, and more inclusive civic structures for northern Appalachia.
ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org
April 24, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Appalachian Ohio public school districts would lose $565.8M over the next 2 years in the state house’s proposed budget as compared to staying on the current funding plan that was enacted just 2 years ago. #econsky #edusky #Appalachia #education #Ohio ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/ohio-house-b...
It’s a fallacy that other ways of life “threaten” theirs. Progress is a tide that lifts all boats and this piece paints an idyllic old school existence where one doesn’t exist. These folks have medicines and cell phones that their ancestors didn’t have thanks to colleges & scientists in “big cities”
This from @jdcivicscience.bsky.social nails why small town, red America is not turning on Trump.
April 20, 2025 at 12:18 PM
It’s a fallacy that other ways of life “threaten” theirs. Progress is a tide that lifts all boats and this piece paints an idyllic old school existence where one doesn’t exist. These folks have medicines and cell phones that their ancestors didn’t have thanks to colleges & scientists in “big cities”
Reposted by Nick Messenger
Data centers aren’t major job creators but they sound flashy. Adding literally tons of pollution to the air residents breathe and creating very few permanent jobs per taxpayer dollar in tax incentives is a bad recipe for Homer City.
The scale of the project could only be described as ‘mega’: $10 billion, and 10,000 construction jobs. It is fueled by cheap natural gas from fracking in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, and a rush to build more data centers as artificial intelligence use expands.
In Western Pennsylvania, an old coal town gets a gas-fired data center
The Homer City Generating Station, a former coal power plant in Indiana County, is being turned into the country’s largest natural gas power plant.
www.wesa.fm
April 15, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Data centers aren’t major job creators but they sound flashy. Adding literally tons of pollution to the air residents breathe and creating very few permanent jobs per taxpayer dollar in tax incentives is a bad recipe for Homer City.
Folks are going to want to read up on the U.S. bond market. Quickly.
April 11, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Folks are going to want to read up on the U.S. bond market. Quickly.
My favorite part is their haphazardly citing Cavallo 2021 from AER (which they omit from the bibliography) as evidence of low price increases. Cavallo et al actually concludes that this means that retail margins were lower, meaning MORE TAX was still paid by US businesses. ustr.gov/issue-areas/...
Reciprocal Tariff Calculations
Executive Summary Reciprocal tariffs are calculated as the tariff rate necessary to balance bilateral trade deficits between the U.S. and each of our trading partners. This calculation assumes that pe...
ustr.gov
April 3, 2025 at 1:11 PM
My favorite part is their haphazardly citing Cavallo 2021 from AER (which they omit from the bibliography) as evidence of low price increases. Cavallo et al actually concludes that this means that retail margins were lower, meaning MORE TAX was still paid by US businesses. ustr.gov/issue-areas/...
Reposted by Nick Messenger
Trump taxes are about to hit your local stores…
April 2, 2025 at 9:54 PM
Trump taxes are about to hit your local stores…
A point I’ve been making over and over in interviews and in our report. To see the benefits of tariffs, businesses would need to count on them being consistent for 20+ years. They haven’t been able to count on them consistently for 20 days with this White House.
The problem with a chaotic approach to tariffs is that we get all the costs and few of the possible benefits.
Lemme 'splain.
Lemme 'splain.
April 2, 2025 at 7:23 PM
A point I’ve been making over and over in interviews and in our report. To see the benefits of tariffs, businesses would need to count on them being consistent for 20+ years. They haven’t been able to count on them consistently for 20 days with this White House.
Tariffs will not be beneficial to Senator Husted’s constituents in Ohio.
Our new report shows that this first round of tariffs could bring $8.4B in overnight import tax hikes on Ohio businesses— the dollar equivalent of over $1700 per Ohio household. ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/wp-content/u...
Our new report shows that this first round of tariffs could bring $8.4B in overnight import tax hikes on Ohio businesses— the dollar equivalent of over $1700 per Ohio household. ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/wp-content/u...
March 31, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Tariffs will not be beneficial to Senator Husted’s constituents in Ohio.
Our new report shows that this first round of tariffs could bring $8.4B in overnight import tax hikes on Ohio businesses— the dollar equivalent of over $1700 per Ohio household. ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/wp-content/u...
Our new report shows that this first round of tariffs could bring $8.4B in overnight import tax hikes on Ohio businesses— the dollar equivalent of over $1700 per Ohio household. ohiorivervalleyinstitute.org/wp-content/u...
“Other countries tariff us! We should tariff them!”
Look at the countries that most heavily utilize tariffs and those that use them less. Which type of economy would you rather live in?
Countries that tariff are often developing economies, seeking to protect infant industries FROM our economy
Look at the countries that most heavily utilize tariffs and those that use them less. Which type of economy would you rather live in?
Countries that tariff are often developing economies, seeking to protect infant industries FROM our economy
March 31, 2025 at 12:31 PM
“Other countries tariff us! We should tariff them!”
Look at the countries that most heavily utilize tariffs and those that use them less. Which type of economy would you rather live in?
Countries that tariff are often developing economies, seeking to protect infant industries FROM our economy
Look at the countries that most heavily utilize tariffs and those that use them less. Which type of economy would you rather live in?
Countries that tariff are often developing economies, seeking to protect infant industries FROM our economy