Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Sam Workman

@sam-workman.bsky.social

1.9K followers 560 following 940 posts

Professor & Director of the Institute for Policy Research and Public Affairs at West Virginia University 🍸cocktails 📜 policy 📊 data 📍Morgantown, West Virginia, Appalachia 🌎 https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-workman 🌎 https://samuelworkman.owlstown.net

www.linkedin.com

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 6d

Policy implementation? Time for a cigar, glass of scotch, and some old books. One party needs it more than the other, unless we want to reframe what democracy means. See my latest @3streamsblog.bsky.social

medium.com/3streams/doe...

Does Policy Matter?

We need party-centered theories of policy implementation.

medium.com

2 5

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 2h

I've mentioned this to a couple of reporters recently without the data at hand. But, yep.

Barry Burden @bcburden.bsky.social · 1d

The 2024 @electionstudies.bsky.social has the share of "pure independents" in the US at its lowest level since 1952 (7%)

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 23h

Agreed. Bad look.

Reposted by Sam Workman

Jae Yeon Kim @jaeyeonkim.bsky.social · 1d

FYI, if you try to measure the strength of civil society (what Hahrie, Milan, and I call civic opportunity in our 2023 Nature Human Behaviour paper), you may want to consider using our org-, county-, and ZIP code-level datasets published in Scientific Data: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

1 7 24

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 1d

Data centers are THE problem for the energy sector for the next couple of decades. Their has been great work around the water-energy nexus, but data centers make the systems much more complex, interdependent, and hence, fragile. 💡🔌 🏛️ WV

Mountain State Spotlight @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social · 1d

There are many reasons that are causing increased electricity rates for West Virginians. But the explosion of data centers is making it worse.

mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/10/05/r...

Data centers in other states are raising power costs in West Virginia

West Virginians are seeing higher power costs as AI and data centers increase electricity demand across the regional power grid.

buff.ly

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 1d

Ouch. 🥃

Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 1d

Even in countries that chose *not* to impose retaliatory tariffs on US spirits, our spirits exports have plummeted. Exports to UK and Japan declined >23% YoY, while exports to the EU were down 12%.
Canada did retaliate - and US exports there fell 85%.
www.distilledspirits.org/wp-content/u...

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 1d

Quickest way to build capacity. For coal producers without sun, lots of discussion around geothermal. 💡🔌 WV

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 1d

Global renewable energy generation surpasses coal for first time

Record solar expansion and steady wind growth driving world’s shift away from fossil fuels in 2025, report finds The world’s wind and solar farms have generated more electricity than coal plants for the first time this year, marking a turning point for the global power system, according to research. A report by the climate thinktank Ember found that in the first six months of 2025, renewable energy outpaced the world’s growing appetite for electricity, leading to a small decline in coal and gas use. Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 2d

Because its about WV, it gets lost. But, Bob Dilger's work on the 1996 reforms in WV with WV WORKS is super informative for what to expect the second time around.
www.amazon.com/s?k=97809370...

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2d

Work requirements are going to cost a ton to implement, at a time when states will have less administrative resources, and despite evidence that they don't work

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities @centeronbudget.bsky.social · 2d

Reports raise red flags: Georgia spent $54M on admin costs for its #Medicaid waiver, nearly twice the $26M spent on care, while enrolling under 3,500 people. CMS still extended the costly program that ties coverage to work requirements. www.cbpp.org/research/fed...

11 40

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 2d

💡🔌

Mountain State Spotlight @mtnstspotlight.bsky.social · 2d

West Virginians are struggling with higher power bills. Data centers in Virginia are making it worse.

mountainstatespotlight.org/2025/10/05/r...

Data centers in other states are raising power costs in West Virginia

West Virginians are seeing higher power costs as AI and data centers increase electricity demand across the regional power grid.

buff.ly

Reposted by Sam Workman

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 2d

Nearly half of Americans say groceries are more expensive than a year ago.

Over the last 5 years, grocery prices have increased by more than 30%.

Families judge the economy by what they pay—not by GDP. Costs, but not wages, are rising.
www.axios.com/2025/10/02/groc...

Bar chart titled "How Americans say grocery costs compare to a year ago," based on a Harris/Axios poll, showing percentages of the general public, Democrats, Independents, and Republicans who find it harder to afford, about the same, or easier to afford groceries. Colors range from purple (harder to afford) to orange and light purple (easier to afford).

1 6 15

Reposted by Sam Workman

John Sides @johnsides.bsky.social · 2d

Much more data from @tesler.bsky.social @goodauth.bsky.social. Tells us something about the backlash to DOGE and the OBBB, I think. And buttresses Democrats' stance on extending ACA subsidies.

t.co/bs3pJYTlpi

https://goodauthority.org/news/americans-are-in-an-unusually-liberal-fiscal-policy-mood-shutdown/

t.co

2 12

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 2d

The amount of money that taxpayers of a poor state (or funders) pay for us to sit in asinine research trainings is truly a travesty, and effectively, a tax. If anything should be DOGE'd, this is it. If we need this much training, our Ph.D.'s aren't worth the paper they are printed on. #endrant

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 3d

Sometimes you need answers. When you do, you visit the Orange Oracle. But careful, one visit too many and you'll start prophesying and see many futures. As is our new routine, you'll find potions and procedures at my website. Time to tip one. #cocktails 🍸🍹
samuelworkman.owlstown.net/posts/4559-o...

Samuel Workman, Ph.D. - Orange Oracle

Sometimes you need answers. When you do, you visit the Orange Oracle. But careful, one visit too many and you'll start prophesying and see many futures. Time...

samuelworkman.owlstown.net

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 5d

Good coverage from @bradmcelhinny.bsky.social here on the shutdown and the recreational economy. WV

wvmetronews.com/2025/10/02/w...

West Virginia will pay $7,000 a day to keep national parks visitor services during shutdown - WV MetroNews

The agreement guarantees two weeks and can be reevaluated if needed.

wvmetronews.com

1 1 2

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 6d

Yep! Must admit, letting it flame for so long didn't sit right with me. But a sip reveals it's fantastic.

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 6d

Does Policy Matter?

We need party-centered theories of policy implementation.

medium.com

2 5

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 6d

"And yet I have had the weakness... to wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire". - A Tale of Two Cities @davidwondrich.bsky.social

1 3

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 7d

On steroids here, obv. But this has been a problem since the late 80s/early 90s when Bob Durant was writing about the lack of neutral competence under Reagan. Worse here, but endemic to presidencies generally.

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 7d

Arguably drive more impact through grant analysts and managers with subject matter expertise instead of agency heads beholden to established clientele across the public/private sector. Not to mention the nonprofit industrial complex.

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 7d

Great work!

Alex Garlick @garlicksauce.bsky.social · 7d

For public policy scholars: JPIPE published our article that uses machine learning to code the universe of congressional and state legislative data since 2009 by the Comparative Agenda Project policy codes. That's 1.68 million bills. OPEN-ACCESS here: www.nowpublishers.com/article/Deta...

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks for the kind words!

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 8d

Cosign.

1 1

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 9d

This great. Take it in and think. Personally, I'm in the service cuts block. But, there's value to knowing where you are and why.

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 10d

My semi-regular reminder of a really important reality about cities, density, services and taxes.

Original graphic cleaned up by @kathrynmathias.bsky.social. #CityMakingMath

Venn diagram with stable services, low density, and low taxes. The area in the centre said “Does Not Exist.” And it’s correct.

1 4

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 9d

Definitely swimming upstream. I think, given incentives at upper levels, its not worth life lost. I've tried to make it's use explicit and open so everyone can judge for themselves. I don't have the time to be doing this, and the payoff for discovering it is nil.

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 9d

I think, in general, we're watching a party that is "good" at politics (they hold seats) and absolutely pathetic at the exercise of power.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 10d

Kaine: "We're just asking if we do a deal, please Mr President don't sign the deal and then immediately start taking away funds, rescinding agreements that you just made yesterday. A deal should be a deal."

Sam Workman @sam-workman.bsky.social · 9d

The longer this goes, the more cost, and not climate, will be the issue. That favors, increasingly, diversification. 💡🔌
cepr.net/publications...

Slowing Global Warming Does Address Affordability

Solar, wind, and batteries are now the cheapest energy, but Trump’s fossil fuel agenda could raise US power costs.

cepr.net

1 2