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Reposted by Bruce D. Baker

Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 4d

Brunch and pod with my pal, @mollyjongfast.bsky.social and me. We dig into the shutdown, the missing jobs report, tariffs, the reality that Trump's CEA can't do arithmetic (or apologize) and all of this econ-madness that's all around us.

Is the Trump Hiding Job Numbers? w/ Justin Wolfers

Economist Justin Wolfers joins Molly Jong-Fast to explore the implications of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown, particularly focusing on its effects on public data dissemination and the broader…

m.youtube.com

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 5d

One of the demands is to freeze tuition. Which will help the rich kids and international students, since they’re the only ones at some of these schools who actually pay the sticker price www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u...

Trump Administration Asks Colleges to Sign ‘Compact’ to Get Funding Preference

www.nytimes.com

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Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social · 5d

"Trump's 'compact with universities is just extortion... the future of higher education in America requires that every university reject it."

Very good from UC Berkley law dean Erwin Chemerinsky.

Higher ed leaders should all do so, and donors, unions, anyone with influence should pressure them to.

Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Just Extortion

www.nytimes.com

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 8d

The Secretary of Defense who only got the job because the president saw him on the teevee is complaining about military leaders who were promoted "for the wrong reasons"

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 7d

The problem is that it's so ridiculous that too many people laugh it off, ignoring both the norms and laws they repeatedly violate.

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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 7d

"Republicans run the entire government but can't keep it open"

That's it. That's the whole story.

James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 7d

Yes. (And still getting "standoff" BS and "who will blink first" and "who will voters blame" from news.)

Trump and MAGA control the *entire* government. It's a simple fact:
- White House
- Senate
- House
- Scotus
- OMB (to the hilt)
- Every regulatory agency

They're in command. It's on them.

OBrienSci @obriensci.bsky.social · 7d

I do not understand why they cannot get the headlines right.

Just follow the gop playbook!

“Repubs control it all! The shutdown is on them!”

As nauseum.

Don’t lead with the nuance.

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Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 8d

crazy, how could he get an idea like that www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24p...

KAVANAUGH, J., concurring In any event, the balance of harms and equities in this case tips in favor of the Government. The interests of individuals who are illegally in the country in avoiding being stopped by law enforcement for questioning is ultimately an interest in evading the law. That is not an
especially weighty legal interest.

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Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 9d

I listened and it was one of the most chilling conversations I’ve ever heard.

Scott Horton @robertscotthorton.bsky.social · 10d

Larry Ellison envisions a surveillance state in which techbros rule. '“Citizens will be on their best behavior, because we’re constantly recording and reporting everything that is going on,” Ellison said in an hour-long Q&A during Oracle’s Financial Analyst Meeting last week.'

Larry Ellison predicts rise of the modern surveillance state where ‘citizens will be on their best behavior’ | Fortune

Oracle's Larry Ellison believes citizens and police alike will be under constant surveillance of each other.

fortune.com

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

Public assets must be controlled by, and in the public's interest - through democratically elected officials charged with overseeing those assets. If this turns out to be a massive failure, by whatever measures, the local board must have authority to access/control their facilities.

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

and: nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

The Business of Charter Schooling: Understanding the Policies that Charter Operators Use for Financial Benefit

This research brief details some of the prominent ways that individuals, companies, and organizations secure financial gain and generate profit by controlling and running charter schools. To illustrat...

nepc.colorado.edu

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

For example: www.epi.org/publication/...

Exploring the consequences of charter school expansion in U.S. cities

Some communities look at claims of miraculous proficiency rates or heed reports of long waiting lists for charter schools and conclude that chartering is the way to go. But if the broad, long-term pol...

www.epi.org

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

My bigger concern - and more on this later - is whether the deal struck with the state of FL will compromise taxpayer control (and even ownership) over the land and buildings that have been paid for by and maintained at the expense of Miami Dade taxpayers. I've written much on these issues.

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

Success Academies in NY generally avoid the type of population they'd likely be expected to serve in Miami. Sure, NYC is a multicultural, multilingual city. But SA doesn't serve that (setting aside their method/approach). Even in NYC, they continue to skim (or shed) to produce their results.

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

And racial composition:

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

So - Success Academies is making a deal to open up shop in Florida - starting in Miami. Here are a few stats on SA schools in NYC:

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The New Republic @newrepublic.com · 12d

As Trump's White House threatens more mass firings of the federal workforce, it's simultaneously focused on building 90,000 sq. ft. ballroom straight out of the Gilded Age.

He’s more concerned with projecting opulence and pomp than he is about governing. trib.al/jio280D

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Katie Phang @katiephang.bsky.social · 12d

Shocking new reporting from the Miami Herald: hundreds of detainees MISSING after being detained at Alligator Alcatraz.

I’ve got the latest, incl. the appeals court ruling that makes no sense & the financial blackhole DeSantis has put FL in while chasing Trump’s love.

youtu.be/5hGJuIgIzYw?...

Trump Faces MAJOR DISASTER as Detainees DISAPPEAR

YouTube video by Katie Phang

youtu.be

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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 12d

From MDRC report. They blatantly violating the spirit and letter of charter lottery laws, as Pondiscio also reports on in his book.

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

In other words - the presumptive need for Success Academies in this marketplace - is built on an entirely false narrative, which should surprise no one.

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

Still, Florida school districts perform better than expected given how much they've been squeezed over time - and Miami-Dade in particular is an efficient producer of outcomes (note - this is what real analysis of efficiency looks like!):

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

Per pupil spending - even with additional local effort - is lower now than in 1993 in Miami-Dade

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

Some context - In general, FL schools have suffered relatively inadequate funding - and have seen state support and state effort decline for decades:

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Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

Public assets must be controlled by, and in the public's interest - through democratically elected officials charged with overseeing those assets. If this turns out to be a massive failure, by whatever measures, the local board must have authority to access/control their facilities.

1 2

Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

and: nepc.colorado.edu/publication/...

The Business of Charter Schooling: Understanding the Policies that Charter Operators Use for Financial Benefit

This research brief details some of the prominent ways that individuals, companies, and organizations secure financial gain and generate profit by controlling and running charter schools. To illustrat...

nepc.colorado.edu

1 2

Bruce D. Baker @schoolfinance101.bsky.social · 12d

For example: www.epi.org/publication/...

Exploring the consequences of charter school expansion in U.S. cities

Some communities look at claims of miraculous proficiency rates or heed reports of long waiting lists for charter schools and conclude that chartering is the way to go. But if the broad, long-term pol...

www.epi.org

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