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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 12m

And after unleashing all the death and suffering that less than 1% of the budget used to keep in check, the deficit will still go up thanks to tax cuts for rich people

Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns

Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 2h

The elimination of USAID is a moral atrocity and all involved made a choice to enable, and then lie about, ending the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

MAE SOT, Thailand (AP) - Mohammed Taher clutched the lifeless body of his 2-year-old son and wept. Ever since his family's food rations stopped arriving at their internment camp in Myanmar in April, the father had watched helplessly as his once-vibrant baby boy weakened, suffering from diarrhea and begging for food.
On May 21, exactly two weeks after Taher's little boy died, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat before Congress and declared: "No one has died" because of his government's decision to gut its foreign aid program. Rubio also insisted: "No children are dying on my watch."
That, Taher says, "is a lie."

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Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns

Melanie D’Arrigo @darrigomelanie.bsky.social · 16h

I feel like this photo of masked, armed men pepper spraying a pastor protecting his community is going to be a defining picture of this moment in America for a long, long time.

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Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns

Archie Hall @archiehall.bsky.social · 19h

For the first time in about 70 years, net immigration to America could be zero. Beneath the noise of tariff and budget fights, migration may well be the biggest economic story of 2025.

My latest for @economist.com: Welcome to Zero Migration America

Link: www.economist.com/finance-and...

🧵 below

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Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 20h

Soybean Farmer: So now I've got a tariff war that's killing my market. I don't have any money from grain we're sending to other countries for USAID. I mean, I've got a compound problem. I don't know how you plan for next year because we don't know where we're at.

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 22h

Selling a small share of the IMF's gold offers a win-win solution.

Developed countries have been looking to shift international financing burdens to other sources.

Developing countries are struggling with major debt burdens and the need to fill gaps left by aid cuts.

Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns

Olivia Messer @oliviamesser.bsky.social · 1d

I kind of can’t believe this Bari Weiss quote is even real, and yet www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

“I know that there are some people in this room who don’t believe that my marriage should have been legal … and that’s ok. Because we’re all Americans who want lower taxes.”

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 1d

In the 50s and 60s the president sent in the National Guard against states' will to ensure black kids could attend school.

In 2025 the president is sending in the National Guard against states' will to...make sure unidentified masked men have free rein to kidnap DoorDash drivers?

Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 3d

Tbh I think too much of the bashing of the Argentina bailout is echoing zero-sum nativism.

The problem isn’t that the US is supporting another country. It’s that Trump tells the rest of the world to go fuck themselves except when it’s his right-wing buddy who’s about to lose an election

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 3d

But if they were happy to do the voluntary measures, then how do you explain them ditching them?

As Trump & co have set a different level than they volunteered, they snapped into place. Seems like the state's stick can lead when it wants to - why follow private sector's lead in setting the level?

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 3d

Nor was it the result of some inescapable business logic.

They were profit-seeking actors in a market shaped by the state

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 3d

One lesson we should take from the death of ESG is that corporations will bend to the state's will.

Voluntary initiatives lacked staying power bc they weren't based on any sincere commitment to sustainability. They just followed the political winds
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Banking industry’s net zero alliance shuts down amid faltering climate commitments

NZBA had nearly 150 members but banks began leaving when Trump was re-elected on promise to ‘drill, baby, drill’

www.theguardian.com

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 3d

An essay with so much to say on the Democratic Party and political strategy more broadly

Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 4d

Absolutely true that China has played that role, but that is shifting, both at home and (as shown below) abroad

Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns

Yael Schacher @yaelschacher.bsky.social · 4d

Sigh. There’s no right way to come to the US as a refugee.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/03/u...

Trump Administration Is Said to Plan to Cut Refugee Admissions to a Record Low

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Tim Hirschel-Burns

Scott W. Stern @scottwstern.bsky.social · 4d

This is a massive story that the U.S. press is almost entirely ignoring.

A week ago, union dockworkers warned this would happen: “If we lose contact with the boats, even for twenty minutes, we’ll shut down all of Europe.”

www.politico.eu/article/ital...

Mass protests and strikes for Gaza bring Italy to a standstill

Roads and ports were blocked and schools closed after unions called for general strike over Israel’s war on Gaza.

www.politico.eu

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 4d

A problem I think about a lot: our world is deeply interconnected, but our worldviews are missing most of the world
timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/the-four-p...

Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 4d

I would caveat that the IMF is still a mess of contradictions, and Scott Bessent has been open that he would like to take it back to the 1980s, but yes on an issue like industrial policy they do seem to see that they times have changed

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 5d

Full paper here (it says coming soon but the industrial policy chapter is available) www.imf.org/en/Publicati...

Coming Soon: World Economic Outlook, October 2025

The World Economic Outlook (WEO) is a survey of prospects and policies by the IMF staff, usually published twice a year, with updates in between. It presents analyses and projections of the world econ...

www.imf.org

Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 5d

To emphasize what's going on here, the IMF (traditionally the global lynchpin of neoliberal economic policy) just released a chapter of the World Economic Outlook (its flagship publication) saying that industrial policy (proactive government intervention to reshape the economy) is often GOOD

Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 5d

The IMF is industrial policy-curious now

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 5d

The IMF is industrial policy-curious now

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 5d

I'm working on this in various non-Bluesky fora where I get into technical details, but for starters:

-The IMF has sold gold before
-It wouldn't drive down gold prices
-Gold is at record prices which is why the IMF must act now
-There are existing IMF trusts ready to support developing countries

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 5d

An idea that seems crazy but is true: the IMF is sitting on an enormous pile of gold that it doesn't use.

Selling just 10% of its gold would generate funds equal to ALL global aid cuts in 2025.

The IMF Annual Meetings are just around the corner—NOW is the time to push for gold sales!

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Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 5d

A few years ago I tried to have my best friend from Benin come to visit for two weeks.

The US embassy rejected him within thirty seconds, even though we had a team of documents showing I would cover the costs and he would return home.

Only after a congresswoman intervened twice did he get a visa

Tim Hirschel-Burns @timhirschelburns.bsky.social · 5d

Delivering this message that it is nearly impossible for them to come to my country is particularly hard to do when we both know I can easily enter and exit their country whenever I would like

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