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David L. Ortega

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H-index: 29
Economics 31%
Agriculture 24%
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by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
The drop in international student arrivals into the US is pretty staggering.

Nearly 20% less students traveled to the US this August compared to last year.

🌏 24% drop in students from Asia

🌍 32% drop in students from Africa
upshot.nytimes.com
The Upshot @upshot.nytimes.com · 2d
The decline is occurring as the Trump administration has delayed visa processing, instituted travel bans or restrictions for 19 countries, threatened to deport international students for pro-Palestinian speech, and heightened the vetting of student visa applicants.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August
The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.
www.nytimes.com
1

Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Philip N. Cohen, David Darmofal

upshot.nytimes.com
The decline is occurring as the Trump administration has delayed visa processing, instituted travel bans or restrictions for 19 countries, threatened to deport international students for pro-Palestinian speech, and heightened the vetting of student visa applicants.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Nearly 20 Percent Fewer International Students Traveled to the U.S. in August
The data shows the steepest decline in August international student arrivals since the pandemic.
www.nytimes.com
3 12 26

Reposted by: David L. Ortega

willmasters.bsky.social
The tomato theory of everything

1/3
Winter is coming. So are tariff-induced price hikes on tomatoes and other produce. - The Boston Globe
A rise in produce prices could be a sign of higher costs to come as President Trump’s tariffs on imported food become more significant.
www.bostonglobe.com
1 3 7

by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
Farmers don’t want government payments, they’re looking for access to export markets, and our current trade policy is making that extremely difficult.

Also, four weeks is an eternity for soybean farmers.
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by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
💔
1

by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
As if high food prices weren’t enough, now even storing your groceries will cost more thanks to the #tariffs

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/27/r...
Home Builders, and Homeowners, Brace for Impact of Kitchen Tariffs
www.nytimes.com
1

by David L. Ortega — Reposted by: David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
The warning I wrote in my @newsweek.com op-ed last year is now playing out.

China, historically the largest buyer of U.S. soybeans, hasn’t purchased a single bushel from this year’s harvest.

Washington is once again talking about sending 💵 to farmers.

www.newsweek.com/american-agr...
American Agriculture Can't Afford Another Trade War with China
American agriculture stands at a crossroads. With our farmers still reeling from the financial turmoil of the past few years, the prospect of another economic conflict with China is untenable.
www.newsweek.com
2 7

Reposted by: David L. Ortega

mollyjongfast.bsky.social
Trump said he was going to make things cheeper, he did not
120 210 1.5K

Reposted by: David L. Ortega

blinfisher.bsky.social
Grocery prices are jumping up. I explain why in my @usatoday.com story with insights from @michiganstateu.bsky.social professor David Ortega and a Wells Fargo economist. www.usatoday.com/story/grocer...
Grocery prices are jumping up. We explain why.
The most recent Consumer Price Index for grocery prices showed the largest monthly increase in three years.
www.usatoday.com
4 4

by Silvia Secchi — Reposted by: David L. Ortega

profsecchi.bsky.social
This is, by other means, version 2.0 of the move of ERS to KC during trump1, which effectively set the agency back and reduced its portfolio particularly on env'l issues. Now they are gutting ERS because of its good work in showing evidence of structural inequities and poverty. A real disgrace.
dlortega.bsky.social
David L. Ortega @dlortega.bsky.social · 14d
🚨Update: Acting USDA ERS administrator among those placed on indefinite leave over the termination of the food insecurity/hunger survey.

This was reported by Agri-Pulse and has since been confirmed to me by an internal source.

www.agri-pulse.com/articles/234...
ERS administrator, others on leave over hunger survey cancellation
The Agriculture Department has placed a dozen Economic Research Service employees on leave, including the agency’s acting administrator, as it probes a leak connected with the cancellation of a househ...
www.agri-pulse.com
1 7 14

by David L. Ortega — Reposted by: Richard Waite, Silvia Secchi, Amy W. Ando

dlortega.bsky.social
🚨Update: Acting USDA ERS administrator among those placed on indefinite leave over the termination of the food insecurity/hunger survey.

This was reported by Agri-Pulse and has since been confirmed to me by an internal source.

www.agri-pulse.com/articles/234...
ERS administrator, others on leave over hunger survey cancellation
The Agriculture Department has placed a dozen Economic Research Service employees on leave, including the agency’s acting administrator, as it probes a leak connected with the cancellation of a househ...
www.agri-pulse.com
1 11 20

by Austan Goolsbee — Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Georg Weizsäcker

goolsbee.bsky.social
This morning, the @chicagofed introduced new labor market indicators that combine private sector data with official labor statistics to provide a real-time view of hiring, layoffs and other job separations, and an early forecast of the unemployment rate. www.chicagofed.org/research/dat....
Chicago Fed Labor Market Indicators: Latest Release - Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
www.chicagofed.org
3 26 79

by David L. Ortega — Reposted by: David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
I’m not that type of doctor, but just pointing out that Autism was recognized as an independent condition in 1943, and Tylenol was introduced (by prescription only) in 1955.
3 5

by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
USDA putting those working on the hunger survey on indefinite leave checks out… www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Exclusive | USDA Puts Food Researchers on Leave
The move comes days after the Trump administration abruptly canceled an annual Agriculture Department report that measures hunger in America.
www.wsj.com
1 1 3

by David L. Ortega — Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Virginia Sapiro

dlortega.bsky.social
Wait, it gets worse. The team of economists and researchers responsible for the USDA survey that measures food insecurity and hunger were put on indefinite paid leave today.

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Exclusive | USDA Puts Food Researchers on Leave
The move comes days after the Trump administration abruptly canceled an annual Agriculture Department report that measures hunger in America.
www.wsj.com
3 25 27

by Claudia Sahm — Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Katja Rietzler

claudia-sahm.bsky.social
Hunger is too scary to measure?
1 18 74

by David L. Ortega — Reposted by: Aaron Sojourner

dlortega.bsky.social
USDA just terminated the food insecurity survey. Read their press release and tell me this isn’t politically motivated.

www.usda.gov/about-usda/n...
www.usda.gov
12 22

by Justin Wolfers — Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Jonathan Portes, Kori Schake , and 7 more

justinwolfers.bsky.social
Serious scholars have examined what happens when we change the number of H1-B visas issued.

Cities that get more H1-B immigrants subsequently see the wages of natives *rise* substantially.

Skilled immigrants bring new ideas, fill labor shortages and make us all more productive.
37 550 1.6K

Reposted by: David L. Ortega

willmasters.bsky.social
The U.S. food security data to be cancelled by Trump's USDA has been of huge value but is often misunderstood -- and the WSJ piece breaking the news is exceptionally clear about what's at stake
Exclusive | Trump Administration Cancels Annual Hunger Survey
The government has been measuring food insecurity since the mid-1990s but now says the report has become “overly politicized.”
www.wsj.com
2 5

Reposted by: David L. Ortega

parkewilde.bsky.social
The federal government is canceling the leading national survey of household food insecurity and hunger in the United States, @wsj.com reported today. The Dec 2025 survey will be canceled, while the Oct 2025 report based on Dec 2024 data will be released as usual. (1/4)
WSJ headline: Trump Administration Cancels Annual Hunger Survey
2 9 10

by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
In August grocery prices registered their largest monthly increase in 3 years.

I spoke to my friends over at @cnn.com about how the tariffs, immigration crackdowns, and climate change are driving the cost of food higher 📈 #inflation
cnn.com
CNN @cnn.com · 18d
President Donald Trump pledged to bring down grocery costs. But his administration's policies are contributing to an acceleration in prices, food economists and companies say.
https://cnn.it/46Shxlp
1 2 7

Reposted by: David L. Ortega

cnn.com
President Donald Trump pledged to bring down grocery costs. But his administration's policies are contributing to an acceleration in prices, food economists and companies say.
https://cnn.it/46Shxlp
50 110 260

by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
"Grocery prices have become a hot-button political flash point over the past couple of years."
npr.org
NPR @npr.org · 19d
Groceries saw their biggest jump in nearly three years last month, a worrisome sign for inflation-weary shoppers. Tariffs are contributing to higher prices for imported staples like bananas and coffee.
Grocery prices have jumped up, and there's no relief in sight
Groceries saw their biggest jump in nearly three years last month, a worrisome sign for inflation-weary shoppers. Tariffs are contributing to higher prices for imported staples like bananas and coffee.
n.pr
2

Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Anna O. Law, Amy W. Ando , and 1 more

npr.org
Groceries saw their biggest jump in nearly three years last month, a worrisome sign for inflation-weary shoppers. Tariffs are contributing to higher prices for imported staples like bananas and coffee.
Grocery prices have jumped up, and there's no relief in sight
Groceries saw their biggest jump in nearly three years last month, a worrisome sign for inflation-weary shoppers. Tariffs are contributing to higher prices for imported staples like bananas and coffee.
n.pr
99 590 1.1K

by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
Taxing a morning drink without giving folks a say has been unpopular since 1773.

www.wsj.com/opinion/a-ta...
Opinion | A Tariff Lesson for Coffee Drinkers
A case study in how border taxes raise the daily cost of living.
www.wsj.com
1 6

Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Caroline Krafft, Aaron Sojourner

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
(Reuters) - The property tax authority in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said that Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook hasn’t broken rules for tax breaks on a home there that Cook declared her primary residence.

@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/no-...
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Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Richard Waite

usatoday.com
It’s been a tough year for Heath Donner’s family farm.

The challenge for corn and soybean producers like Donner is tied to recent years’ abundant harvests, which have driven down commodity prices. Meanwhile reports say that production costs remain near record highs.

Read more at: bit.ly/3JXdmNl
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by David L. Ortega

dlortega.bsky.social
Thank you @agbioworld.bsky.social! I’m honored and deeply humbled.
1

Reposted by: David L. Ortega, Ben H. Ansell, Richard S.J. Tol , and 24 more

fritschner.bsky.social
The mortgage fraud claim against Lisa Cook is false, per documents obtained by Reuters.

Bill Pulte's accusation, the sole pretext Trump used to fire her from the Fed, was that she claimed two homes as primary residence.

These docs show she did not.
www.reuters.com/world/us/fed...
Exclusive: Fed Governor Cook declared her Atlanta property as “vacation home,” documents show
A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve governor accused of mortgage fraud by the Trump administration, shows that Cook had declared the property as a “vacation home,” according to a document reviewed by Reuters.
www.reuters.com
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Reposted by: David L. Ortega

fortune.com
Foreign investors may bring tariff-related claims to arbitration, arguing U.S. tariffs may be in violation of some international investment treaties, experts tell Fortune. trib.al/6RAUHSW
Foreign investors in agriculture say U.S. tariffs could wipe them out—and they may test America in global court | Fortune
One lawyer says tariffs on low-margin agricultural businesses can “effectively destroy the ability of that business to function.”
trib.al
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