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Cullen Hendrix

@cullenhendrix.bsky.social
5.8K followers 419 following 1.3K posts

Senior Fellow at Peterson Institute. Sustainability, security, and political economy. Heart masquerading as head since 1977. You may not believe in climate change, but your insurance company does.

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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 14h
Something tells me this isn't the guy to get to the bottom of the Cornell 7 rape allegations:
at which Kotlikoff delivered the opening remarks. Following the debate, on the walk from Goldwin Smith Hall to the parking lot at Day Hall, Kotlikoff was questioned by a small group of Students for a Democratic Cornell (SDC) members who asked him about freedom of speech and the school's Expressive Activity Policy, which imposes significant limitations on students' ability to protest,[17] and expressed concerns about suspensions of student demonstrators. Although Kotlikoff largely did not answer, the students continued questioning him as he entered his car. Kotlikoff accelerated his vehicle into one student and, after hitting him, turned and rolled over another student's foot before driving away.[18][19] In a later university statement emailed to students, faculty, and staff, Kotlikoff claimed that students were "banging on [the car's] windows" and "shouting".[20] Video evidence of the incident published by the Cornell Daily Sun showed that both of these claims were false.[21][19] The student who's foot had been run over said he had been too fearful of retaliation to press charges "considering Michael Kotlikoff is the boss of CUPD". SDC later told the Cornell Daily Sun that "there was no attempt to intimidate Kotlikoff, physically or verbally and students consistently remained a safe distance away from him.”
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 20h
I spoke with Eduardo Porter of @theguardian.com about the increasing role of the state in the economy under Trump. Socialism comes in many flavors, and for all the talk of economic freedom socialism is increasing under Trump 2.0.
theguardian.com
Republicans say they hate communists. So why do they like Donald Trump?
Trump supporters may be surprised to learn the state takeover of means of production is not driven by the left
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Man, I'd take that setup right now!
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Maybe, but the whole point about extreme polarization is the increasingly thin sliver of people who meet those criteria.
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Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 03/10/2026
US tariffs are taxes on Americans. They’re not taxes “on China” or “on Canada”. They’re taxes on Americans who buy anything with any ingredient made abroad, or sell anything to people who do—that is, taxes on all Americans.
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Ray Pride @raypride.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
TRUMP TAKE MUSIC
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This + all the concern about Chinese connected vehicles seems like it calls out for stronger regulation of vehicle spyware. Instead we accept commercial surveillance and stand on national security to keep lower-cost Chinese vehicles at bay.
jalopnik.com
Your Car Is Probably Spreading Your Info To Advertisers And Other Third Parties Without Your Knowledge Or Consent: Study - Jalopnik
A study by Northeastern University in collaboration with Consumer Reports found that late-model cars are contantly sending information about you.
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Matt @mattmurph24.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
White supremacists hate the arts.
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Chuck Grassley's goat @chuckgoat.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
trump take music.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
For sure. US dominates higher end market, so think of foreign starter instruments as the fertilizer for the US industry.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The economics just don't work for starter instruments schools can afford. Automation might close the gap - but then what's the point if jobs are the ultimate goal?
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JoeCGiles @joecgiles.bsky.social · 07/11/2024
At least when dinosaurs went extinct it wasn't a handful of greedy dinosaurs that made it happen.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Mostly because the materials differentials are smaller than wage differentials and perceptions of worker quality - Made in USA means something. I play Ludwig, Zildjian, and DW pedals. All MUSA. I'm strongly pro US music instrument makers. One reason I want more beginners!
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Memphis Drum Shop? I love their "this is the cymbal" recordings
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Yep, though I think that's operating also through input costs - but it's been wild the inflation across the class.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Mine too. Meet you halfway at 500 milli?
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Small price for a child finding their passion - or themselves. Something tells me a social worker would take marching band seven days a week and twice on Sunday over twiddling thumbs with nothing but hormones and time on hands.
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Larry Culpepper, Esq. @idogcapital.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This is actually my billionaire dream. To run a foundation that exists to benefit and support K-12/collegiate music & marching bands. The Arts are always a casualty of policy, in a bipartisan way. They really do need our support. Kids who do the Arts are smarter kids.
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Larry Culpepper, Esq. @idogcapital.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The amount of clarinets and trumpets my family went through in middle and high school before settling into our more professional instruments would shock you. Kids are kids, breaking instruments is part of the process of learning instruments.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
And offshored one of their plants while stanning for tariffs and US manufacturing, too.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
This is what it's increasingly coming to. Echoes the American car fleet: unattainable new prices means a nation increasingly jalopy-fied.
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Joel Phillip Friedman @joelfriedman.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
As a professional composer I would not be where I am without school music programs and access to affordable starter instruments. Pain infliction for the sake of inflicting pain.
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Jenai Huff @jenaihuff.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
😭
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Kids are tough on instruments, like a lot of other things!
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Steve Schwinghamer🇨🇦 @sschwinghamer.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
another bit of autovandalism unfolding in America
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Vote GOP or Ghengis Khan wins.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Of which there are many.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Instruments are particularly sensitive to economic uncertainty - typically wants, not needs. And if you don't ever start you never progress to wanting pro-grade instruments made in USA. It's the seed corn of US instrument industry.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
💯 I would not be who I am without school music in ways that have nothing to do with music.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
School music programs are getting absolutely bodied by tariffs, per @nytimes.com: www.nytimes.com/2026/10/02/b...
The effective tariff rate on instruments in June was about 13 percent, said Cullen Hendrix, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. That was down from a peak of nearly 24 percent last September but more than twice as high as before Mr. Trump’s second term.
Band and orchestral instruments have been hit the hardest, he said. In the second quarter of this year, imports of instruments were down nearly 20 percent from the same period in 2024. Imports of orchestral string instruments, including violins, violas and cellos, dropped 50 percent. Brass instruments fell 43 percent.

“It’s hitting the horns, it’s hitting the strings, it’s hitting the percussion,” Mr. Hendrix said. “All of those things combined are kind of sapping the available pool of tools that we can provide these children to begin their journey.”
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Huzzah to Sydney Ember @nytimes.com for her piece on the impact of tariffs on musical instrument imports and music education. Yours truly is quoted; it's been a now three-year-long passion project for me. Glad she is bringing such a human trade story to the fore.
nytimes.com
Tariffs Are Making Instruments So Expensive, School Music Programs Are at Risk
When a single cello can cost $1,000 and a tuba $9,000, tariffs are straining meager band and orchestra budgets.
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Angie Nixon @angieforfl.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I don't wanna COUCH my words here: I know JD Vance, his eyeliner, and absent Ashley Moody are used to running away from people when things get tough because they care more about themselves and their billionaire buddies than the people they represent. But this is my home. /1
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Among the thinnest of possible silver linings in the Cornell rape case? A revisiting of the insanity of college campuses having their own in-house police departments with sworn officers answering to universities, not the wider community. This piece was written in 2018. This isn't a new phenomenon.
urban.org
Four ways private university police forces jeopardize public safety
After the shooting of Charles Thomas, universities should question whether private police forces make campuses and communities safer.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
New political economy same as the old political economy. Look up Fulgencio Bautista.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
These guys don't seem to know how anything works. Would he prefer an insurance pool of octogenarians with 100% utilization rates?
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A+, no notes.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 24/09/2026
Interesting. The Phillipines pivoted to the US, away from China, and now, under Trump, are beginning to regret it www.worldpoliticsreview.com/philippines-...
worldpoliticsreview.com
The Philippines Chose to Align with the U.S. Now It Regrets It
Despite Manila’s efforts, it is increasingly evident that Washington cannot be trusted to uphold its commitments.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Yes, this is bankability question distilled to its essence.
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Peterson Institute for International Economics @piie.com · 24/09/2026
NOW: @whitehouse.senate.gov speaks with @kclausing.bsky.social about the US debt & deficit outlook, the policy challenges ahead, & the implications of persistent fiscal imbalances. Watch live:
piie.com
Grappling with US fiscal deficits and debt: Understanding the implications at home and abroad
The Peterson Institute holds an in-depth conversation featuring perspectives from leading economists and a senior policymaker on one of the most consequential economic policy challenges facing the Uni...
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I think you and I see similar structural weaknesses/challenges: www.piie.com/publications...
piie.com
Strengthening Project Vault: The US plan to stockpile critical minerals
The United States depends heavily on imported critical minerals, including rare earth elements, needed for semiconductors, renewable energy, AI expansion, and defense systems. Because supply disruptio...
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Can I prod you to say more?
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Peterson Institute for International Economics @piie.com · 21/09/2026
The US taking a big step towards greater state ownership or control of the economy—a form of socialism—in 2025 is occurring under unified Republican domination of the US government. #PIIECharts
State control of the US economy, or socialism, expanded sharply in 2025 under a Republican White House and Congress
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
If you know the back story in this you know it is utter and complete cheap bullshit xenophobia. The Dept of Education should be deeply ashamed of themselves.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Also given the coterie of unbelievably compromised individuals playing major roles in the administration this is a bit rich.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Score another one for our team! PIIE West just getting stronger
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Can't vouch for the colleagues but the beautiful city and delicious taco claims check out.
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
That is remarkably accurate assessment.
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Peterson Institute for International Economics @piie.com · 16/09/2026
Gary Hufbauer explores historic examples of US involvement with oil in Mexico, hard minerals in Peru, copper in Chile, & more to illustrate how the Trump administration's quest for secure control over foreign minerals seems bound to fail.
piie.com
Trump's quest for control of critical minerals and oil abroad: History predicts failure
Through equity ownership and trade agreements, President Donald Trump has sought to control minerals extracted abroad. He appears to harbor two goals: first, ensure a guaranteed supply of the minerals...
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Cullen Hendrix @cullenhendrix.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Yep.
piie.com
You're already getting socialism—and Democratic Socialists have nothing to do with it
The election of New York mayor Zohran Mamdani and the surprising performance of Democratic Socialist or DSA-aligned candidates in Democratic primaries across the United States is reviving interest in ...
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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
🚨🚨
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