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GibMetcalf.bsky.social

@gibmetcalf.bsky.social
1.1K followers 60 following 100 posts
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Let's be clear. Trump's impulsive war on Iran combined with tariffs and reckless tax cuts are creating an economic crisis for American families. Anyone buying a house, remortgaging, or financing a car just saw their costs go up.
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Steve Rattner @steverattner.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
What this means is that Trump has stolen an estimated $100mm from US taxpayers by avoiding the pending audit of his filed returns. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Blanche Strikes Deal With GOP Holdouts to Advance His Nomination
Holdout Republican senators are backing a deal with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to formally rescind an order creating an “anti-weaponization fund” that could have paid $1.8 billion to Preside...
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Why in God's name would any Senator (looking at you #Tillis and #Cornyn) believe anything promised by this administration - even if its in writing? Just kill the nomination, ok?
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Live Updates: Blanche Bows to Pressure From Republican Senators
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
It seems fitting to name a highway that leads into the empty desert after Trump as he leads our country into a desolate future.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
This is just ridiculous. Policy by snit.
whitehouse.gov
Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Additional Tariffs on Canada
DEFENDING AMERICAN WORKERS AND ENSURING FAIR TRADE: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed three Proclamations pursuant to Section 338 of the Tariff
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
mailchi.mp/econofact/oi...
mailchi.mp
EconoFact: Oil Prices, Inflation, and Energy Security
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 14/07/2026
We’ve opened the strait that was never closed, ceasing a ceasefire for a war that was never a war, stopping Iran from charging tolls because tolls are illegal, all so Trump can charge his *own* tolls because *his* tolls are legal. This will hurt affordability which is a hoax anyway
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
The #USMNT could show some class by declining to start Balogun to signal their disapproval of FIFA’s process foul. Then sub him in later once the point has been made.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
A timely history of economic thought piece on the eve of our 250th from Jeff Frankel.
prosyn.org
The Meaning of Limited Government—Then and Now
Jeffrey Frankel doesn’t see what Republicans see in the legacy of the laissez-faire principles articulated 250 years ago.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
My two cents on why suspending the gas tax is a bad idea.
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Steve Cicala @stevecicala.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
@gibmetcalf.bsky.social and @jasonbordoff.bsky.social proposed something similar in 2009. newrepublic.com/article/4688...
newrepublic.com
Breaking The Boom-bust Oil Cycle
Jason E. Bordoff is Policy Director of the Brookings Institution's Hamilton Project and Gilbert E. Metcalf is Professor of Economics at Tufts University. Gas is cheap again, and that's a mixed blessi...
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Time to pull this old post out. A federal gas tax holiday is a hollow gesture. Saves - at most - 18 cents. That assumes the oil companies don't pocket it but pass it on. econofact.org/should-we-su...
econofact.org
Should We Suspend Gas Taxes to Counter High Oil Prices? | Econofact
The price of gasoline has spiked since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Politicians have been quick to call for a temporary suspension of gas excise taxes. But is this good policy?
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 30/04/2026
Wonder what the impact of Trump's Iran Fiasco will have on heating oil cost's this coming winter? Brent Nov. 26 prices are up 40 percent since the beginning of February. Markets are finally beginning to figure out that there could be long-term impacts of this ill-conceived venture.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Economists have long taught that cartels are hard to sustain. OPEC has struggled over the years with cheating and over-production. But this is the first explicit breach, brought about by political differences and leadership struggles w/in OPEC. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/28/w...
nytimes.com
United Arab Emirates Says It Will Leave OPEC in Blow to Oil Cartel
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Read @jvl.bsky.social on a subtler cost of Trump's Iran War: the US's ability to borrow on the cheap "If petrodollar system were to change, then America’s ability to finance debt as cheaply as we do would be imperiled. And so our ability to sustain Social Security & Medicare would be imperiled, too"
thebulwark.com
The Iran War Is Coming for Your Social Security
A story about petrodollars, the gold standard, and the greatest trick Uncle Sam ever played.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
Boy, if it was ever a time for Congress to step up and assert their authority, now is the time. A president elected by less than a majority of voters is single-handedly destroying the reputation of the United States, ...
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Another way to see the anomalous growth in V.'s proven reserves is in this video. Crank the speed up for a cool visual:
youtu.be
World Proven CRUDE OIL reserve 1960 2025
YouTube video by Stats Media
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 03/02/2026
Why do analysts keep claiming that Venezuela has the greatest amount of proven oil reserves? Their reserves jumped in the mid-1980s when oil prices shot up, but they didn't decline as prices fell.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 13/10/2025
The Economics Nobel committee delivers a pretty clear rebuke to Trump's war on science and university research.
nobelprize.org
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025 was awarded "for having explained innovation-driven economic growth" with one half to Joel Mokyr "for having identified ...
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MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research @mitceepr.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
Additionally, Republican leaning districts, which overlap significantly with rural areas, see marked advantages compared to Democratic districts. These results highlight the potential for a VMT tax to address longstanding inequities in transportation funding
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
Well said, @govpritzker.illinois.gov
open.substack.com
Be Loud — For America
By Governor JB Pritzker
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 09/08/2025
Anyone looking for a short video in their Intro Econ course on international trade and tariffs? Show this and you'll have plenty of time left over to talk about the Red Sox.
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NBER @nber.org · 07/08/2025
An electric utility's email alert program appears to reduce peak demand and provides significant private savings to the utility. Social savings, however, are small, from @GibMetcalf.bsky.social www.nber.org/papers/w34089
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MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research @mitceepr.bsky.social · 17/06/2025
Check out this commentary by @kclausing.bsky.social @allanhsiao.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social Marilyn Pereboom, and @cwolfram.bsky.social that analyzes the Foreign Pollution Fee Act's potential impacts on several economic and environmental outcomes: ceepr.link/FPFA
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 13/06/2025
CBO estimate of the distributional impacts of the #OBBBA are out and it is not pretty. This is hugely regressive. And it aggravates our already worrying federal debt situation.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 31/05/2025
Whoa. Watch out for sec. 899 in this awful House bill.
on.ft.com
There’s a ticking time bomb in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
Investors are fretting about a clause that would penalise foreign holders of US assets
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 29/05/2025
Uh, oh. Be sure to wash your hands every time you refill your bird feeder.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
I hope the follow-up question was "Now that you know, will you vote to strip out that provision in the final bill?"
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 28/05/2025
The monthly @hillsdalecollege.bsky.social Imprimis publication never fails to amuse even if it generally goes in for right-wing fabulism at the expense of facts and rigor. The May issue was readable with an essay on tariffs by John Steele Gordon.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 23/05/2025
This should go without saying, but even if every person who voted for Trump supported his illegal, careless, and destructive actions, it is important to remember that A MAJORITY OF VOTERS VOTED AGAINST TRUMP.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
What a wimp.
nytimes.com
Trump’s New Position on the War in Ukraine: Not My Problem
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
What are the odds US counterespionage techs find all the bugs and assorted spyware installed in the Qatari "gift"?
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
You have to love this NYPost front page (c/o @pkrugman.bsky.social )
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Is it just me or are the recent market gyrations making you a bit dizzy?
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 21/04/2025
So the homeland security secretary had her passport, security badge and other belongings stolen at a restaurant? Is this the Keystone Kops or what?
nytimes.com
Kristi Noem’s Purse, With Security Badge and $3,000, Is Stolen
The homeland security secretary was dining at a Washington, D.C., restaurant. She also lost her passport and keys.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
I just love this quote from Lincoln about slavery: "When the storm shall be past, he shall find us still Americans; no less devoted to the continued Union and prosperity of the country than heretofore." Read the whole quote in the @hcrichardson.bsky.social piece. Very apropos.
open.substack.com
April 17, 2025
Today, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) posted a picture of himself with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whom the Trump administration says it sent to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador t...
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Want to imagine something scary? Stephen Moore as Fed Chair. Mad King Don is crazy enough to try it.
open.substack.com
Why You Should Fear a Trumpified Fed
Don’t give an abuser power that’s easy to abuse
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Barack Obama @barackobama.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Harvard has set an example for other higher-ed institutions - rejecting an unlawful and ham-handed attempt to stifle academic freedom, while taking steps to make sure students can benefit from an environment of intellectual inquiry, rigorous debate and mutual respect. Let’s hope others follow suit.
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Bill @bill-of-lefts.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Every single person in this room, other than press, deserves to face an international criminal tribunal.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
Let's be clear. This is an impeachable and indictable offense. Trump must be held to account, if not now, then as soon as possible. The tariff madness is sheer ignorance and will hurt our pocketbooks; but this is criminality and a human rights offense.
open.substack.com
'Out of our hands': The most dangerous lie in Trump’s deportation doctrine
The stalling—thinly disguised as deliberation—only reinforces the truth. The refusal is political.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Just shameful.
politico.com
El Salvador won’t return wrongly deported Maryland man
Attorney General Pam Bondi, sitting near Trump, said it is up to El Salvador's leaders to decide if they want to return him.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Well said, Dan.
open.substack.com
Marco Rubio Lied
Let's dissect the Secretary of State's lies about Tufts graduate student Rümeysa Öztürk -- and the cost of those lies.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Kudos to Harvard for its principled response. Proud to be an alum. view.hu.harvard.edu?qs=351b45ebf...
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
The CDC is on top of this, right?
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
thanks to @pkrugman.bsky.social for pointing this out.
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Justin Wolfers @justinwolfers.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
This is such an important point that I've updated my chart, just for @jasonfurman.bsky.social
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Today, the markets saw through the smoke pumped out by Mad King Donald's minions yesterday as MKD blinked and caved.
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Shameful
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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
JFC. WE ARE STILL WORSE OFF. We still have *at least* 10% global tariffs. Businesses can’t make decisions, as they don’t know what tariffs will be 90 days from now I usually say Trump is great at repackaging the status quo as victory but this is significantly worse than pre-Liberation Day status quo
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GibMetcalf.bsky.social @gibmetcalf.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
I had to move the horizontal axis down. I hadn't expected to see losses exceeding 15 percent since Inauguration Day. My mistake.
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