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Jackson Moore-Otto

@jmooreotto.bsky.social
566 followers 330 following 89 posts

Transpo policy ‪@publicenterprise.bsky.social‬ , also fighting for abundant housing + transit in MA. Anti-cynicism.

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Reposted by Jackson Moore-Otto
Will Poff-Webster @willpoffwebster.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
We wrote the Transit Abundance Playbook because transit costs 3x more to build in the US than in peer countries. We've now added new artwork with beautiful collages by Emma Steinhobel. Check it out at ifp.org/cheaper-transit.
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Bikepedantic @pedantic.bike · 07/10/2026
"Commute times dropped by as much as 23 percent because [catenary] electric trains accelerate so much faster" Performance gains from electrifying trains too often get second billing. We should ensure that battery trains can reliably deliver similar improvements to catenary.
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Jonathan Cohn @jonathancohn.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Terrible for the film industry to be owned by the Saudi government. What a joke the FCC is. apnews.com/article/para...
apnews.com
FCC grants Paramount's indirect ownership request for Gulf funds in Warner Bros. Discovery buyout
As Paramount looks to take over Warner Bros. Discovery, it’s racked up billions of dollars in financial backing from three Gulf countries.
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Reed Schwartz @reed-schwartz.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Permitting hurdles (let alone executive cancellations) asymmetrically hurt clean energy - it's extremely good news for ratepayers + for the climate that the Senate has come up with a major reform package.
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Nolan Hicks @ndhapple.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
We've got a second opening to join the team designing, bidding and building the trains and buses that move millions. We're looking for someone who loves data and can mine datasets with hundreds of millions of rows and extract meaning from them. AND… 1/2 — careers.mta.org/jobs/1828831...
careers.mta.org
Associate, Rolling Stock Strategy & Analysis in New York, New York, United States
Associate, Rolling Stock Strategy & Analysis in New York, New York, United States
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Jim Aloisi @jimaloisi.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
In response to reporting from #mapoli's Katie Lannan: let's be clear, there is no "new way to fund" a gas tax giveaway. All the governor is doing in her proposal is taking much-needed resources away from worthy transportation needs. There is nothing "net new" about this.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 17/09/2026
New report: "when done right, new homes are a force multiplier: they lower housing, transportation, and energy costs; strengthen resilience and insurance markets; improve state and local fiscal health; protect open and working lands; increase grid reliability; and reduce emissions."
housingmultiplier.org
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Hunter Owens @hunterowens.net · 15/09/2026
presented without comment iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1...
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Amelia Malpas @malpas.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Very cool to have my research on progressive insurgent candidates cited in The Economist. TL;DR: there's more progressives who should enter Congress after the November elections than the last several www.economist.com/united-state...
economist.com
How far left will Democrats go?
Its base is almost as mad at their leaders as they are at the president
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Jake Anbinder @jakeanbinder.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
The Power Broker: this is an intricate portrayal of one man's mastery of power and bureaucracy reader: wow, sounds great TPB: he remade the cityscape in his image and forever affected the way we live reader: amazing, let's go TPB: ok, so the key thing to start with is, he was not circumcised
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Jesse Orr @jessezorr.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Going to Europe now I am like “Wow so many tower cranes for mid-sized construction,” “omg look at this garbage collection” and “Huh so these are the famed exterior blinds you can control from the inside.”
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Californians for Electric Rail @calelectricrail.org · 04/09/2026
You often hear that if only CAHSR had let the French take over, it would be built by now. They're on the team now, but what did SNCF actually say back in 2010? We did a deep dive into the French HSR operator's original proposal to set the record straight. 🧵 calelectricrail.org/the-true-sto...
Selected Co-development team
from June 1 CAHSR CEO report. Teams include SNCF Voyageurs, Jacobs, CDPQ Infra, Systra...
Team capabilities: Global infrastructure investment, high-speed rail development, rail systems integration, passenger rail operations, ridership and revenue strategy, commercial management, public-private partnership strategy
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 03/09/2026
Convincing young people that America is poor & no one can afford anything & everyone is living paycheck to paycheck & their economic future is doomed ... IS NOT GOING TO LEAD TO MORE PROGRESSIVE POLICY. People who feel anxious & under threat do not respond with openness & generosity! Look it up!
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Adam Keiper @adamkeiper.com · 31/08/2026
American democratic socialists often explain their views by analogies to (1) FDR’s New Deal and (2) Scandinavia. @joshuamzeitz.bsky.social digs into both of those analogies here: www.thebulwark.com/p/the-dsa-an...
thebulwark.com
The DSA and the Real Lessons of Scandinavian ‘Socialism’
Today’s American socialists love to namedrop the Nordic model—but they don’t mention that it works because of capitalism and broad-based taxes.
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David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Unreal www.nytimes.com/2026/08/31/u...
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Jonathan Ladd @jonathanmladd.com · 30/08/2026
On top of everything, this is why you study social science. Nations are in the circumstances they are in because of some combination of political institutions, physical capital, education (human capital), social norms and institutions (social capital), and natural resources.
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Sky Marchini @sky.skymarchini.net · 29/08/2026
greenbrier (manufactures ~45% of the cargo railcars in the US) made $327.5M in profit on $2,991.2M in revenue selling railcars [~10%], and $160.6M in profit on $249.0M in revenue financing those railcars [~65%]. manufacturing is a low margin business!
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Isaiah Bishop @isaiahbishop.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Most manufacturing outside of electronics and pharma makes like no gross margin. in textiles its 2%, food 5%, motor vehicles 5%. The idea that like the problem here is distribution of profits is pretty wild
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Robert Orthman @robertorthman.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
The Boston Globe editorial board would do well to endorse candidates earlier in races. They’re dropping endorsements close to Election Day, as if a significant number of people haven’t already voted early and by mail by then. And leaving no time for candidates to get out mailers feat the endorsement
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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Have you seen any reporting on how solar power generation in the USA is 5 times higher than it was in 2020 in mainstream outlets? If not, why do you think this is not being widely covered the same way other large technological changes are?
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Jeff Kaufman @jefftk.com · 24/08/2026
I'm voting for Burhan Azeem for State Senate, and if you're in Somerville, Medford, or parts of Cambridge and Winchester I think he's the best candidate I've had the opportunity to vote for on housing, transit, and AI.
jefftk.com
Endorsing Burhan Azeem for State Senate
For the last twenty years I haven't paid much attention to my State Senate race: Pat Jehlen hasn't had a close race since she won the seat in 2005. I think she's done a lot of good work: while allocat...
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Alex Armlovich @aarmlovi.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
New AGF blog: Transit-Oriented Development is a surprisingly underrated way to end America’s housing problems Physically realistic capacity near rail alone is >30M homes. Financially plausible capacity is ~6M to 13M. TOD is not just a boutique or niche idea! open.substack.com/pub/abundanc...
open.substack.com
Transit-Oriented Development is a surprisingly underrated path to ending America’s housing problems
America’s rail systems are still recovering from 2020, and robot cars are coming. Legalize apartments first.
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Zack Beauchamp @zackbeauchamp.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Perfect summation of the antiwoke worldview: trying to destroy democracy is bad, but not nearly as bad as sitting through an HR training
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"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
In my opinion Powder and Artillery are the most efficacious, Sure, and infallibly conciliatory Measures We can adopt. - John Adams (and also Volodymyr Zelenskyy, probably).
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advait @advaitarun.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
CARAVANSERAI VOLUME 2 ISSUE 11: What’s going to happen to MAHA? Our writers are skeptical it achieves anything positive—but its populism is here to stay. caravanseraiforum.substack.com/p/maha-movem...
caravanseraiforum.substack.com
Health is clearly having some kind of moment.
How will the MAHA movement—its leaders, its supporters, and their paranoia—shape US politics from here on out?
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Chirag Lala @cthelala.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
New report from @jmooreotto.bsky.social on using RRIF and TIFIA to provide a stable source of capital funding for rail electrification and automation projects! Shifting off discretionary grants is one step towards helping agencies build long-term capacity. publicenterprise.org/report/the-t...
publicenterprise.org
The Transit Infrastructure Lottery
Read the full report here. Executive summary Federal transportation investment in the United States suffers from both a quantity problem and a quality problem. The quantity problem is much-d...
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Paul Williams @pewilliams.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
I am looking for the nation's foremost modular housing respecters. We need someone to lead our modular consortium in the northeast, in collaboration with state housing finance agencies, to scale up modular across the region. If that's you or someone you know: publicenterprise.org/careers/depu...
publicenterprise.org
Deputy Director, Offsite & Modular Housing
Deputy Director, Offsite & Modular Housing Job Type: Full-Time, RemoteDivision: HousingReports to: Director of Housing Compensation: $105-$120,000; commensurate with experience Description Th...
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 12/07/2026
@lanefab.com identifies three things needed to make this work: accommodative zoning, single-stair reform, and elevator cost reform. Great article!
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dereksagehorn.bsky.social @dereksagehorn.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
I realize writers aren’t responsible for headlines, but describing California’s condo laws as “bureaucracy” is particularly wrong. Instead of civil servants protecting home buyer deposits and ensuring quality construction, we’ve outsourced the work to plaintiffs attorneys.
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Chirag Lala @cthelala.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
The goal here is to encourage agencies to pick the right projects and staff up and establish project pipelines on the basis of readily available federal loan capital, rather than discretionary grants. Upside? We end zero-sum competition between modes and even projects.
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Chirag Lala @cthelala.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
DOE-style loans to any transit projects meeting priority criteria, which follow best practices on procurement, and have a case for payback should be possible. Would take eminently doable changes to RRIF and TIFIA, existing federal credit programs + a DOE style capacity buildup in the federal gov.
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Chirag Lala @cthelala.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
My colleague @jmooreotto.bsky.social is in @ifp.bsky.social’s Transit Cost Playbook. He argues for replacing discretionary grant financing for transit projects with federal loans! The current regime shreds state planning capacity due to intermittent and capricious funding. ifp.org/loans-can-st...
ifp.org
Loans Can Stabilize Transit Funding | IFP
Consistent and predictable funding builds state capacity
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Want better transit for less money? It's possible!! Read all about it ifp.org/transit-abun...
ifp.org
The Transit Abundance Playbook | Institute for Progress
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dereksagehorn.bsky.social @dereksagehorn.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
A lot to like in this Transit Abundance Playbook. ifp.org/transit-abun...
ifp.org
The Transit Abundance Playbook | Institute for Progress
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Jim Aloisi @jimaloisi.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Great article from @jmooreotto.bsky.social on how to shore up transit funding: ifp.org/loans-can-st...
ifp.org
Loans Can Stabilize Transit Funding | IFP
Consistent and predictable funding builds state capacity
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Daryl Fairweather ⛅ @fairweatherphd.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
We love to see it! And read about it in the NYTimes: Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/11/u...
nytimes.com
These Young Politicians Want to Fix America’s Housing Problems
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Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · 02/06/2026
Here’s an idea for Zohran Mamdani to create more jobs in NYC: he could ask Julie Menin and City Council to relegalize the construction of new hotels, which Bill de Blasio banned citywide as a parting gift to the hotel workers union on his way out of office in 2021 www.nytimes.com/2026/06/02/n...
nytimes.com
Mamdani Is Under Pressure to Act Amid Slowing Job Growth in New York
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Lastly, a study on establishing a national infrastructure bank — to be carried out by the National Academies. The text contemplates a federally-charted, privately-funded bank; study scope includes review of international best practice and both debt and equity investments.
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Specifically for rail projects (not TOD, unless it’s on railroad property (?)), applicants can use Federal grant funds to pay credit risk costs
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
RRIF sees a new class of loan entirely: interest-only loans, maximum duration of 10 years, and restricted use (either re-financing RRIF loan or other project debt). Will dig more into this, but strikes me as promising for project sponsors nearing the end of a “traditional” RRIF loan.
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
The programs themselves see some changes, RRIF’s statutory cap would increase from $4=35 billion to $50 billion, and drayage vehicles (purchase or lease) are now eligible for TIFIA funding. Mininum project cost for TIFIA goes down to $10 million, from $15 million.
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Rehabilitation/conversion of existing office buildings to residential or mixed-use, and construction of new commercial buildings consistent with existing zoning on land disturbed for transportation use or adjacent thereto would both see NEPA categorical exclusions.
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
NEPA is another issue, and in particular can make necessary land acquisition more challenging. Both RRIF and TIFIA would see streamlining on land acquisition
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
For RRIF, there’s a new requirement for a public and “public "straightforward, scalable, and reasonable" fee structure and a new allowance for the Secretary to consider other metrics of applicant readiness, including the presence of non-Federal investments and non-BAB credit risk assesements.
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Closely tied to this is how an application is reviewed. For TIFIA, the Secretary of USDOT would be required accept a due diligence and underwriting analysis prepared by a qualified financial institution providing debt for a project as supplemental evidence of creditworthiness.
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Capacity at Build America Bureau has been a consistent bottleneck. This would authorize BAB to hire 20 positions outside normal civil service rules, at up to 150% of the Vice President's salary, to recruit finance and investment expertise.
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Jackson Moore-Otto @jmooreotto.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Some interesting bits of RRIF/TIFIA reform here, that would strengthen, streamline, and expand these high-potential programs (🧵) transportation.house.gov/news/documen...
transportation.house.gov
Press Releases | Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
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dereksagehorn.bsky.social @dereksagehorn.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
MPOs can use federal funding for preliminary design. I hope MPOs realize this means they can carry transit designers/engineers on payroll and not just procure consultants.
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Reed Schwartz @reed-schwartz.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Is the ROAD to Housing Act an anti-housing bill? More than it was in February, at least. @willpoffwebster.bsky.social and I explain the anti-institutional-investor provision, its many loopholes and unintended consequences, and how to fix it: ifp.org/road-section...
ifp.org
How Section 901 of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Reduces Housing Supply | IFP
An amendment can preserve ROAD's housing goals
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Steven Lucy @slucy.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
Enjoyed this video on some British autonomous bus trials (with safety drivers for now). Honestly could be transformational for bus service in high wage suburban areas (e.g. North America) www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJFD...
video freeze frame of a bus steering wheel with no hands on it.
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