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Joseph Zeballos-Roig

@josephzeballos.bsky.social
2.3K followers 327 following 131 posts

Economics and business reporter | Contributing at MS NOW, Vox | Past: Semafor, Business Insider | Hablo español 🇵🇪 🌎 |

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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 23h
Have you received a $90 Medicare premium rebate or a $500 ACA refund check recently? If so, I’d love to talk to you for an MS NOW story! My DMs are open for getting in touch 📬
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 23h
Have you received a $90 Medicare premium rebate or a $500 ACA refund check recently? If so, I’d love to talk to you for an MS NOW story! My DMs are open for getting in touch 📬
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Sahil Kapur @sahilkapur.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
NEW: Social Security is a sleeper 2026 campaign issue. Senate candidates like Talarico (D-Texas), Turek (D-Iowa), El-Sayed (D-Mich.), Osborn (I-Neb.) are calling to lift the payroll tax cap to avoid a 22% benefit cut. The shortfall hits in 2032, or six years. www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...
nbcnews.com
Senate candidates run on raising Social Security taxes for higher incomes to prevent benefit cuts
Social Security is projected to dip into insolvency and force a 22% benefit cut in 2032, or less than six years, meaning the class of senators elected this year will have to address the issue.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
I don’t know which term is better here: “griftmaxxing” or “hypergrift” but either one captures the point bsky.app/profile/wsj....
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The dot-com bust called, they want their 30-year yield back
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dared traders to cross him when he declared, “I am the house now” to demonstrate his power to dictate terms in financial markets. Well, the house is getting a lot of egg on it. Latest for @ms.now on the bond market going haywire: www.ms.now/opinion/scot...
ms.now
Opinion | The U.S. bond market isn’t buying what Scott Bessent is selling
Joseph Zeballos-Roig: The instrument that the government uses to fund its own activities is going haywire — and the treasury secretary is powerless to stop it.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I wrote about the Republican jailbreak to endorse a diesel export ban, showcasing their increasing desperation to provide financial relief to voters ahead of November. Republicans are dusting off a Carter-era playbook that failed to achieve its economic goals www.ms.now/opinion/repu...
ms.now
Opinion | Republicans worried about the midterms are reaching for Jimmy Carter’s economic playbook
Joseph Zeballos-Roig: Some Republicans are falling back on a Carter-era idea that only deepened rock bottom for farmers.
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Hey, that's my question to Mike Johnson. Essentially, I wanted to know how Trump can fearmonger about communism when he is having US government have a stake in steel and AI chips and give out $5,000. Notice Speaker Johnson doesn't answer about public ownership. Just the $5,000 check.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
New: Trump’s new Fed chairman will be disappointing him with a quarter-point interest rate hike. Honeymoon’s over www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
ms.now
Opinion | Trump’s new Fed chairman is all but certain to disappoint him
Wall Street is counting on Kevin Warsh to disappoint the president – and the central bank’s credibility is on the line.
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
(NBC News) — It is now the least rewarding time to be a worker in the U.S. economy since the government started keeping track. @nbcnews.com www.nbcnews.com/business/eco...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Me in @ms.now on Venezuela 🇻🇪 “If the deal materializes, the U.S. ends up with a state-backed champion in the Venezuelan oil industry, and the Pentagon would add profit-maxing to its mission, putting it in the same league as Cuba’s military-run business conglomerate.” www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
ms.now
Opinion | Venezuela is becoming the 51st state in all but name
U.S. companies once dominated Venezuela’s oil industry. President Donald Trump seems intent on recreating that chapter.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
The urge to pick up Eduardo Galeano’s Open Veins of Latin America everytime Trump talks about commandeering a country’s natural resources bsky.app/profile/atru...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
Not even Silvio Berlusconi could conjure this up in his wildest dreams bsky.app/profile/chad...
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
See, this is what it’s about: not freeing the Cuban people from dictatorship, but looting the country with their pals.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Signing an interim peace deal at Versailles is *a choice* given it invokes a defeated empire forced into paying reparations to end WWI. It didn’t create lasting peace. The conditions were set for another destructive war. Will Congress ratify? Or reject as it did to Wilson? bsky.app/profile/atru...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Sen. Warren last fall when I asked about Musk becoming the 1st trillionaire: “People compare today to the excesses of the roaring '20s & Elon proves that is a gross understatement. It's time to start talking about Marie Antoinette. All the wealth flows to the top, and peasants are left with crumbs”
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
“I love the inflation” Once he connects that higher inflation usually calls for interest rate hikes at the Fed, I’ll bet he won’t love it as much bsky.app/profile/acyn...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
What GOP economist Doug Holtz-Eakin told me a year ago when I asked him to rate Bill Pulte’s job performance: “I have been underwhelmed by his performance as FHFA Director, unimpressed with his lack of leadership during an affordable housing crisis, and baffled by the rest of his vaudeville act”
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Now they’ll find a way to get Raul Castro on mortgage fraud bsky.app/profile/apne...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
“It turns out that would-be authoritarians don’t need to staff their regimes with ideological true believers.. They just need to figure out how to target their ideal labor pool: the frustrated and mediocre.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/18/w...
nytimes.com
Actually, Democracy Dies in H.R.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
Cassidy joins the bloc of GOP senators causing headaches for the White House on their way out. No more primaries to worry about. Collins, Murkowski, Tillis, McConnell, and soon Cornyn might join the list bsky.app/profile/ashl...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 19/05/2026
This is totally bananas but calling it that is an insult to banana republics bsky.app/profile/josh...
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Jake Lahut @jakelahut.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
I’ve seen others talk about it, but probably something we should talk about more in the industry is how the long term survival of your clips is very much not guaranteed anymore. You really have to vigilantly PDF the stuff you wanna keep (and I have not been good at this)
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
Trump on Cuba today: “It's a failed nation and we'll be talking about Cuba at the right time” For @msnowreports.bsky.social I wrote about Trump’s obsession with Cuba four months into an U.S.-enforced oil blockade that doesn’t have a clear endgame beyond regime change www.ms.now/news/news-an...
ms.now
The U.S. is picking a fight with Cuba. It’s not clear how it’s supposed to end
The Trump administration has not bothered to outline its strategy, plans or even demands.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Getting deja vu from four years ago when Biden similarly pitched suspending the federal gas tax in 2022 Republican Sen. John Thune at the time: "What the administration, of course, is coming up with is yet another gimmick, another Band-Aid" bsky.app/profile/theb...
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Ashley Murray @ashleymurray.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
King Charles III in historic speech to Congress cites ‘checks and balances’ on executive power My latest for @statesnewsroom.com: www.newsfromthestates.com/article/king...
newsfromthestates.com
King Charles III in historic speech to Congress cites ‘checks and balances’ on executive power
WASHINGTON — King Charles III did not name President Donald Trump Tuesday when he acknowledged before a joint session of Congress the transatlantic tension between the United States and the United Kin...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Sen. Tim Kaine to me on Trump’s oil blockade crippling Cuban hospitals and causing a reported spike of preventable deaths: “The US is culpable for them.. If you blockade people from getting energy, and then the hospitals can't run operations, those deaths are sort of on your shoulders”
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
New: The Iran War presents Trump with new opportunities to supercharge crony capitalism in the US, starting with the pending bailout (and even sale) of Spirit. The UAE has lucrative ties to Trump family. Now it’s first in line for financial support www.ms.now/news/news-an...
ms.now
Trump is using the Iran war to take more control over business
The president has already turned the federal government into a major shareholder.
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Jake Lahut @jakelahut.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Tulsi Gabbard has been told by the White House that she has until the midterms to pack up and leave, according to sources I've spoken to in recent weeks. sherwood.news/power/whos-n...
sherwood.news
Who’s next to leave the Trump admin following Chavez-DeRemer’s departure?
In the past month, top officials such as Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer...
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Peter Lucier @peterlucier.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
Well reported ticktock on yesterday from WSJ military planners scrambling, WH staff disturbed and confused, market makers dizzied, allies desperately searching for off-ramps (credited to "WSJ Staff", but WSJ reporters praising @verambergen.bsky.social specifically) www.wsj.com/world/middle...
wsj.com
The Day Trump’s Iran Threat Gripped the World
In posting that a whole civilization would die if no deal was struck, the president sparked a frantic global guessing game.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 08/04/2026
This amounts to Iran extracting payouts in exchange for safe passage thru a commercial waterway. Hard to separate this from Trump's freewheeling use of tariffs to coerce foreign governments into doing what he wants. The latter legitimized the former bsky.app/profile/carl...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 02/04/2026
New in LatAm: Spanish media reports Russia will send a second oil tanker to Cuba. It'll be another test in Trump's regime change campaign against Havana as it clings to power. Russian Energy Minister Tsiviliov: "We are not abandoning the Cubans" efe.com/mundo/2026-0...
efe.com
Rusia prepara un segundo envío de petróleo a Cuba ante la permisividad de EE.UU. - EFE
Rusia prepara un segundo envío de petróleo a Cuba tras la exitosa llegada del primero, que rompió con permiso de EE.UU.
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Ashley Murray @ashleymurray.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
I got hit with a surprise tariff. Now that they’re illegal, do I get a refund? @josephzeballos.bsky.social shares this interesting story of receiving a $45 tariff bill from FedEx: www.vox.com/policy/48293...
vox.com
I got hit with a surprise tariff. Now that they’re illegal, do I get a refund?
The saga for customers and companies is just beginning.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
New for @msnowreports.bsky.social : Oil was projected to trade at $60 per barrel this year. Now it’s on the verge of crossing into dreaded triple-digit territory for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. On the price shock about to land on the US economy www.ms.now/news/news-an...
ms.now
America can’t afford Trump’s war with Iran for long
The economy has already taken damage from inflation, tariffs and a government shutdown.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 19/02/2026
Trump’s actions in Venezuela resembled a “corporate hostile takeover:” A firm acquires its rival and swaps out the chief executive. The new owners hold off on its destruction with stability being the chief priority. New from me on the limits of replaying the approach in Cuba qz.com/trump-takeov...
qz.com
Trump's ‘corporate takeover’ of Venezuela spells trouble for Cuba
Trump could rerun his Venezuela playbook to force change on Havana. He shouldn’t expect similar results
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Jacob Bogage @jacobbogage.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Personal news — this is my last week at The Washington Post. My next destination is settled, and I’ll share more soon. Until then, subscribe to the newsletter for the right amount of Bogage in your life. And please keep supporting The Post.
jacobbogage.beehiiv.com
Personal news
I'm leaving The Washington Post.
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Jacob Bogage @jacobbogage.bsky.social · 08/02/2026
👀 What if I told you there was a hidden art gallery scattered across the country? What if I told you some of its treasures had vanished? What if I told you that I found them? A project three years in the making (🎁 gift link):
wapo.st
The disappearing art gallery in your post office
The U.S. Postal Service is home to thousands of historic works of art in post offices nationwide. Hundreds have been lost, sold or destroyed.
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Reposted by Joseph Zeballos-Roig
Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Today, the Washington Post laid off more than 300 people. If you think this is abt Jeff Bezos's concern that the paper losing money, you're wrong. So wrong that you should be disqualified from expressing opinions in public. Billionaires *like* losses. They *need* losses.
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Jake Lahut @jakelahut.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Republicans who have known Nancy Mace for years are increasingly worried about her. But why is she like this? A number of scoops and new details here, including her recently departed campaign chief going on the record to call for her to leave electoral politics altogether: nymag.com/intelligence...
nymag.com
Nancy Mace Is Not Okay
“Something’s broken. The motherboard’s fried. We’re short-circuiting somewhere.”
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
President Trump gathered with chief executives from U.S. and European oil companies on Friday to drum up private-sector cash for his plans to salvage Venezuela's devastated oil sector and exploit its reserves. They're not buying what he's selling so far qz.com/trump-venezu...
qz.com
ExxonMobil CEO calls Venezuela 'uninvestable'
The meeting was the latest chapter in Trump's open-ended intervention in Venezuela, a South American nation he has said he wants to control for years
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
Trump promised oil executives at Mar-a-Lago in 2024 that they would get a “deal” if they donated lavishly to his presidential campaign. They did. Almost 2 years later, it’s safe to say Venezuela wasn’t part of the deal they signed up for. New for Quartz on a surreal week: qz.com/trump-venezu...
qz.com
Trump and Big Oil aren’t on the same page about Venezuela
Neglect and mismanagement have left the Venezuelan oil sector in ruins. Restoring it would require huge influx of capital spending
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 07/01/2026
This amounts to either a day or two of US oil consumption depending on the final amount. What’s more significant is Trump will control up to $3 billion in oil revenue. Spoils of war. There’s nothing stopping him from shaking down the post-Maduro government for more bsky.app/profile/apne...
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MS NOW @ms.now · 05/01/2026
OPINION by @josephzeballos.bsky.social: “Already, Trump is making fresh threats that underscore the uncertainty of what’s next.” READ MORE: www.ms.now/opinion/vene...
ms.now
Opinion | Trump’s plan to "run" Venezuela for its oil is already facing problems
Regime change is the easy part. Restoring oil production amid chaos, corruption and nationalist resentment takes years — if it happens at all.
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Eric Michael Garcia @ericmgarcia.bsky.social · 05/01/2026
Bush strained to defend against accusations that the Iraq War was about oil. Today, President Donald Trump openly admits the U.S. is willing to carry out regime change in Venezuela to secure privileged access to the country’s oil reserves. Good @josephzeballos.bsky.social www.ms.now/opinion/vene...
ms.now
Opinion | Trump’s plan to "run" Venezuela for its oil is already facing problems
Regime change is the easy part. Restoring oil production amid chaos, corruption and nationalist resentment takes years — if it happens at all.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
Venezuelan opposition leader Machado just over an hour ago: “Today we are prepared to assert our mandate and take power.” Trump in news conference: “We’re going to run [Venezuela], essentially, until a proper transition can take place.”
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Filipe Campante @filipecampante.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
It sounds like the most deranged Latin American caricature of yankee imperialism come to life. It would be comical if it weren’t serious.
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 16/12/2025
New: Talked to Alex Bores, a NY assemblyman running for Congress in NY-12 and leading AI regulation effort in state. On pro-AI spending against him: “I take that as a badge of honor" On holding $250k fundraiser for Hochul while his AI bill is before her: "I'm a team player” qz.com/alex-bores-n...
qz.com
Meet the Democrat who wants universal basic income to soften the AI blow
Alex Bores is "bullish" on what AI can achieve. He's also the target of a $10 million campaign from a pro-AI group as he runs for Congress
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Press Freedom Center — National Press Club @pfc-npc.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
"When journalism is treated as a crime, press freedom is no longer guaranteed." Read NPC President @mikebalsamo.bsky.social's full statement on Jimmy Lai's conviction at the link: www.press.org/newsroom/nat...
press.org
National Press Club Statement on the Conviction of Jimmy Lai
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2025 — National Press Club President Mike Balsamo today issued the following statement on the conviction of Jimmy Lai: "The conviction of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong represents a conse...
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Joseph Zeballos-Roig @josephzeballos.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
This is the last thing domestic toy makers want to hear. They’ve already been hit by $1 billion in tariffs and plenty are grappling with a drop in sales. Some are laying off workers too. Now Trump is pushing austerity before Christmas qz.com/toy-tariff-s... bsky.app/profile/theb...
qz.com
U.S. toymakers suffer $1 billion tariff jolt before Christmas
Trump's Made-in-America dream isn't happening for toymakers. Small businesses could be hardest-hit
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