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Austin Clemens

@austinclemens2.bsky.social

Formerly Washington Center for Equitable Growth, now freelance visualizing the economy

1731 Posts844 Follower1351 Folgt
Corey Husak@chusak.bsky.social · yesterday

A really interesting way to re-frame the federal debt conversation. Instead of measuring debt as a stock to a flow (debt-to-GDP) measure it as a stock to a stock (debt-to-wealth) Wealth is less well-measured than GDP, but would be great to see more comparative research on this metric

Austin Clemens@austinclemens2.bsky.social · 2d ago

ICYMI – debt-to-GDP has passed 100% and reached WW2 levels, but debt-to-wealth in the US is 20% and ~half WW2 levels. @dsmitch28.bsky.social and I argue the most cited debt statistic doesn't account for all our resources.

Justin Fenton@justinfenton.bsky.social · 2d ago

As Baltimore continues to hit new lows in gun violence, the city saw 7 homicides in July. It’s the lowest on record (since 1970) for the month of July, historically deadliest month of the year For context: 2015: 45 homicides in July 2019: 38 2022: 34 2024: 25 2025: 15 2026: 7

Gillian Branstetter@gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 2d ago

An initiative on the ballot in Washington state in November would require all athletes seeking to play girl's sports from kindergarten to high school to undergo "genetic screening, a testosterone-levels test, or an examination of their reproductive anatomy" before they can play

The Campaign to Force Genital Exams on Girl Athletes Soon Washington State could require sex-verification tests for those playing sports in schools. Portrait of Andrea González-Ramírez By Andrea González-Ramírez, a senior writer for The Cut who covers systems of power. Those physicals, Maria explains, are usually perfunctory: “Like, Are you walking normally? Are you lightheaded? I have never had to take any clothes off. I’ve never felt uncomfortable or violated.” If IL26-638 were to pass and Maria were still in school, she says she would likely drop out of her team. (We’re withholding Maria’s real name to protect her privacy.) “I honestly don’t know if I would be able to do these tests,” she adds. “It would also make me question, If I do it, are all my teammates going to too? Or would I just play with the three or four girls who are willing to or have access to do it?”
Austin Clemens@austinclemens2.bsky.social · 2d ago

I think Yglesias is actually right in his column today that it's not a bad idea to have a national ID voting standard (if it's reasonable) and that we should get rid of the filibuster. But if you offered this bargain to Rs (reasonableness for support ending the filibuster), Rs would reject it.

This fight illustrates that even Trump can’t actually pull off the “pound the table harder” approach to getting bills passed that progressives often fantasize that a sufficiently committed Democrat could use. Democrats are holding firm even though the core SAVE concept of requiring photo ID to vote is extremely popular and it might be wiser to get to “yes” on this. Republicans have written a bill that pairs a popular idea that they claim to think is important (photo ID) with a bunch of dumb chaff that makes it impossible to actually enact the thing they’re saying is important. Both sides continue to wildly overstate the practical stakes of this kind of legislation and in fact are probably backwards in terms of which side would receive the (modest) electoral benefit from making it harder to vote. And finally, progressives who are nominally committed to getting rid of the filibuster seem to have no interest in the question of whether the best way to achieve this is to actually work with Trump on it while he’s hot and bothered.
David S. Mitchell@dsmitch28.bsky.social · 6d ago

U.S. debt held by the public just topped 100% of GDP, and CBO says it'll break the WWII-era record (106%) before 2030. But measure debt against total private wealth instead, and it's only ~half its 1945 peak. A thread on why the yardstick matters. 🧵

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Austin Clemens@austinclemens2.bsky.social · 3d ago

Watched Masters of the Universe. Kind of a wasted opportunity. It's a clever idea to use the He-Man movie to say something about masculinity, and the movie realllllly wants you to know that it has something to say about masculinity and then... it does not.

David_j_roth@davidjroth.bsky.social · 5d ago

Got a good job down at the Data Center. I work on the line, and it's hard work but it's honest and the wage is fair; my family and I are grateful for it. I rivet the word "absolutely" onto the little apologies that chatbots do when they misunderstand a prompt.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 5d ago

Hassett: "Data centers are very good for towns bc they create so many jobs & bring people in with high incomes that can buy houses & stuff like that. So if you take a sleepy town that hasn't seen much in the last 30 years & put a data center there, there are gonna be a bunch of happy residents."

Austin Clemens@austinclemens2.bsky.social · 6d ago

Remember a couple months ago when debt-to-GDP crossed 100%? @dsmitch28.bsky.social and I have a new report today arguing that this obscures a huge well of resources we could draw on to pay down debt - private wealth. Debt-to-wealth is just 21%, not high by historical standards.

David S. Mitchell@dsmitch28.bsky.social · 6d ago

U.S. debt held by the public just topped 100% of GDP, and CBO says it'll break the WWII-era record (106%) before 2030. But measure debt against total private wealth instead, and it's only ~half its 1945 peak. A thread on why the yardstick matters. 🧵

Austin Clemens@austinclemens2.bsky.social · 6d ago

It's worth dwelling on this first figure. While debt-to-GDP has risen rapidly, debt-to-wealth has been pretty level. The levels we're at now are slightly elevated compared to the latter half of the 20th century, but are about half of the level we hit during WW2.

A chart showing debt-to-GDP and debt-to-wealth levels for the US. Debt-to-GDP peaked at 106% during WW2, then declined to about 20%, then rose again to near 100% recently. Debt-to-wealth levels peaked at 38%, dropped to around 10 at their lowest, and are now around 20%, similar to levels in the 90s.
Matt Shuham@mattshuham.bsky.social · 6d ago

The Trump administration has gone months without paying attorneys who represent unaccompanied immigrant children as part of a years-old, congressionally-funded effort. The latest in a series of temporary bridge contracts ends tomorrow, with no replacement in sight: www.huffpost.com/entry/unacco...

These Lawyers Make Sure Children Don’t Face Deportation Hearings Alone. Trump Hasn't Paid Them In Months.

“We know what happens when children go to court without an attorney,” a lawyer said. “One word: deportation.”

huffpost.com

mtsw@mtsw.bsky.social · 6d ago

Remembering how the "Ebola Crisis" was literally *the* most covered news story - consistently framed as though it was a huge embarrassment to Obama - before the 2014 midterms (after which the media totally abandoned the story)

The New York Times@nytimes.com · 6d ago

The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed more than 1,500 people in just over two months, and it is spreading much faster than previous outbreaks, the nation’s health ministry reported on Thursday.

Washington Center for Equitable Growth@equitablegrowth.bsky.social · 6d ago

Policymakers need better ways to gauge fiscal risk. In a new report, @dsmitch28.bsky.social and @austinclemens2.bsky.social show how a debt‑to‑wealth measure can help guide decisions toward strategic, growth‑oriented public investment rather than broad austerity. equitablegrowth.org/research-pap...

The debt-to-wealth ratio: A missing lens on the U.S. government's fiscal capacity

Why scaling the national debt by what the country owns—not just what it earns in a year—reshapes the debate over how much we owe and who could help pay it down.

equitablegrowth.org

Austin Clemens@austinclemens2.bsky.social · 6d ago

A lot of pundits have been arguing that we need to tighten our belts and embrace austerity. I don't think that's true, and it's not worth pulling back on valuable investments government makes in people when we have options for raising more revenue.

Austin Clemens@austinclemens2.bsky.social · 6d ago

Debt-to-GDP isn't a complete picture of the resources available to service government debt. Funding current spending levels is more a question of political will than available resources. See the full report here.

Austin Clemens@austinclemens2.bsky.social · 6d ago

Remember a couple months ago when debt-to-GDP crossed 100%? @dsmitch28.bsky.social and I have a new report today arguing that this obscures a huge well of resources we could draw on to pay down debt - private wealth. Debt-to-wealth is just 21%, not high by historical standards.

David S. Mitchell@dsmitch28.bsky.social · 6d ago

U.S. debt held by the public just topped 100% of GDP, and CBO says it'll break the WWII-era record (106%) before 2030. But measure debt against total private wealth instead, and it's only ~half its 1945 peak. A thread on why the yardstick matters. 🧵