Ben Phelps
@thisisbenphelps.bsky.social
Musician and self-declared public intellectual
What actually drives bond yields: fed interest rate policy. It's very clear if you look at a graph for 1 minute.
Regime Accountant, CPA ☠️🎢@regimecpa.bsky.social · 2h agoI'm not really convinced higher bond rates are going to be such a huge issue as to meaningfully constrain the next administration.
I try to not use AI for anything because it diminishes our humanity.
if nothing else another big night for the "polling in the no-one-picks-up-their-phone-anymore Era is cooked" take
G Elliott Morris@gelliottmorris.com · 17h agoLooks like a 10-15 point polling miss in Michigan regardless of who wins. And people have been writing a lot of electability takes using this data. It’s dangerous out there folks be safe
Please, for the love of god Progressive activists, understand that cutting state taxes is not the same as cutting federal taxes.
The real impasta@therealimpasta.bsky.social · 16h agoATTENTION TO ALL DEM TAX CUT SLOPULISTS
I don't actually think demographic decline is an entirely (or even mostly) a social safety-net issue but I do think a $10,000 Child Tax Credit would be a useful experiment.
Urban Land Rent 🇸🇴🚰@urbanlandrent.bsky.social · 3d agoYeah it’s still a bribery issue is the thing
So the applications were filed on 4/30 and there are still is no update on the city planning website whether this application has even been deemed complete. What's the deal here.
Ben Phelps@thisisbenphelps.bsky.social · 2w agoMy neighbors are in a tizzy because a developer is going to subdivide two lots in Angelino Heights. They filed in July after SB 1123 (SB 684 streamlining) and AB 130 (CEQA reform) took effect so now there's a 60 day ministerial approval clock ticking, bypassing local Historic Preservation Zone.
In Los Angeles we just made restaurants take down all their awnings over curbside dining. @nithyaforthecity.bsky.social
Bryn Davidson - Lanefab@lanefab.com · 3d agoA friend’s recent photo of civic shading in Malaga
This is a good article. And I too hate the robot umps. The strike zone is a social construct. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/o...
Opinion | Can We Keep One Small Corner of America Technology-Free?
Baseball isn’t supposed to be perfect.
nytimes.com
I think this is really important in understanding the general malcontent around the world, perhaps even the vibesession. Not exactly sure why awareness of the vibesession ticks up so dramatically in 2020 though.
John Burn-Murdoch@jburnmurdoch.ft.com · 5d agoNew from me: Until recently, the gap between comfortably-off and just-getting-started could plausibly be crossed in a decade or two of hard work. Growth in asset prices means that’s no longer true: even a lifetime of striving doesn’t offer a realistic prospect of feeling you’ve “made it”.
The only creative industry that is inarguably both doing well and doing great work right now is "new baseball guy names."
Bobby Nightengale@nightengalejr.bsky.social · 5d agoJhomnardo Reyes is going to the Orioles for Dean Kremer, per source.
dipshit nice sneak peak of the sort of media policies you can expect under his presidency
Exclusive | Newsom Expresses Concerns About State Antitrust Suit Against Paramount
The California governor has told people involved in the suit that blocking the $81 billion deal could harm Hollywood jobs.
wsj.com
"Prices are up because we started a war in Iran restricting world oil supplies so now we have to raise the interest rate we pay banks on their reserves to control prices" is really an argument we should receive with much more credulity instead of just accepting as the obvious truth.
AI taking over is on a different interstitial plane. Humans don't care. This is why this is ultimately not a useful technology, I think.
Like this is a crazy belief that seems kind of endemic in the left wonk class. It's true people will ARGUE we will have to do austerity to combat supposed hyperinflation that is just around the corner (though somehow it never comes). But it's not true, it's a flawed macroeconomic understanding.
Zoomer Antimillenarian@surcomplicated.bsky.social · 7d agoIt's basically austerity or hyperinflation in the near future and the only way for Dems to politically survive the necessary austerity is to destroy the lives of as many MAGA regime criminals as humanly possible, in public, messaging the fuck out of every single prosecution.
Nuking Medicare prescription drug benefits is an odd political play
WELKER: Is America backing away from a larger attack bc our stockpile has been depleted? WALTZ: We have to take a step back. A lot of our stockpiles were depleted because of Biden WELKER: But you acknowledge they're depleted? WALTZ: No. And the people leaking this nonsense deserve to be in jail
This has not been updated at all when does the clock start ticking? Like does the city get to decide when the application is "complete" and so we've just moved the definition of when the application is in?
Ben Phelps@thisisbenphelps.bsky.social · 2w agoHmm it looks like they filed on 4/30 how does this work? Shouldn't this be by default approved at this point? Need a more detailed knower to chime in here.
Every time I check in with an AI story I get angry and depressed. Frank Herbert becoming more and more pertinent.
I listened to LA podcast today discussing the homelessness numbers and left Los Angeles still can't admit to itself that if we can't address market rents homeless services spending does not matter
If we want to rebuild a manufacturing base, we should be taxing foreign held bonds and other assets.
Michael Pettis@michaelpettis.bsky.social · 2w ago8/9 I agree, and this suggests that rather than encourage capital inflows, economies that want to strengthen their manufacturing and productive sectors and to benefit workers by raising productivity and wages should consider capital controls as a far more effective tool than tariffs.
100% tax on sitting presidents on all income outside of presidential salary. When. (we can even raise the salary).
Not to get into the pros and cons of free fares, but spot the difference: Mamdani: "We're going to make the buses fast and free." Bass: "I'll build a long-term financial plan to make Metro fare-free."
Mayor Karen Bass@mayor.lacity.gov · 2w agoAs Chair, I’ll build a long-term financial plan to make Metro fare-free. I’ve fought for a world-class transit system my entire career because public transit should create opportunity for everyone.
