@bd_highsmith

institutions, geography, democracy | asst prof, UCLA Law

 Los Angeles, CA
brianhighsmith.com
Joined June 2010
  • Tweets621
  • Following6.8K
  • Followers8.3K
30Media
🚨We analyzed 138 million geocoded property tax records to quantify how municipal boundaries spatially overlap onto economic segregation in every US metro area—creating disparities in localities’ ability to fund public goods. And we made an interactive map of our results! [1/16]
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Hayden
@the_transit_guy22h
If we block housing over driver views while on a freeway I respectfully ask the aliens to just take us
SFGATE
@SFGateOct 14
View from I-80 will be very different if controversial developer moves ahead sfgate.com/local/article/sf-…
View from I-80 will be very different if controversial developer moves ahead

ALT View from I-80 will be very different if controversial developer moves ahead

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James Surowiecki
@JamesSurowiecki4h
There is absolutely no logical reason why someone who has a mortgage should pay property tax while someone who owns their house outright should not. "I own my house, therefore I shouldn't pay property tax" is a total non sequitur.
POLITICO
@politico6h
“I’m old. I’ve paid my home off,” said Ray Warner, a 72-year-old Akron resident. “Why would I pay property tax?” Across the country, homeowners are asking the same question and revolting against property taxes at a scale not seen in a half century. politico.com/news/magazine/2…

Do You Really Own Your Home? A Tax Revolt Says No.

The argument that property taxes make Americans renters in their own houses has fueled the biggest anti-tax uprising in half a century, and local governments are scrambling.

politico.com
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J. Ryder🪿@harbingerofwoke2h
Some socialists have revealed their profound inconsistency in the Nithya situation. I understand if you’re anti AOC as well and just want to retract into hermit sectarianism, I’m familiar with this position all too well. But to be Pro AOC, Pro Zohran (all oscillators on Palestine historically), and then Anti Nithya is just myopic inside baseball apolitical personalism to the highest degree.
Matthew J. Hunter@MattHunterMCR3h
If Nithya Raman should be expelled and unendorsed then so should Zohran Mamdani, Hugo Soto-Martinez, AOC, etc. But I don’t see people in this discourse act consistently in their own logic on this. Quite frustrating.
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Morgan Ricks@MorganRicks1Oct 17
We must continue to "update our priors" re: whether this degree of concentrated economic power is compatible with democracy.
Matthew Yglesias
@mattyglesiasOct 16
What's crazy about Musk's spending on the midterms is that the amount involved is totally trivial relative to his net worth. This is like a normal person sending $150 each to three candidates they like.
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sam
@sam_d_1995Oct 16
extremely common congestion pricing W kinda funny how everyone freaked out over congestion pricing before it went into effect, but now that it’s working, everyone has moved on and it’s quietly reducing congestion & making the subway better
Governor Hochul Press Office
@NYGovPressOct 15
THIS HOLE IN THE GROUND WILL BECOME A BRAND NEW ELEVATOR THANKS TO CONGESTION PRICING
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During the heyday of American municipal socialism (~1908-16), which coincided w Progressive good government reformism, socialist mayors campaigned on promises to improve public services by cleaning up government corruption. Hoan created a whole “Bureau of Economy and Efficiency”:
lej@_lej44Oct 15
continuing to scream from the rooftop that reforming public union shenanigans is key to running progressive cities (ie: true progressivism maximizes services and benefits for all not a select group of in workers and union leadership)
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Chris Hayes
@chrislhayesOct 14
It’s always a fun game to switch “property values” and “housing prices” in any sentence, because they’re the same thing with opposite valences.
David Weigel
@daveweigelOct 14
I keep thinking about this exchange. Blakeman says he's "created wealth" because of the skyrocketing home prices in Nassau County. The idea that young families are priced out just doesn't occur at all
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lej@_lej44Oct 14
Fav moment of last night- Nithya pointing to the unfairness/absurdity of Bass flexing to Sherman Oaks HOA that “you guys have my cell #” In a normal city, personal connections with the mayor is never what it should take to get the squeaky wheel moving!
Nithya Raman
@nithyavramanOct 14
In a city of 3.9 million people, you shouldn’t need the mayor’s cell phone number to get help. Did the residents of Boyle Heights have your number, Karen?
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Armand Domalewski
@ArmandDomaOct 14
Los Angeles is so so car brained that the Mayor attacks her rival by saying she’s backed by people who like bike lanes in the same way you’d normally attack someone for being backed by Big Oil or lobbyists lmao
Jordan Grimes (on Bluesky @cafedujord)@cafedujordOct 14
Absolutely hilarious exchange here. Bass: "When we're talking about influence, there are very influential people who are supporting your campaign, who are very very much advocates for bike lanes." Raman: "Um...yes?"
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Michael Pina@MichaelVPinaOct 12
this is the good stuff
Michael Pina@MichaelVPinaOct 12
this is christmas: zachlowe.substack.com/p/welc…
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Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlbergOct 11
It’s kind of funny that political scientists need to be reminded that actually describing how politics works is a useful endeavor, but here we are
Jesse Smith
@jessesmithsocOct 10
Real banger here. We often treat descriptive analysis as a petty chore you need go through to get to the real (causal) stuff. Gerring argues that not only is good description crucial, it’s arguably the greater challenge. Deciding how to characterize things appropriately can be more consequential and difficult than establishing that X is related to Y in a particular way. cambridge.org/core/journals/…

Mere Description | British Journal of Political Science | Cambridge Core

Mere Description - Volume 42 Issue 4

cambridge.org
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James Medlock@jdcmedlockOct 9
I told you so.
NBER
@nberpubsOct 8
Norway's controversial 2021–2024 reforms nearly doubled the tax on business wealth. Firms of affected owners did not invest less, and outmigration was limited to the very top, from @Mariusring nber.org/papers/w35854
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Saikat Chakrabarti
@saikatcOct 8
It's truly amazing how little billionaires will feel a 5% wealth tax, and how huge of an impact it will have on Medicaid recipients.
Gabriel Zucman
@gabriel_zucmanOct 8
A one-time 5% wealth tax would bring Silicon Valley’s billionaires’ wealth back to where it was just 31 days ago, on September 7. When it was "just" 178% higher than on January 1, 2023. They’d rather let 3 million people lose their health insurance than let that happen.
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David Seligman
@daveyseligmanOct 7
Now this is abundance. If we want government to work, we need to make the law real in the lives of ordinary people in the face of wealthy and powerful interests trampling our rights with impunity. Comprehensive UDAP protections that are ENFORCEABLE is core to that project.
NYC Consumer and Worker Protection
@helloDCWPOct 6
❗ NEW: @NYCMayor introduces the POWER Act! This bill empowers consumers, workers, small businesses and their organizations to directly fight for their rights against companies for unfair and deceptive practices, rather than rely on City enforcement alone.
Headline text: Mayor Mamdani introduces groundbreaking consumer protection legislation! N Y C Department of Consumer and Worker Protection logo.

ALT Headline text: Mayor Mamdani introduces groundbreaking consumer protection legislation! N Y C Department of Consumer and Worker Protection logo.

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Zephyr Teachout
@ZephyrTeachoutOct 7
You have no idea how big a deal this is. It gets out of the bottleneck of AG enforces or nobody does. It gets around arbitration!! Congrats to Sam, @HarveyforNY, Mamdani, this is a major moment for actually enforcing all those EXISTING laws that get shoved into quiet corners.
NYC Consumer and Worker Protection
@helloDCWPOct 6
Replying to @helloDCWP
Read more on @nytimes at nytimes.com/2026/10/06/nyreg…

Mamdani Backs Bill to Let Consumers Sue Over Unfair Business Practices

The proposed New York City legislation would also allow nonprofits, including tenants’ unions, to sue companies directly rather than relying on agency enforcement.

nytimes.com
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Zena Hitz@zenahitzOct 5
One of the stupidest academic practices is hiring for new specialties, instead of continuing to train in core disciplines people who can think about anything.
Michael Paarlberg
@MPaarlbergOct 5
Half of the new assistant professor job postings in the social sciences are looking for someone who researches AI. Sending the message that, to even have a shot at landing a TT job, you have to have correctly predicted what will be hot 5-7 years from when you started grad school.
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ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ@gatodejazzOct 3
Planting more trees will help A LOT but one thing everyone ignores is that to truly cool down this city we also need to reduce the size of our streets and space for cars. They’re insanely wide and no amount of trees can help shade them if we keep them the size of freeways.
big tobacco theorist@no_one__winsOct 2
Fully being serious when I say planting more trees in LA is a major issue for me and it’s unacceptable that almost all sidewalks have no shade whatsoever
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Stefan Eich@stefeichOct 2
New open access article just dropped in the APSR! Leah Downey and yours truly on why people should stop using “democratize” when they really mean increasing market access. Looking at you, economists! 👀
American Political Science Review@apsrjournalOct 2
From our FirstView: "What Would It Mean to Democratize Finance? An Evaluation of Divergent Conceptions of Democracy and Finance" by Leah Downey and @stefeich. buff.ly/pPVH3mv
APSR abstract for "What Would It Mean to Democratize Finance? An Evaluation of Divergent Conceptions of Democracy and Finance," by Leah Downey and Stefan Eich, Mapping calls to "democratize finance" along axes of democracy and finance, the authors argue power-centered accounts of democratization are most plausible but create instability by generating pressure toward power sharing. Full abstract is available in linked article.

ALT APSR abstract for "What Would It Mean to Democratize Finance? An Evaluation of Divergent Conceptions of Democracy and Finance," by Leah Downey and Stefan Eich, Mapping calls to "democratize finance" along axes of democracy and finance, the authors argue power-centered accounts of democratization are most plausible but create instability by generating pressure toward power sharing. Full abstract is available in linked article.

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