Share this page!

Matthew Yglesias Profile picture
Twitter logo
Jan 25 • 5 tweets • 3 min read
DC has a high incarceration rate relative to the 50 states, but I would say this reflects our high level of violent crime rather than a harsh penal regime.

slowboring.com/p/why-im-worri…
I don’t particularly want to see the penal regime made harsher, but I do think that if we want to see less punishment the focus has to be on investing more in detecting crimes and apprehending the offenders.

slowboring.com/p/the-best-way…
That should include going after minor but easy-to-detect crimes like fare evasion in part because that lets you check people for more serious offenses like carrying illegal guns or outstanding warrants.

slowboring.com/p/dc-is-right-…
But returning to where I started, reformers will misapprehend the situation if they think of DC as having an unusually harsh penal regime rather than an unusual high number of shootings and murders.
DC’s unique constitutional status also means me are suffering from a weird shortage of trial court judges, a problem that could get much worse if we expand the list of offenses that require a jury trial — we desperately need a solution here.

slowboring.com/p/why-im-worri…

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Matthew Yglesias

Matthew Yglesias Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @mattyglesias

Matthew Yglesias Profile picture
Jan 23
I think I get why it happens, but it's vexing to me how many media personalities have made the flip from far-left to right-wing without ever spending any time being moderate.
This is what’s tedious about arguing with Glenn — I never said Obama/Trump crossover voters were confused or dumb!

But here’s a long, multi-tweet thread from him about why I was wrong to say this thing that I never said.
Almost every time I end up in an argument with him it has this quality, instead of accurately quoting something I say and explaining why he thinks it’s wrong he makes up some other thing and then explains why that fake thing is wrong.
Read 6 tweets
Matthew Yglesias Profile picture
Jan 23
Henry VIII seized monastic land and sold it off to commercial-minded investors, what happened next contributed to the Industrial Revolution growth takeoff.

slowboring.com/p/zoning-refor…
During the French Revolution, similarly, church land was seized and sold off to commerce-minded investors — riches ensued.

slowboring.com/p/zoning-refor…
I don't think the moral of the story for Americans living in 2023 is that we should close monasteries or seize church land, but it is evidence that treating land as a more "normal" commodity can have large economic benefits.

slowboring.com/p/zoning-refor…
Read 4 tweets
Matthew Yglesias Profile picture
Jan 23
Looking forward to my upcoming vacation in February
This will be my first trip to Jamaica but I did write about a year ago about why Jamaica (and other island nations) have probably the most to gain from small modular reactors.

slowboring.com/p/jamaica-and-…
Fossil fuel infrastructure is very costly on islands, current energy prices are exorbitant, and the land use demands of renewables are awkward given the limited geography and economic importance of the landscape.

slowboring.com/p/jamaica-and-…
Read 4 tweets
Matthew Yglesias Profile picture
Jan 22
Zients rhymes with science.
And for those asking, lobbyists and foreign governments will not be able to curry favor with the Biden administration by patronizing @cym_dc — Zients divested from the bagel shop when he joined as Covid czar.
Nothing is the work of one person but on top of the substantive accomplishments of Biden’s first two years in office, @RonaldKlain managed a senior staff that generated frustratingly few insider leaks and dishy scoops about internal disagreements.
Read 4 tweets
Matthew Yglesias Profile picture
Jan 22
On the internet, you get described as a "contrarian" if you express disagreement with the view of the political party you vote for on a non-zero minority of issues.

But the vast majority of voters are like this — it's the full-time conflict extension people who are being weird.
Should a woman be allowed to have an abortion if she's married and does not want more children?

27 percent of Democrats (not me, I'm totally orthodox on this) say no — but you never hear from them.
Almost half of Republicans say we should spend more on the poor!
Read 5 tweets
Matthew Yglesias Profile picture
Jan 22
Some great Secret Congress coverage from @sangerkatz teaching us about the wide range of healthcare provisions tucked quietly into last year’s omnibus.

nytimes.com/2023/01/22/ups…
Medicaid expansion! Who knew?
Secret Congress often manifests itself in vehicles like an omnibus but the phenomenon is much bigger than that.

slowboring.com/p/the-rise-and…
Read 6 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us on Twitter!

Send Email!

:(