Josh Barro

New York

Newsletter Writer and Podcast Host at Very Serious

I write a newsletter (at https://t.co/LBkFjqraQV) & I co-host https://t.co/TUDmgwgw3z w/ @popehat Email josh at joshbarro dot com

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Articles

In Blue Cities, Abundance Will Require Fighting Labor Unions

2 days ago | joshbarro.com | Josh Barro

Dear readers,Yesterday, I interviewed Rep. Ritchie Torres at WelcomeFest, an annual conference for centrist Democrats in Washington, D.C.Midway through our conversation, we were interrupted by protesters from Climate Defiance, who have apparently moved on to Gaza as their cause of the day. One of the protesters kept screaming that Rep. Torres should be sent to The Hague for his pro-Israel politics. But I wasn’t there to talk with Torres about Israel.
Trump Is About to Learn You Can't Spin The Bond Market

2 weeks ago | joshbarro.com | Josh Barro

Dear readers,Donald Trump’s approval ratings deteriorated steadily during his first three months in office, with their decline accelerating after April 2 — so-called “Liberation Day” — when the president announced shockingly large global tariffs and financial markets puked in response.
If Your Agenda Prioritizes Carbon Reduction, It's Inherently Anti-Populist

3 weeks ago | joshbarro.com | Josh Barro

Dear readers,It’s been fun watching Ezra Klein patiently ask leftists how, if they hate his ideas so much, they would instead propose to make housing production cheaper. This exchange with Sam Seder is instructive — Seder is all argle-bargle about housing being expensive because it is excessively “commodified,” and yet he has no answer for why Texas builds homes more cheaply than California. Is it because Texas has smashed capitalism and turned housing into a non-market good?
If Your Agenda Prioritizes Carbon Reduction, It's Inherently Anti-Populist

3 weeks ago | open.substack.com | Josh Barro

Dear readers,It’s been fun watching Ezra Klein patiently ask leftists how, if they hate his ideas so much, they would instead propose to make housing production cheaper. This exchange with Sam Seder is instructive — Seder is all argle-bargle about housing being expensive because it is excessively “commodified,” and yet he has no answer for why Texas builds homes more cheaply than California. Is it because Texas has smashed capitalism and turned housing into a non-market good?
Itty Bitty Diddy Committee

3 weeks ago | serioustrouble.show | Josh Barro |Ken White

Current time: 0:00 / Total time: -14:56Audio playback is not supported on your browser. Please upgrade. Dear listeners,Our free show this week is pretty brief: We have a look at the federal indictment of Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, and her move to dismiss the indictment on immunity grounds, which probably won’t work, Ken thinks.
Kamala Harris Didn't Lose Because of Sexism, And Democrats Hurt Themselves When They Say She Did

1 month ago | joshbarro.com | Josh Barro

Dear readers,Joe Biden, for some reason, is back on television. This morning, he told the hosts of The View he still thinks he would have beaten Donald Trump if he’d stayed on the ballot last year. He also says he “wasn’t surprised” Kamala Harris lost to Trump — Harris was well-qualified to be president, he says, but she was no match for the powerful weapon of sexism that Trump levied against her.
Voir Diddy

1 month ago | serioustrouble.show | Josh Barro |Ken White

Dear listeners,Sean Combs was indicted in September and a jury is now being selected for his eight-week RICO trial — lightning-fast pacing for a complex federal criminal case. As Ken notes, Combs has been held in custody, which is a reason his legal team would be inclined to hurry.
The Tariffs Are Starting to Hit the Real Economy

1 month ago | joshbarro.com | Josh Barro

Dear readers,Today’s GDP report showed the economy shrinking slightly in the first quarter, at an annualized pace of 0.3%. Not great news. But for reasons economist Jason Furman notes, this figure somewhat overstates how weak the economy was in the first quarter. There was a tremendous surge in imports in the first quarter, which signals that firms were acting to get ahead of expected tariffs, which in turn led to a large buildup of inventories.
The Tariffs Are Starting to Hit the Real Economy

1 month ago | open.substack.com | Josh Barro

Dear readers,Today’s GDP report showed the economy shrinking slightly in the first quarter, at an annualized pace of 0.3%. Not great news. But for reasons economist Jason Furman notes, this figure somewhat overstates how weak the economy was in the first quarter. There was a tremendous surge in imports in the first quarter, which signals that firms were acting to get ahead of expected tariffs, which in turn led to a large buildup of inventories.
'A Huge Negative Shock': Three Experts Game Out Recession Odds and Economic Uncertainty

1 month ago | nytimes.com | Josh Barro |Lael Brainard |Conor Sen

Josh Barro, a contributing Opinion writer, hosted a written online conversation with Lael Brainard, the director of the National Economic Council from 2023 to 2025 and a former vice chair of the Federal Reserve, and Conor Sen, a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, to discuss the risks to and uncertainty in Donald Trump's economy. Josh Barro: It's been more than two weeks since "Liberation Day," the day Trump announced massive tariffs that sent global financial markets reeling.