Working @gdp-center.bsky.social for a global economy that advances development and addresses climate change. Past: Oxfam, Yale Law, Benin. Views my own. Subscribe to my Substack: timhirschelburns.substack.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mu42kz3ho22gGlad to see this covered. Last year I wrote about Cudjoe Lewis and the Beninese citizenship law his descendant utilized, which makes tens of millions of black Americans—including many who do not have Beninese ancestors—eligible for a form of citizenship https://open.substack.com/pub/timhirschelburns/p/40-million-black-americans-are-eligible?r=17f157&utm_medium=ios [contains quote post or other embedded content]27 Aug 2026 23:59 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu42kz3ho22ghttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mu3ulg273s2gLive report from the Minnesota State Fair, located in the heart of American democracy, where there’s an ICE Out adaptation of Picasso’s Guernica made entirely from crops27 Aug 2026 22:12 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mu3ulg273s2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mtthsky2ik2a "We don’t need them, they need us" is a formulation Trump has used on various occasions now. It’s the core summation of how he sees the US relationship with the rest of the world. The reason it’s wrong is very simple: We need each other [contains quote post or other embedded content]24 Aug 2026 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtthsky2ik2ahttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mtk4n7fyak2nThis is the most personal thing I've ever written, and it means a lot that people seem to have found something of value in it. If you haven't, I hope you'll give it a read too https://timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/joseph-gbenangnon-chabi-1984-202620 Aug 2026 20:49 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtk4n7fyak2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mtjbhix5pk2kLast month Joseph died unexpectedly. His life was likely very different from the people you're used to encountering, but we had enough in common to share an unusual friendship for 9 years. It would mean a lot if you took a little time to read about him https://timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/joseph-gbenangnon-chabi-1984-202620 Aug 2026 12:42 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mtjbhix5pk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mstflqsze22oI used Our World in Data's awesome new page to make 10 charts on global inequality. Here's the per person income level of 10th percentile, median, and 90th percentile of the global income distribution (adjusted for cost of living differences). The typical human lives on just $3,521 per year11 Aug 2026 19:58 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mstflqsze22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3msitav2vbc2hZero people died because of DOGE. Ok maybe people died but it was MacKenzie Scott's fault. And the government needed to cut costs. Well sure, even by DOGE's own account they saved 10% of what they originally promised. And fine much of that 10% didn't happen https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/08/06/elon-musk-doge-made-big-errors-claims-government-savings-gao-finds/07 Aug 2026 15:03 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3msitav2vbc2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mrryjdxea22oIn which I critique Western libs, hawks, and restrainers alike 🔽 https://timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-global-economy-stupid29 Jul 2026 13:06 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrryjdxea22ohttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mrpz6mhms22fThis map is the centerpiece of my new Substack. It shows what people think is democracy's #1 purpose. Yellow="improving living standards + well-being" Purple="protecting individual rights + freedoms" This should have big implications for our worldview https://timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-global-economy-stupid28 Jul 2026 18:12 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpz6mhms22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mrpqywsb2c2fWhile Americans favor acting on the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for Netanyahu by a wide margin, the State Department is openly running a campaign to dismantle the ICC [contains quote post or other embedded content]28 Jul 2026 15:46 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpqywsb2c2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mrpiwhuncs2b🚨NEW POST🚨 Domestically, we generally recognize Americans' top concerns are economic: jobs, housing, health care. But when we think about foreign policy, suddenly the economy goes missing https://timhirschelburns.substack.com/p/its-the-global-economy-stupid28 Jul 2026 13:21 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrpiwhuncs2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mrduj4zh422tSo in the last week: -50% tariff on Canada (under the infamous Smoot-Hawley Act) -25% tariff on Brazil for "unfair trade practices" (the US has a trade surplus w/ Brazil) -10% tariff on 60 countries for allegedly allowing forced labor in supply chains (a very sincere concern of the Trump admin) [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Jul 2026 22:17 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrduj4zh422thttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mrcxtqlcz22aThere's that quip "God created war so that Americans would learn geography." Well if phase one of the war taught us why the Strait of Hormuz is important, people are about to learn why it really matters that the Bab al-Mandab Strait is in play too [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Jul 2026 13:44 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrcxtqlcz22ahttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mrasuopif224Just came across this photo of a World Cup screening in Gaza. Wow (Mohammed Skaik/TheNews2/Cover Images)22 Jul 2026 17:09 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrasuopif224https://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mr5ryhe7bs2kLooks like a normal real estate agent profile, right? Oh, his last listed sale was two years ago. Wonder what he's been up to since? This man is now the US government's head of international disaster and humanitarian response. Yes, you are looking at a senior State Department official21 Jul 2026 12:16 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mr5ryhe7bs2khttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mqztahoar22eFirst country to hold the men’s and women’s World Cups at the same time. Europe’s strongest voice against militarism and genocide in Gaza. Actively expanding immigration and enjoying one of Europe’s best economies. A great country!19 Jul 2026 22:27 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqztahoar22ehttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mqzpik7afk2sHot take to spice up a dull game: people freak out over flopping because it’s perceived as soft and effeminate but the much bigger problem for opponents’ safety and their team’s success is mindless machismo [contains quote post or other embedded content]19 Jul 2026 21:20 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzpik7afk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mqzoyj42dk2sExceptionally in character from Enzo Fernandez19 Jul 2026 21:11 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzoyj42dk2shttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mqzcllwu422sFeeling this today—why the World Cup is the most beautiful, unifying, internationalist event this earth has to offer https://open.substack.com/pub/timhirschelburns/p/the-world-cup-is-the-best-kind-of?r=17f157&utm_medium=ios19 Jul 2026 17:29 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqzcllwu422shttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mquglmao4c2kThere's a real chance that a progressive governing coalition is coming, and there will be appetite for a new foreign policy. That's huge But as I put it in Jacobin, it means progressives need to have answers to the kinds of questions that come up when you're actually governing17 Jul 2026 18:58 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mquglmao4c2khttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mqu32pe2722wI think we've hit belligerent foreign policy ad absurdum here. Just so entirely incapable of thinking of international affairs in terms other than domination + coercion that the most basic case of a cross-boundary shared challenge becomes an occasion for saber-rattling https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5972839-moreno-sanction-canada-wildfires/17 Jul 2026 15:31 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqu32pe2722whttps://bsky.app/profile/timhirschelburns.bsky.social/post/3mqrfpclduk2gI understand why people focused on militarism gravitate towards reducing US international engagement. But when it comes to the economy and broader international interaction, the US *is* going to be involved. It will inevitably be a question of *how* the US engages, not *whether* it does16 Jul 2026 14:04 +0000at://did:plc:bb3vhpcleol6iycmv7lnxybe/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqrfpclduk2g