Mike Konczal

The Tax Trap Democrats Built for Themselves

Democrats are trapped in a tax architecture George W. Bush built in 2001. Now we're at war with Iran, a country he named to the Axis of Evil in 2002. He…

Mar 20 • Mike Konczal

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Even Before the Iran War, There Was a Growing Inflation Problem

January PCE data reveals that disinflation had already stalled and reversed before the war with Iran. Even before new fiscal stimulus and the energy…

Mar 18 • Mike Konczal

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February 2026

Sending in the TANKs Against Citrini's AI Doomerism

In which we use an internet sensation over AI displacement to learn some New Keynesian modeling and the economic possibilities for our grandchildren.

Feb 25 • Mike Konczal

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Three Ways Terminal AI Has Changed How I Work (And Whether It's Coming for My Job)

How terminal AI compresses setup, robustness checks, and iteration without replacing judgment, and whether Olivia Rodrigo caused the inflation wave.

Feb 19 • Mike Konczal

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Where I've Been Lately

From EconTwitter to the White House to useR! to Yale to the Boston Globe to the New York Times to the Washington Post

Feb 17 • Mike Konczal

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Why Affordability and the Vibecession Are Real Economic Problems

There are many ways inflation makes people worse off even when real incomes recover, especially for essentials.

Feb 9 • Mike Konczal

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Stop Blaming DoorDash for the Affordability Crisis

One DoorDash Discourse to rule them all: Food away from home is down. Groceries are up. This is especially true for young people. Affordability is a…

Feb 2 • Mike Konczal

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January 2026

Young College Graduate Unemployment Is Worse Than the Slowdown Explains

Unemployment for workers in their 20s with BA+ degrees is running 2 percentage points higher than historical patterns predict.

Jan 29 • Mike Konczal

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What Progressives Want to Know About Abundance

Off Twitter/X, the concerns are about boundaries, business, omnicauses, and what complements liberal priorities versus what replaces them.

Jan 23 • Mike Konczal

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My 2026 Substack Goals

A plan for writing through a consequential year, with reasonable goals and personal disclosures.

Jan 20 • Mike Konczal

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December 2025

My Meme of the Year and Other Highlights of 2025

Writing, Oregon Trail anxiety, parenting, doomscrolling avoidance, and watches.

Dec 30, 2025 • Mike Konczal

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Everything-Bagel Authoritarianism

If you want to dismantle a liberal, pluralist democracy, you need to be able to tell parts of your far-right coalition “no.”

Dec 23, 2025 • Mike Konczal

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