Kyle Montanio

Contacting Kyle Montanio

Federation handle:

@FantasticalEconomics@geekdom.social

Kyle Montanio's Information

About me	Making econ marginally less dismal one post at a time. I teach economics at the UC Denver and am an all around nerd. My goal is to combine my passion for all things fantasy/sci-fi and love of economics to lower the cost of learning econ.
Fantastical Economics	You can find my first-ever short story that covers the circular economy and sustainability in a sci-fi setting here: https://edgeryders.eu/t/circular-reasoning/19717

Kyle Montanio's Bio

I'm an environmental economist who researches econ pedagogy to make learning economics marginally less dismal.

My pipe-dream is to write a fantasy novel/economics textbook, which is getting closer to reality every day.

#economics #TeachEcon #sustainability #DoughnutEconomics #degrowth

Profile pic is me smiling in front of a whiteboard with economics gibberish -- cause econ makes me happy.

Background is my dog, Freya, who is derpily sticking her tongue out while passed out.

Kyle Montanio's Posts

Kyle Montanio has 11 posts.

Pinned

Kyle Montanio	1 month ago Found an interesting graph with absolutely no relation to current events on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Life_expectancy_vs_healthcare_spending.jpg I forget who I learned this from, but it's pretty useful to add Reagan's face right around 1981 to help understand changes in US over time. #economics #HealthCare Tags: #economics #healthcare Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0
Kyle Montanio	5 months ago Capitalism's greatest trick was stealing so much of our time that we cannot imagine living without the 'conveniences' it sells back to us. Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0
Kyle Montanio	3 months ago Means testing harms the mean household and is just plain mean, by design. Study after study shows that providing social safety nets - benefits the vast majority of people support - is cheaper and more efficient when you get rid of the hurdles to prove you qualify. Means testing punishes those most in need who are often least able to spend time and energy to complete the intentionally difficult process to access benefits, and results in higher costs. https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2022/11/11/universal-benefits-cost-less-than-means-tested-benefits/ #UBI #BasicIncome Tags: #ubi #basicincome Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0
Kyle Montanio	10 months ago Prevention is (almost always) cheaper than treatment, and homelessness does not break this rule. Economists recently used a randomized control trial to estimate the effectiveness of giving households on the brink of homelessness cash to prevent it, $2000 on average. The results of this temporary assistance were a 73% reduction in the risk of homelessness after one year and that each dollar spent generated $2.47 in benefits to the community. #economics #poverty https://news.nd.edu/news/targeted-prevention-helps-stop-homelessness-before-it-starts/ Tags: #economics #poverty Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0
Kyle Montanio	10 months ago I was today years old when I learned that US schools are more segregated today than they were in 1968. Racial segregation due to racist policies (like red lining) and reinforcing economic conditions (like school funding tied to property taxes) ensure a system of oppression that is, in many ways, getting worse. For more info, check out: Beverly Daniel Tatum's book: Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? or this shorter read: https://devtechsys.com/insights/2021/02/26/racial-integration-of-schools-in-the-united-states/ #BlackHistoryMonth Tags: #blackhistorymonth Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0

Kyle Montanio	1 week ago Desperation profits the powerful. They want us afraid of losing our jobs so we accept unlivably-low wages, so they punish the unhoused. They want us struggling to pay our bills so we don't have time to challenge the system that richly rewards them. They will use every natural catastrophe to entrench their power and increase profits, and they don't shy away from creating calamities as well. A solution is building caring, generous communities. A secure population is a strong one. #politics Tags: #politics Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 1
Kyle Montanio	1 week ago In response to this post @enobacon Tearing down is always easier than building up. Something something entropy. But we have easy access to reducing our ability to thoughtlessly destroy - banning fireworks and, more importantly, changing our relationship with them (or preferences for them), being one example. @FantasticalEconomics and gasoline, and heavily occupying a wooded area (which naturally burns periodically) with structures made of fuel. There will always be temptation and excuses to do the easy and fun/profitable thing, never commensurate accountability when the costs and shortcuts behind those profits come back tenfold onto the rest of us. by 😀🚲 ; 1 week ago Mentions: @enobacon@urbanists.social Likes: 0 Replies: 1 Boosts: 1
Kyle Montanio	1 week ago In response to this post @enobacon Yeah, it's pretty amazing (in a horrifying way) how much damage individual action can do. On the plus-side, that also means we have great ability, at individuals, to make meaningful change. @FantasticalEconomics are we able to access constructive power of such magnitude, or is it only violent and destructive forms of power that come so cheaply? by 😀🚲 ; 1 week ago Mentions: @enobacon@urbanists.social Likes: 0 Replies: 1 Boosts: 1
Kyle Montanio	1 week ago There is evidence the #PalisadeFire ravaging LA is a re-ignition of a New Years fire caused by fireworks. What may be the most damaging natural disaster in US history (measured in inflation-adjusted dollars, as if that's a true measure of damage) was likely caused by our desire to scare dogs with colorful sky-bombs. It's long-past time we find more sustainable ways to celebrate than explosions that contribute to, and increase damage in, our ever-warming world. #ClimateChange @FantasticalEconomics so much pollution and destruction traced back to one stupid human, in a sea of stupid human decisions 😞 by 😀🚲 ; 1 week ago Tags: #palisadefire #climatechange Likes: 0 Replies: 1 Boosts: 1
Kyle Montanio	1 week ago I know most of us are utterly unshocked by Zuckerberg's hard right turn to suck up to Trump. Meta, nor anything his hand touches, are known for having moral fiber woven in. But for those who are a tad surprised, it is worth revisiting the Behind the Bastards podcast on the creep that is Mark Zuckerberg. Is he the worst person in the 21st century? I'm not so sure. The competition is stiff, but he's making a around case for himself. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-mark-zuckerberg-the-worst-30417725/ #politics Tags: #politics Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 1
Kyle Montanio	1 month ago Found an interesting graph with absolutely no relation to current events on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Life_expectancy_vs_healthcare_spending.jpg I forget who I learned this from, but it's pretty useful to add Reagan's face right around 1981 to help understand changes in US over time. #economics #HealthCare Tags: #economics #healthcare Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0
Kyle Montanio	3 months ago Means testing harms the mean household and is just plain mean, by design. Study after study shows that providing social safety nets - benefits the vast majority of people support - is cheaper and more efficient when you get rid of the hurdles to prove you qualify. Means testing punishes those most in need who are often least able to spend time and energy to complete the intentionally difficult process to access benefits, and results in higher costs. https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2022/11/11/universal-benefits-cost-less-than-means-tested-benefits/ #UBI #BasicIncome Tags: #ubi #basicincome Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0
Kyle Montanio	5 months ago Capitalism's greatest trick was stealing so much of our time that we cannot imagine living without the 'conveniences' it sells back to us. Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0
Kyle Montanio	10 months ago Prevention is (almost always) cheaper than treatment, and homelessness does not break this rule. Economists recently used a randomized control trial to estimate the effectiveness of giving households on the brink of homelessness cash to prevent it, $2000 on average. The results of this temporary assistance were a 73% reduction in the risk of homelessness after one year and that each dollar spent generated $2.47 in benefits to the community. #economics #poverty https://news.nd.edu/news/targeted-prevention-helps-stop-homelessness-before-it-starts/ Tags: #economics #poverty Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0
Kyle Montanio	10 months ago I was today years old when I learned that US schools are more segregated today than they were in 1968. Racial segregation due to racist policies (like red lining) and reinforcing economic conditions (like school funding tied to property taxes) ensure a system of oppression that is, in many ways, getting worse. For more info, check out: Beverly Daniel Tatum's book: Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? or this shorter read: https://devtechsys.com/insights/2021/02/26/racial-integration-of-schools-in-the-united-states/ #BlackHistoryMonth Tags: #blackhistorymonth Likes: 0 Replies: 0 Boosts: 0