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Eric Levitz

Features Writer, Intelligencer
@EricLevitz

Eric Levitz is a features writer for Intelligencer. He covers politics and economics.

  1. explainer
    Everything You Need to Know About the 2021 Child Tax CreditA guide to when parents can access their monthly benefits, why it may be wise to opt out, and how the program could become permanent.
  2. the federal reserve
    Inflation Surged in June. The Fed Should Do Nothing About It.Pandemic-induced bottlenecks are proving more potent than expected. But raising interest rates won’t fix the problem.
  3. antitrust
    Biden Unveils Bid to Reform Economy Through Executive PowerBiden’s new executive order would remake America’s labor, agriculture, and tech markets — if independent agencies fully implement it.
  4. explainer
    How the GOP’s Long War on the IRS Threatens the Infrastructure DealThe bipartisan deal is financed by ramped-up tax enforcement. But for decades, Republicans have been devoted to defunding and demonizing the IRS.
  5. conservatism
    Tucker Carlson’s Populism Is for the Small-Time RichThe Fox News host’s claims that Joe Biden will destroy the suburbs reveal the true nature of working-class conservatism.
  6. criminal justice
    Progressives Don’t Need to Downplay Rising HomicidesVictims of community violence deserve the left’s solidarity and policy solutions.
  7. nyc mayoral race
    Why Progressive New Yorkers Should Rank Yang Over AdamsVote for the unqualified cipher (as your fifth choice). It’s important.
  8. the economy
    A World of High Wages and Cheap Burrito Bowls Is PossibleWhy better pay for some doesn’t necessarily mean more expensive goods for others.
  9. infrastructure
    Democrats Are Locked In a Staring Contest Over InfrastructureThe question is whether liberals or moderates will blink first.
  10. media
    Out-of-Touch Media Elites Ignore Working-Class Biden VotersGeorge Packer’s breakdown of America’s political tribes overlooks the one that just chose the president.
  11. ideas
    The Delusions of the Radical CentristWhy Michael Lind’s iconoclastic brand of populist politics fails to convince.
  12. inequality
    The Limits of Wealth-Tax PopulismSafeguarding democracy from inequality will require much more than soaking the superrich.
  13. inflation
    Why Inflation Is Lower Than It LooksPrices are returning to the pre-pandemic norm, which looks like a giant spike in annual inflation.
  14. the economy
    The Case for (and Against) Worrying About InflationRising prices could be a sign of impending crisis — or just the birth pains of a post-COVID boom.
  15. economic policy
    Letting the Economy Create Jobs for Everyone Is (Sadly) RadicalIf Biden executes his plan for full employment, heightened class conflict will ensue.
  16. senate parlianmentarian
    Parliamentarian Erects New Obstacle to Biden’s AgendaDemocrats might be incapable of passing a partisan infrastructure bill until October under newly clarified Senate rules.
  17. conservatism
    The GOP Can Win Without Waging War on DemocracyBut they want to never lose.
  18. infrastructure
    The Case for (and Against) a ‘Skinny’ Infrastructure DealAccepting a bipartisan “skinny” deal could win Biden the goodwill of moderate Democrats — or cost him all leverage over them.
  19. the economy
    The America of Tomorrow Could Use a 20th-Century Welfare StateA lack of affordable health care, child care, and job training is holding American workers back, a new survey finds.
  20. infrastructure weak
    The Bipartisan Infrastructure Negotiations Are Ready to DieNo progress has been made on the fundamental obstacles to a deal. Democrats should cut bait posthaste.
  21. conservatism
    Law-and-Order Conservatives Call on Biden to Defund the Tax PoliceThe “populist” right is mobilizing against Joe Biden’s plot to prevent the superrich from shirking their tax obligations.
  22. our climate
    Adam Tooze on Climate Politics After COVIDThe eminent economic historian on the inadequacy of Biden’s climate plan, American provincialism, and whether enlightened capital will save us all.
  23. the federal reserve
    Why the Fed Isn’t Worried About Inflation (Yet)The central bank wants inflation to run above 2 percent for some time, and links existing price rises to reopening-induced supply shocks.
  24. israel
    Why Is This Geopolitical Fight Different From All Other Fights?The outsize place that Israel-Palestine occupies in American discourse isn’t arbitrary, nor a reflection of anti-Semitism.
  25. israel
    U.S. Discourse Is Growing More Pro-Palestinian. U.S. Policy Isn’t.Several factors have led liberals and newsrooms to become more sympathetic to Palestinian misery, creating a dissonance with the official U.S. stance.
  26. tax policy
    If Moderates Kill Biden’s Tax Plan, Will MMT Save His Agenda?Lobbyists say they have the votes to block most of Biden’s tax hikes. If true, only a total abandonment of fiscal orthodoxy will save his policies.
  27. our climate
    We’ll Innovate Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis or Die TryingThe chasm between the ecologically necessary and the politically possible can only be bridged by technological advance.
  28. the economy
    3 Reasons April’s Inflation Will Probably Be TemporaryPrice rises were concentrated in sectors heavily impacted by the pandemic.
  29. the economy
    5 Explanations for April’s Bad Jobs ReportDay cares are shuttered, the pandemic isn’t over, UI benefits are generous, and two other theories for last month’s big miss.
  30. babies
    No Country for New BabiesIn 2020, the U.S. birth rate declined by 4 percent, bringing the nation’s fertility to its lowest point in over a century.
  31. midterms
    Democrats’ Odds of Keeping the House Are Slimming FastWith redistricting reform stalled in Congress, and Democratic turnout weak in special elections, the GOP is cruising to House control.
  32. racial justice
    Avoiding White Backlash Is a Racial-Justice IssueDemocrats can’t make major legislative progress on racial equality without winning more Senate seats. To do that, they must win more white votes.
  33. conservatism
    Why the GOP Is Ideologically LostConservatives can’t reconcile their dual commitments to liberal capitalism and moral traditionalism.
  34. politics
    5 Messages President Biden Sent in His First Address to Congress“If you reelect me, I’ll keep you bored and well-fed,” the president said, in so many words.
  35. tax policy
    Rich Investors Make a Poor Case Against Biden’s Tax PlanWealthy capitalists warn that America cannot have shared prosperity unless they pay low taxes on income they didn’t work for. They are wrong.
  36. wall street
    Wall Street Spooked by Biden’s Tax PlanInvestors fear the president’s new capital gains tax will hurt America’s salt-of-the-earth, hardly working millionaires.
  37. climate change
    Why the World Can’t Trust America on ClimateAnd what Democrats can do about it.
  38. conservatism
    GOP Stands Up to ‘Cancel Culture’ by Criminalizing DissentRepublicans believe that corporations opposing conservative causes undermines civil liberties, but governments criminalizing protest does not.
  39. housing
    To ‘Build Back Better,’ America Must Build More HousingA historic housing shortage threatens to hamper the post-COVID recovery.
  40. infrastructure
    GOP to Biden: Raise Taxes on Our Rural Base, Not Coastal ElitesBiden wants to fund infrastructure with taxes on the (largely coastal) corporate elite. Republicans insist on soaking their own base instead.
  41. the economy
    The Biden Boom Has BegunJobless claims are falling, factory production is rising, and retail sales are skyrocketing as Biden’s stimulus kicks in.
  42. infrastructure
    Moderate Republicans Accuse Biden of Trying to Pass His AgendaRepublicans suspect that Biden will forgo bipartisanship and pass a partisan infrastructure bill. Here are five reasons why they’re probably right.
  43. forever war
    Biden: All U.S. Troops Will Leave Afghanistan by September 11The White House vows to end the longest war in U.S. history this year, no matter how conditions on the ground evolve.
  44. infrastructure
    Biden’s Vision for ‘Care Infrastructure’ Needs More SocialismMeeting the demand for high-quality elder care — while raising wages for those who provide it — would require radical measures.
  45. 2020 hindsight
    Latinas Drove Trump’s Gains With Hispanic Voters in 2020And two other new insights into the demographic’s rightward shift.
  46. democracy reforms
    Voting Restrictions Aren’t the Primary Threat to U.S. DemocracyThe GOP is better at denying Democratic voters equal representation than it is at denying them access to the ballot.
  47. donald trump
    Trump Calls On Biden to Let Global Capital Dictate U.S. Tax PolicyThe ex-president argues that raising taxes on multinational corporations to pay for American infrastructure is a “globalist betrayal.”
  48. the moral minority
    The GOP (Rightly) Fears America’s Churchless MajorityAs the American public grows historically secular, the Christian right is trying to take democracy down with it.
  49. infrastructure
    3 Quick Takes on Biden’s Infrastructure PlanDemocrats should worry less about deficits and more about spending as much on green-technology research and development as possible.
  50. infrastructure
    Here’s the Real Obstacle to Biden’s $4 Trillion Infrastructure BillSome moderate Democrats have a limited appetite for deficit spending, while others can’t stomach large tax hikes.
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