Republicans Are Trying To Defund The IRS

Republicans are back on their hobbyhorse of trying to make the federal government as ineffectual as possible, and this week’s podcast offers everything you need to know on the matter. On Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with ProPublica journalist Jesse Eisinger to explore the importance of U.S. tax policy in a way that even your conservative uncle can understand. With a looming battle brewing over the debt ceiling, David and Jesse discuss how Republican-led efforts to defund the IRS might actually come to pass. The Audit is still on hiatus, so now is a great time to catch up on their first two mini-seasons.

Learn more and find the episode links below.

Rock the boat

LEVER TIME: Why Republicans Want To Defund The IRS

A few weeks ago, House Republicans passed a bill to cancel new Internal Revenue Service funding. David Sirota sits down with journalist and tax policy expert Jesse Eisinger, who provides much-needed context on the GOP’s push to defund one of our most integral government agencies. (Yes, the IRS really is necessary.)

Jesse explains how the modest investments passed by Democrats would help the beleaguered IRS hold accountable our worst tax cheats and create billions of dollars in new revenue, and how Republican efforts to defund the agency would lead to even more of its chronically lax oversight.

A rough transcript of this episode is available here.

BONUS: On Lever Time Premium (the extended version of Lever Time which is exclusively available for supporting subscribers), Producer Frank, Matthew Cunningham-Cook, and Julia Rock discuss the “One Thing” that’s been on their minds recently: artificial intelligence. ChatGPT, a new AI-driven chatbot, has been caught writing essays for college students and even passed the final exam for Wharton’s MBA program. The Lever journalists discuss the implications of advanced AI and what it could mean for the future of academia and language-based professions.

If you want access to Lever Premium Podcasts, click here.

THE AUDIT: Catch Up On All Of The Episodes

The Audit’s study group has now completed two separate mini-seasons. First, they audited George W. Bush’s MasterClass on authentic leadership (which was terrible), and then they audited political consultants David Axelrod and Karl Rove’s MasterClass on campaign strategy and messaging (which was somehow worse). Make sure to catch up on all of the episodes below!

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