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On this episode of Follow the Money, Matt Grudnoff and Ebony Bennett discuss the government’s important changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount, its “brutal” cuts to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), and why some “broken promises” may not be such a big deal in the eyes of Australians.

This episode was recorded on Wednesday 13 May.

The latest Vantage Point essay, Rich Kid Poor Kid: The Battle for Public Education by Jane Caro, is available now for $19.95. Use the code ‘PODVP’ at checkout to get free shipping.

Guest: Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, the Australia Institute // @mattgrudnoff

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

Budget 2026: What the government’s housing tax changes mean for first home buyers and housing affordability by Matt Grudnoff, The Point (May 2026)

The New York Times columnists Ross Douthat and Ezra Klein disagree more often than they agree, which made it significant that just before the first anniversary of the 2024 election each arrived at, basically, the same explanation for Donald Trump’s victory. “It is completely obvious that the [Democratic] party lost in 2024 because it overcommitted to a range of unpopular left-wing positions,” Douthat wrote. Whatever else the 2024 election may have been, it “was also an ideological referendum, and progressivism lost.”

Klein’s explanation was even more detailed, making it a tougher read for his followers, who are more sympathetic to the Democratic cause than are Douthat’s. “From 2012 to 2024, Democrats moved sharply left on virtually every issue,” Klein observed, with electoral results that were precisely the opposite of those expected and intended.

Market Update Preview

Inflation continues to heat up, the April CPI came in at 3.8% annual, beating expectations. That matters a lot in this framework, because the model has been telling us late-cycle CPI surprises are the marker that the long chain of price hikes needed to defend balance-sheet expansion is finally working through the system. Today's print isn't a one-off. I think it kicks off a trend of hotter-than-expected inflation reads through the summer, with oil, the Iran supply shock, and lingering tariff effects all stacking on top of each other.

Equities sold off on the print, then bounced and held. Rates pushed higher, with the 10-year continuing the climb — and I want to walk through why rates are doing what they're doing even with the Trump administration jawboning the Fed. This is the late-cycle market function I've been watching for, and it's holding so far.

The bigger picture: in nominal terms flows are actually re-accelerating into summer, but in real terms the deficit impulse is deteriorating fast. There's a tension here that resolves one of two ways by end of summer, and the bank credit data is doing something that needs explaining. Full breakdown below, including why I'm still not looking to short and what the actual inflection point would have to look like.

Canadian cities are complicated by a constant attempt to simultaneously meet future demands while correcting the issues caused by past planning and design decisions. What we are left with are “messy cities;” urban areas that are considered iconic and even praised for their development, cleanliness and diversity, withstanding their systemic and structural issues such as housing affordability, traffic congestion, pollution, and social isolation. Despite the “messiness,” cities constantly adapt to change because of the communities that live in them.

Approximately 31 million Canadians, or roughly 76% of Canada’s population, reside in cities and their surrounding regional suburbs. The historical development of most Canadian cities as we know them today, have been “messy,” growing through long periods of economic, social exclusion, and racism. Amid these oppressive periods, subcultures of resistance emerged through art, the reclamation of spaces by community, and the emergence of cultural events and festivals celebrating those communities.

Join me at 7:00 pm on June 29 for a livestream in which we will discuss Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Idiot. If you can, read before joining!

The novel was inspired by a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger called Christ’s Body in the Tomb. The painting was completed between 1520 or 1522. I have a picture of the painting pasted on the inside cover of my copy of The Idiot, which was translated from the Russian by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky. The painting shows the elongated corpse of Christ with wounds peppered along his body signifying the horrific torture he suffered before death. The flesh is in the early stages of putrifaction.

It is rare that mayoral campaigns receive national attention, but Spencer Pratt’s bid for mayor of Los Angeles has. Since his initial campaign announcement in January, Pratt has been gaining momentum and is now polling in second place behind incumbent L.A. Mayor Karen Bass. His campaign has primarily focused on restoring the city to its former glory, particularly in the wake of the damage from the horrific Palisades fires of 2025. Two weeks ago, he uploaded his now-viral campaign ad, featuring the hit song “Not Like Us,” as he showed off the untouched properties of Mayor Bass and city councilmember Nithya Raman. The video then showcases the charred ruins where Pratt’s home previously stood, along with the trailer he now resides in.

Whatever the fate of Pratt’s campaign, he has hit on a messaging strategy that right-wing candidates would do well to emulate going forward if they want to be successful in the digital age. Conservatives have had trouble breaking out of their image as out-of-touch intellectuals. Pratt’s message has more emotional impact. And his language is assertive. In the past, Republican leaders like George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, and Mike Pence had a cultural reputation for being passive. Pratt’s ad makes him look like something out of the John Wick action series.

The Racketeer Influences and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as “RICO,” was passed by Congress in 1970 as part of that year’s Organized Crime Control Act. It was designed to reach not just the foot soldiers of organized crime organizations, but the crime bosses themselves.

Although it did that directly by allowing charges to be brought against the leaders of “criminal enterprises,” it also did so indirectly by allowing prosecutors to go after low-level criminals and even drivers, doormen, etc. with threats of hefty, 20-year felony sentences and offers of reduced-sentence plea deals in exchange for turning state’s evidence against the mob bosses.

The federal government’s historic step forward on winding back investor tax breaks marks a turning point for housing fairness and affordability but it must be the start of deeper reform, according to Everybody’s Home.

The national housing campaign said the government’s changes to the capital gains tax discount and negative gearing represent significant progress but don’t go far enough to improve housing outcomes for all Australians.

Everybody’s Home spokesperson Maiy Azize said the campaign assessed the government’s changes on three tests: improving affordability, changing investor behaviour, and reducing inequality.

“After years of campaigning, we’re finally seeing a government that is willing to start tackling investor tax breaks and work towards a fairer and more affordable housing system. This is a victory for every Australian priced out of housing,” Ms Azize said.

“This significant step forward on investor tax breaks signals that the federal government is starting to listen to everyday Australians and resisting the noise from the profiteering property lobby. This progress proves that policy choices like investor tax breaks have fuelled the housing crisis, and that they can be changed to end it.

“While the government’s historic changes to investor tax breaks mark a turning point, they only begin to undo a quarter of a century of damage to the country’s housing system. This must be the start of housing reform, not the end of it.

This article is read by Eunice Wong. You can find her work at www.eunicewong.actor.

Text originally published May 8, 2026.

America’s Suicide Pact

 — Author: Chris Hedges — Friday 8th May 2026

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Stress and Strain from NBFIs to Banks

 — Organisation: Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Publication: Liberty Street Economics — Friday 8th May 2026

Viral V. Acharya, Nicola Cetorelli, and Bruce Tuckman

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The Meaning of the American Creed

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Friday 8th May 2026

As the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence approaches, Spencer Klavan invites us to reflect on the origins of that document and its fate. He asks us to consider an array of questions: Are the principles of the Declaration the final truth at the end of history? Is the end of history lamentable? Does the war in Iran refute the end of history? Is the Declaration informed by a rational view of the universe or by revealed religion?

I have access neither to the world-historical spirit nor to prophetic signs, so I’ll begin with what has become a necessary task: to establish that the Declaration marks the founding of the American nation, to explain what it means, and to defend it against popular criticisms.

Some have tried to define America by the year 1619, because that is when slavery was established. Others opine that 1607 is the beginning of the United States, because that is when the English first settled in Jamestown. However, these are not true national origins, in part, because they do not recognize the independence of the United States from Great Britain. More importantly, they are wrong because neither of these events recognizes the fundamental principles of right that define the United States.

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Recommended video: Are we at a Galileo moment in economics?

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

Recommended video: Are we at a Galileo moment in economics? Richard Murphy What if everything you think about money is wrong? And does it matter…

The post Recommended video: Are we at a Galileo moment in economics? appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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More pain coming as RBA hikes interest rates again

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — Friday 8th May 2026

On this episode of Dollars & Sense, Greg and Elinor discuss the rationale for the Reserve Bank’s third interest rate hike for 2026 and how changing the way trusts are taxed could reduce inequality.

This discussion was recorded on Thursday 7 May 2026.

Visit The Point for research, analysis, explainers and factchecks from experts at the Australia Institute and beyond.

Host: Greg Jericho, Chief Economist, the Australia Institute // @grogsgamut

Host: Elinor Johnston-Leek, Senior Content Producer, the Australia Institute // @elinorjohnstonleek

Show notes:

In this budget, all eyes are on CGT. But Labor’s rumoured family trust tweaks might also help fight tax inequality by Greg Jericho, Guardian Australia (May 2026)

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The Sun Sets on Great Britain

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Thursday 7th May 2026

White House lawn speeches greeting foreign heads of state are usually sleepy pro-forma affairs, filled out with the clichés of long-standing ties and mutual interests. But President Trump’s speech welcoming King Charles was no mere boilerplate. It was a masterpiece of ironic and subtle mischief on multiple levels—triggering the Left, offering a ground of unity for the Right as we draw near to the 250th anniversary of the American Founding, and, for those who listened closely, a rebuke both to Britain and the rest of Europe for their supine and rapidly declining civilizations. Making all the “No Kings” protestors look silly was just a bonus.

As everyone knows—especially Pope Leo XIV—Trump is not typically known for subtle rebukes, so kudos are deserved for his speechwriting staff for crafting a succinct and enthymematic message worthy of Aristotle, though it was fully in accord with Trump’s main instincts and central purposes.

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The Case Against New York Times v. Sullivan

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Thursday 7th May 2026

In 1964, the Supreme Court of the United States revolutionized our country’s understanding of the First Amendment. More specifically, the Court’s ruling in New York Times v. Sullivan caused a fundamental change in how we think about the relationship of the First Amendment’s protection for freedom of the press, on the one hand, and the problem of libel, on the other.

According to the traditional view swept aside by the Sullivan Court, libel—or publication of defamatory falsehood—was simply outside the scope of the freedom of the press, a licentious abuse that the Founders never intended to enjoy constitutional or legal protection. During the lengthy period that this view prevailed, those who published false and defamatory matter were open to being sued successfully for damages, whether the victim of the libel was a private or a public person.

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Why the rich don’t pay taxes

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

Why the rich don’t pay taxes Lars Syll Beneath the civic ideal of taxation as a collective, equitable endeavour lies an entrenched hypocrisy: the architecture…

The post Why the rich don’t pay taxes appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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Neoclassical economics vs MMT on the status of savings

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

Neoclassical economics vs MMT on the status of savings Jim Byrne The following link – https://www.linkedin.com/feed [1 ] – which appeared on 1 Apr 2026…

The post Neoclassical economics vs MMT on the status of savings appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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Why Minsky still matters

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

Why Minsky still matters Lars Syll Perhaps the foremost financial crisis theorist of our time, Hyman Minsky, had as his central idea that crises are…

The post Why Minsky still matters appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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We don’t need billionaires, and we can structure the market so we don’t have them

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

We don’t need billionaires, and we can structure the market so we don’t have them Extracted from an article by Dean Baker [1] The Economist…

The post We don’t need billionaires, and we can structure the market so we don’t have them appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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US war on Iran shows renewable energy is an inflation management tool [1]

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

US war on Iran shows renewable energy is an inflation management tool [1] Ingrid Walker The growing energy crisis shows that fossil fuels present a…

The post US war on Iran shows renewable energy is an inflation management tool [1] appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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Comparative economic evolution of three countries

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

Comparative economic evolution of three countries – and how to improve New Zealand’s mismanaged economy Steven Hail Steven Hail argues that New Zealand is enduring…

The post Comparative economic evolution of three countries appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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“Half-baked” gas reservation a distraction that won’t raise a cent in revenue

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — Thursday 7th May 2026

While the policy provides clear proof that Australia never had a ‘gas shortage’ and has been suffering from excessive gas exports, a gas reservation policy won’t change the sad fact that Australia is giving away more than half of the gas it exports for free.

Dr Richard Denniss, co-CEO of The Australia Institute, says the policy is a distraction after the government caved into the gas lobby and appeared to rule out a gas export tax in next week’s federal budget.

“The government is trying to shift attention away from its determination to keep giving more than half the gas Australia exports away for free,” Dr Denniss said.

“The Albanese Government wants Australians to think it’s doing something about gas, but instead of collecting $350 million per week from a gas export tax, it is pursuing a new policy that won’t raise a cent.”

“Labor has the numbers in parliament. It has the support of unions, crossbenchers and, most importantly, voters. One nation voters want a gas export tax. Clive Palmer supporters want a gas export tax. Labor voters want a gas export tax.”

Dr Denniss has branded a gas reservation as the “wrong solution” to a problem which has been deliberately engineered by the gas industry, which has created fake fears of shortages in Australia while it was exporting vast  quantities of Australian gas overseas.

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Is the national anti-corruption body failing?

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — Thursday 7th May 2026

On this episode of Follow the Money, journalist and writer Nick Feik joins Ebony Bennett to discuss the NACC’s handling of its Robodebt investigation, its decision not to hold public hearings so far, and concerns about the legal experience required of some senior leaders.

This episode was recorded on Tuesday 5 May and some things may have changed.

The latest Vantage Point essay, Rich Kid Poor Kid: The Battle for Public Education by Jane Caro, is available now for $19.95. Use the code ‘PODVP’ at checkout to get free shipping.

Guest: Nick Feik, journalist and writer // @nickfeik

Host: Ebony Bennett, Deputy Director, the Australia Institute // @ebonybennett

Show notes:

Built to fail? NACC: the integrity body undermined from the start by Nick Feik, Michelle Fahy & Elizabeth Minter, The Point (April 2026)

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It's Time New York Became a Real American City

 — Publication: CityNerd — Wednesday 6th May 2026

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Multiracial Democracy is Young and Fragile

 — Author: Thomas Zimmer — Wednesday 6th May 2026

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Canada’s Economy Is Held Back When Immigrant Women Are Held Back

 — Publication: Perspectives Journal — Wednesday 6th May 2026

Between 2016 and 2021, Canada admitted over 1.3 million immigrants of whom approximately 51% were women. Nearly 60% of newcomer women arrived in Canada through economic immigration pathways programs that select applicants based on skills, work experience, and education to fill labour market gaps. Although most immigrants arrive with the desire, qualifications, and skills needed to work in different sectors of the Canadian economy, many fail to find secure, appropriate, or meaningful jobs. In 2021, racialized immigrant women aged 25 to 54 had the lowest labour force participation and employment rates, and the highest unemployment rates of any group in Canada.

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The American Mind Podcast: The Roundtable Episode 316

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Wednesday 6th May 2026

The American Mind’s ‘Editorial Roundtable’ podcast is a weekly conversation with Ryan Williams, Spencer Klavan, and Mike Sabo devoted to uncovering the ideas and principles that drive American political life. Stream here or download from your favorite podcast host.

Callooh, Callais | The Roundtable Ep. 316

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A sustainable future for diamond open access: The Open Journals Collective

 — Organisation: Open Access Australasia — Wednesday 6th May 2026

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It’s not me, it’s you – Australians ready to break up with Trump’s America

 — Organisation: The Australia Institute — Wednesday 6th May 2026

The YouGov poll of 1502 people found more than more than twice as many (59%) Australians now believe Australia’s interests are better served by a more independent foreign policy rather than a closer alliance with the United States (23%). Just one in eight (13%) Australians believe the US is a “very reliable” security ally.

The poll shows a further erosion of confidence in the US under President Trump. A year ago, a similar poll found that 31% of Australians believed Trump was a greater threat to world peace than Putin (27%) and Xi (27%).

Now, 52% feel that Trump is a bigger threat than Putin (17%) and Xi (16%).

Key findings:

• More One Nation voters (35%) believe Trump is a bigger threat to world peace than Putin (18%), and about the same number think Xi is the biggest threat (32%).

• One third (33%) of Australians now believe the AUKUS security agreement is not in Australia’s best interests.

• 68% of Australians, including 53% of One Nation voters, oppose Australia’s involvement in the US and Israel’s war on Iran.

“This poll represents a seismic shift in the way Australians think about the United States,” said Dr Emma Shortis, Director of The Australia Institute’s International & Security Affairs Program.

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Same Shock, Different Roads? A K‑Shaped Pattern at the Pump

 — Organisation: Federal Reserve Bank of New York — Publication: Liberty Street Economics — Wednesday 6th May 2026

Rajashri Chakrabarti, Thu Pham, Beck Pierce, and Maxim Pinkovskiy

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Bringing the American Way of Life to Space

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Wednesday 6th May 2026

At this very moment, humanity is venturing beyond the limits of Earth.

NASA’s Artemis II mission to the far side of the moon was a reminder that this is no longer science fiction. Commercial launches are becoming more frequent, private missions are expanding, and durable off-world habitats—once the stuff of far-flung imaginings—are well within reach. What was once a set of hypothetical word problems has become a collection of real-world challenges to solve.

Those of us who believe in America’s ideals, political structure, and folkways have to start thinking now about how to preserve them in outer space. Human nature is not going to change. But the parameters of human life will—and dramatically. The question is how, in this unprecedented scenario, we can make the American way of life one of the things we carry with us. We are taking our humanity to space. How can we take our freedom too?

To meet this challenge, the University of Austin has initiated the Torchlight Summit. Torchlight convenes astronauts, scientists, engineers, classicists, and political theorists to address a question that is too often ignored: What are the political and institutional consequences of life beyond Earth, and how can we shape them before they solidify?

The summit is structured around three core pillars:

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Defending Democracy Across Borders with David Adler

 — Publication: Perspectives Journal — Wednesday 6th May 2026

Listen to the full conversation on the Perspectives Journal podcast, available to subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon Music, and all other major podcast platforms.

At the 2026 Progress Summit, David Adler highlighted the organized right-right’s network of actors and institutions — what he calls the ‘Reactionary International.’ Adler is the Co-General Coordinator of the Progressive International, an group that unites, organizes and mobilizes the world’s progressive forces to fight for democracy.

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Palantir’s Manifesto Is a Return to American Tradition

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Wednesday 6th May 2026

Most corporate mission statements are real snoozers. Especially in the case of large public defense companies, they’re designed to present boilerplate language to the public: “We develop science and technology to help people, and we produce some other things (weapons) that we won’t directly mention here, but which you can find on page five of our annual report.”

Palantir recently broke from this mode of anodyne corporate communication in a manifesto-style post titled “The Technological Republic, in brief,” which itself is a summary of a book of the same title by Palantir executives Alex Karp and Nicholas Zamiska.

Here are some paraphrased highlights from the 22-point declaration:

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Australia at risky end of land price cycle, new paper warns

 — Organisation: Prosper Australia — Wednesday 6th May 2026

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This is the end of the U.S. global monetary system

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

This is the end of the U.S. global monetary system Steve Keen The US-dollar-based international monetary system will not survive this Presidency. There is, of…

The post This is the end of the U.S. global monetary system appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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On The Wealth of Nations

 — Organisation: Economic Reform Australia (ERA) — Friday 1st May 2026

On The Wealth of Nations Susan Borden 250 years on, Jason Furman’s essay goes wrong, not in what it says about Adam Smith, but in…

The post On The Wealth of Nations appeared first on Economic Reform Australia.

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I See the Moon

 — Author: Julia Doubleday — Wednesday 6th May 2026

Even before I got sick, I’d wonder about people in airplanes. I live in DC, and they’re constantly overhead. Taking off and landing at nearby DCA. Distant blinking lights at cruising altitude, heading for some foreign city.

I love to travel, and no matter the day, time or occasion, a plane passing by always incites a pang of envy. I imagine myself huddled up in my window seat (always window), trying to catch some sleep on a newly-purchased neck pillow (I have about 11, because I never remember to bring them and end up getting ripped off at the airport bookshop again). I’m excited, loopy and dreamy, because I always take benzos to fly; ironically, I’m terrified of flying, even though I know air travel is statistically extremely safe.

But after years of nail biting, whiskey drinking, hyperventilating and panic-attacking my way across the Atlantic, my doctor relented and prescribed me some Ativan. Now flying has an easy, dreamlike quality to it. I actually look forward to being released, not just from the land, but from The Land of Worries. I chat with my seatmates, if they like.

Once, as our flight took off, the woman next to me yelped and grasped my arm in fear.

I looked over at her lazily. “Hey,” I smiled easily, “do you want a xanax?”

She didn’t.

Read more

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Justice Alito Cleans the Augean Stable of Faux Voting Rights Precedents

 — Organisation: The Claremont Institute — Tuesday 5th May 2026

The Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Louisiana v. Callais may dramatically alter congressional districts in Southern states. Writing for a 6-3 majority, Justice Samuel Alito unraveled decades of confusing and misguided caselaw construing the 1965 Voting Rights Act (VRA) to hold that states may not engage in racial gerrymandering—or be forced to do so by federal courts—when drawing congressional districts. The Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause forbids race-based discrimination, Alito pointedly declared, preventing Section 2 of the VRA from being interpreted to require the creation of “majority-black” districts to comply with the VRA.

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