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Rush before recess Jul 23, 2021

Congress is in that busy mode before it goes on vacation. What’s moving forward? Right now, it’s the negotiations over the bipartisan infrastructure framework and Democrats’ $3.5 trillion social spending package. What’s stalling? Voting rights and police reform. Josh Barro talks with panelists Megan McArdle and Gustavo Arellano about why that’s fizzled and all the homework Congress is trying to finish before summer recess.

Then: the delta variant is continuing to wreak havoc on the unvaccinated, with case rates up nearly fivefold since the third week of June. Do masks make sense again now? What’s the best way to get people vaccinated? And what’s Gustavo saying to the ‘pandejos’ now?

Plus, are billionaires in space annoying or are they good for humanity? And finally: why the Summer Olympics should probably always be held in Los Angeles.

The Democrats’ go-big budget Jul 17, 2021

This week on Left, Right & Center: Senate Democrats have their plates full between the bipartisan infrastructure bill they’re already working on and a new $3.5 trillion spending bill they announced this week. This one would be mostly social spending: paid family leave, child care, universal pre-kindergarten and expanding Medicare to include vision, dental and hearing. Josh Barro, Liz Bruenig and Megan McArdle discuss whether there will be public support for infrastructure and this big social spending package, if the push could turn out to be a political win or liability for Democrats, if the party will remain united or do some necessary hashing out, and the pay-fors. One of the ways to pay for it is empowering the IRS to recoup unpaid taxes and it could mean that lower- and middle-income earners could be audited more frequently. Is that bad?

Then: Rising covid cases and new virus variants are a major concern for public health, the economic recovery, and a return to normal. Are breakthrough infections also a blindspot for our covid analysis? Former Obama administration health policy adviser Dr. Kavita Patel talks about the gulf in infections between vaccinated and unvaccinated people and whether it would help for the FDA to fully approve the vaccines.

And finally — welcome to ECON 101 at LRC. Today we’re talking inflation. Consumer prices rose 0.9% in June, and we’re seeing the most rapid rate of inflation since the 2008 recession. What’s going on, and should you be concerned? We discuss.

Leaving Afghanistan Jul 09, 2021

On this week’s Left Right & Center, Josh, Liz and Ross talk about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan after nearly 20 years. But what do we have to show for America’s longest war? And should we fear a return of the Taliban to power?

Then: We now know who’s winning the Democratic primary– and likely the mayorship– in New York City. Who is Eric Adams, and does his “Biden-style politics” mark a crucial break from the progressive left?

Also: we take a deep dive into the political and practical justifications for the death penalty, and examine whether the focus on innocence has obscured our moral obligation to the guilty. Finally: we take a closer look at the fight over critical race theory. What are people really arguing about, and is it about children’s education at all? We discuss.

Special presentation of All The Presidents’ Lawyers Jul 02, 2021

This week’s episode is a special presentation of All The Presidents’ Lawyers, a KCRW podcast that Josh Barro and Ken White host. It’s all about the legal problems of presidents and their associates.

This week: the indictments of Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg and various Trump businesses came down. The charges allege a a fifteen-year tax fraud scheme that protected Weisselberg and other Trump Organization employees from paying tax. In Weisselberg’s case, that’s over $1.7 million in compensation. After years of investigation, was this expected? Was it likely that Trump himself would have been charged?

Next, Ken and Josh discuss Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to decline to investigate the Trump administration’s DOJ, leaving it to the inspector general. And then: Rudy Giuliani has been stripped of his law license for making demonstrably false statements about the outcome of the 2020 elections. Is this the end of his career?

And on this special episode, you’ll get to hear Ken and Josh answer listener questions about all things legal, including why former President Trump can claim such broad legal immunity against lawsuits for statements he made in office, like when he crudely denied E. Jean Carroll’s rape allegation or encouraged his supporters toward the Capitol on January 6.

Left, Right & Center’s regularly scheduled programming will return July 9.

It’s Infrastructure Week, again! Jun 26, 2021

A bipartisan success story: That’s how President Biden wants us to remember the infrastructure deal he announced this week. It was an opportunity for the president to remind people that he gets Congress, he knows how to reach across the aisle, and he’ll still reassure progressives that it won’t stop him from delivering on other Democratic priorities. In this episode: Ross, Liz and Josh discuss what’s in the infrastructure deal, if it’ll get the additional support it needs to be come a reality, and how likely it is that Biden can get to everything on the Democrats’ wishlist.

Then: Sasha Issenberg talks about the massive and relatively rapid success story that was the campaign for same-sex marriage, from a local fight in Honolulu to a U.S. Supreme Court decision. How did public opinion change so quickly, and how integral was it to the fight that it did? Do social movements today have similar advantages? Finally, some Catholic bishops are pushing to deny President Biden communion for his pro-choice views. What does that even mean? Does it matter? We discuss.

Or else Jun 17, 2021

After a highly anticipated summit between President Biden and Vladimir Putin, here’s what we’re left with: if Russia’s going to cyberattack the United States, they should not target sixteen critical areas of American society and infrastructure, or else. What does that mean? And where does that leave us with Russian hackers that aren’t part of the government?

Also: The Supreme Court upholds Obamacare after another attempt to shake it down. Is this a win for progressives? Is it a major loss for conservatives? And Senator Joe Manchin proposes a voting rights compromise. Is it a good deal for both sides? Plus: a discussion of Ross Douthat’s book The Decadent Society and how the pandemic has left a mark on decadence.

Secret Congress Jun 12, 2021

Joe Biden is in Europe. He’s meeting with the G7, then he’ll see European and NATO leaders and meet one-on-one with Putin. European leaders are relieved Trump is gone, but does that mean they have an alignment of interests with Biden ashe seeks to challenge Russia and China? And is that more pressing than the role of G7 leaders in leading vaccination around the world?

Then: the new bipartisan infrastructure deal is so secret nobody even know what’s in it. We know one thing that’s not in it: new taxes, which makes sense, because Republicans and Democrats have embraced expansions of government spending without taxes! Plus the panel discusses the death of Democrats’ voting bill and the ProPublica exposé of billionaires’ tax information. It didn’t expose anything illegal. Is any of it our business?

Josh Barro finally admits cicadas are real, but he says it’s still stupid to promote anything about eating them.

An improved jobs report but still a long road to economic recovery Jun 04, 2021

The jobs report for May was better than April but still left a lot of room for improvement. Workers are being more selective, which may not be a bad thing. With a tight labor market and a material shortage, is this the right time for a big infrastructure package? Negotiations continue in Washington for a possible bipartisan deal, but the final package may be much more modest than what President Biden hoped for.

The cruise line industry is trying to recover after a devastating year and the CDC is saying cruise lines must ensure that at least 95% of passengers and crew must be vaccinated against COVID. But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed a state law prohibiting private companies from requiring proof of vaccination from its customers and has threatened to fine cruise lines if they do so. Should the government be making rules about when private companies can require vaccines? And what about workplace vaccine mandates?

Then: This week, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn seemed to be saying a coup like the one in Myanmar should happen here and former President Trump has hopes of being “reinstated” in August.

Finally, the panel talks with Princeton Professor of Sociology Patrick Sharkey about the rise in violent crime over the past year, the possible causes for this dramatic spike and the data-backed ways to bring crime down.

Sausage making May 28, 2021

Congress has been unusually productive lately. The sausage making process is actually getting us some sausage — in this case, a bipartisan plan to boost spending on applied science research, framed as a way to compete with China. There is less agreement on the bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 riot, and as expected, Republicans blocked the plan after we recorded this episode. Josh Barro and panelists Elizabeth Bruenig, Rahcel Bovard and David Frum discuss why and the split on the right about the panel. Plus: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed into a law a new avenue to make social media companies be nice to conservatives. Tech companies say it violates the First Amendment, but is the intention even for the law to work?

Finally: what’s the right way for the United States to respond to a state-sponsored hijacking of a passenger jet in Europe and other increasingly bold actions from authoritarian states?

Look at Congress being normal again May 22, 2021

There is a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinians. Joe Biden told Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday that he expected a significant and swift de-escalation, which he got. But the Biden administration’s overall approach to Israel and Palestine has been to keep expectations low and not get too involved. There are no big peace process hopes here. Is there anything more productive the US can do?

Then: Congress is being normal again. There’s a big science funding bill that’s probably going to pass with big bipartisan majorities — and lots of pet projects that undermine the bill’s core mission. That’s the regular order Congress is supposed to use — is it any good? We’ll look at Republican opposition to a bipartisan Capitol riot commission.

The panel talks with expert Rupali Limaye of the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University about incentives for vaccinations, sending doses abroad and more.

Is it time to cut unemployment benefits? May 14, 2021

Inflation is back! It may not be here to stay — there’s a lot of weirdness in the economy right now — but with wages rising quickly despite surprisingly weak job growth in April, some states are moving to cut off unenhanced unemployment benefits in an effort to drive more Americans back into work. Is that a good idea? Will it work? And will it push back on inflation? Josh Barro talks with panelists Tim Carney and Elizabeth Bruenig about that, and the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack that disrupted gasoline delivery in the Eastern U.S. Why do these ransom attacks happen, and how can we protect ourselves against the next one? Finally: the panel discusses an unexpectedly controversial Mother’s Day essay Liz Bruenig wrote about becoming a mother at 25.

Where are all the jobs? May 08, 2021

The April jobs report number was disappointing. We expected a million new jobs and only got 260,000. There are a few factors that could be slowing job growth: a very specific reason why manufacturing jobs are down, enhanced unemployment benefits, disrupted child care and school schedule, and the pandemic and the pace of vaccination.

Then: it’s possible that Rep. Liz Cheney will no longer be in House Republican leadership. She’s been outspoken about her disapproval of Donald Trump and her anger about his lies about the 2020 election that inspired a violent mob to storm the U.S. Capitol in January. She may be replaced by Rep. Elise Stefanik, who got an emphatic endorsement from former President Trump this week. Is that infighting a proxy fight over Trump’s role in the party? Finally: the panel discusses a ruling from the Facebook Supreme Court, which is a real thing that exists, about Trump’s future on Facebook and Instagram.

The low-rated, kinda sleepy and quietly radical speech May 01, 2021

President Biden made his first address to a joint session of Congress. It didn’t get big TV ratings, but the content reflected big changes to what he’d have the government do, with trillions of dollars in new spending on infrastructure and social programs. So is Joe Biden a quiet radical? Or is he just showing that a left agenda was never that intensely controversial if you did it quietly? And how did Republican Senator Tim Scott do in his response to Biden’s address? His speech drew a lot of praise and a lot of criticism. Josh Barro, Rachel Bovard, Gustavo Arellano and Keli Goff talk through the speeches, what Biden said about his agenda, and where Republicans might oppose it.

Plus: three stories about whether the government will tell you what to do in your own personal consumption behavior. Should there be a federal ban on menthol cigarettes? What about marijuana? And what’s the beef with beef?

Accountability Apr 24, 2021

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts for the death of George Floyd last summer. The prosecution’s case against him was strong and the jury deliberated for less than two days before reaching their unanimous verdicts. So why did this result feel like a surprise to so many Americans? Josh Barro talks with panelists Tim Carney, Gustavo Arellano and Keli Goff about the verdicts, bipartisan negotiations over reforming law enforcement, and what Americans might agree on about it.

Then: the panel discussed President Biden’s double flip flop on refugee admissions and how the crisis at the southern border is interfering with his broader immigration agenda, and the effort to recall Governor Gavin Newsom in California. Voters dissatisfied with his handling of the pandemic could remove him from office, but so far, polls suggest they’re not inclined to do so. Will further lifting of covid restrictions in California — and the likelihood that a circus of characters will be on the ballot with him — keep Newsom in Sacramento?

Pause & Review Apr 17, 2021

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is on pause, out of an abundance of caution, federal officials say. Out of more than 7 million J&J doses administered so far, there have been six incidents of a rare and serious kind of blood clot. The idea for the pause is to figure out whether anything needs to change about the use of this particular vaccine, but are there unintended consequences? Josh Barro and panelists Jamelle Bouie and Lanhee Chen discuss that, plus President Biden’s effort to raise corporate taxes and alternative proposals from Republicans, and new sanctions against Russia over the SolarWinds hack. Andrea Kendall-Taylor, formerly the senior intelligence officer who led the U.S. intelligence community’s strategic analysis on Russia from 2015-18, talks about the design of this sanctions package and what it shows about the Biden administration’s strategy for advancing American interests through diplomacy.

Finally, there has been outrage this week over two fatal shootings by police of two young men, Daunte Wright in Minnesota and Adam Toledo in Chicago, that should have been avoided. The panel discusses accountability for police officers and what can be done to reduce the use of deadly force by police in this country.

Carrots over sticks Apr 10, 2021

Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan has stretched the definition of infrastructure. One component is over $200 billion for housing. Home prices are rising around the country and affordability is a bigger issue than ever, but will incentivizing local governments to make zoning less restrictive and build more housing actually get more Americans into the homes they want?

Then: Josh Barro and panelists Jamelle Bouie and Lanhee Chen discuss how governors have handled the pandemic and how they’ve fared politically. For all the national criticism Florida and its governor, Ron DeSantis, has gotten, Florida’s been an average performer at fighting the spread of Covid-19. Did Governor DeSantis get a bad rap? And how did Governor Cuomo in New York get so overrated? Can all of this be explained by our hyper-partisan times? Georgia’s new voting law might be explained by that too — the panel analyzes critiques of this law and its projected effects on future elections.

Infrastructure Week, maybe for real this time Apr 03, 2021

It’s finally Infrastructure Week! Maybe for real this time? Josh Barro and panelists Christine Emba and Lanhee Chen discuss President Biden’s $2 trillion infrastructure package that includes funding for more traditional infrastructure, like transportation, water and utilities and more. But there’s also something Biden’s calling “infrastructure at home”: affordable housing, school upgrades, broadband and more. Is this a Democrat’s wishlist, or are there aspects of this bill that can gain Republican support? Is it really an infrastructure bill or a big spending bill? Is it the right political strategy to put all of these priorities in one proposal? President Biden wants to increase the corporate tax rate to pay for this major 8-year spending project, taking aim at the centerpiece of President Trump’s 2017 tax package. The panel agrees that might be a broadly popular move that could be challenging for Republicans to oppose.

Biden meets the press Mar 26, 2021

Joe Biden gave the first press conference of his presidency this week. He took a bit of a victory lap, saying we’ll actually get 200 million shots in his first hundred days and noting that about half of schools are fully open and over 100 million Americans have gotten their $1400 payments. Okay, so what’s next? What about the non-covid agenda items for the Biden administration, which may actually prove more politically challenging. Biden did not seem bullish on gun legislation. He noted we’re sending away the vast majority of migrants who show up at the US-Mexico border, but with a policy change, apprehensions of unaccompanied minors are poised to set a record. Biden also didn’t want to get into specifics on his response to China after a frosty summit in Anchorage. Kaiser Kuo will tell us what to expect going forward in that relationship.

Tragedy in Georgia Mar 20, 2021

Congress is debating how to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. House Democrats passed their version this week, but Republicans in the Senate have concerns about guns and other issues. As the nation reacts to a horrific attack aimed at Asian American women in Atlanta, what is the prospect for federal action? Josh Barro speaks with Christine Emba and Megan McArdle about objections to the bill — are Democrats arguing against a more progressive position on policing? Are Republicans just objecting to restrictions on guns?

Alec MacGillis of ProPublica joins the panel to discuss his reporting on the toll of the pandemic on children and teens, including academic losses, social isolation, mental health and suicide. Then, the panel discusses Alec’s new book Fulfillment: Winning And Losing In One-Click America that examines economic inequality and disparities in the United States through the lens of Amazon. The company has intensified the trend of ‘winning’ cities with unaffordable housing and ‘losing’ cities with a rusted-out economic base. How much of that is Amazon’s fault, and would a union for Amazon workers ameliorate it?

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (en español: 1-888-628-9454; deaf and hard of hearing: dial 711, then 1-800-273-8255) or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

Joe Biden’s BFD Mar 13, 2021

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Act is now law, and to quote then-Vice President Biden, it’s a “big f***ing deal.” President Biden signed it Thursday and addresssed the national about the return to normal. He announced he’s directing states to make all adults eligible for the vaccine by May 1. What’s actually in this giant law? Where will all that money go? There’s a big extension of unemployment that will help workers get through the summer. Direct payments will be distributed to Americans starting as soon as this weekend. There’s also a lot of spending that seems maybe only tangentially related to the pandemic.

The panel talks with Samuel Hammond of the Niskanen Center about the big new payments to American parents that some may be surprised start getting as soon as July. The payments will significantly reduce child poverty, but for now, the payments are in effect for one year. President Biden would like to make it permanent. Should he?

Not now, but soon? Mar 06, 2021

Texas is done with Covid, but is Covid done with Texas? Some states are rushing to lift restrictions while others are being more deliberate, saying they’ll do so in late March or April. Is this return to normal coming too soon or not soon enough? Meanwhile, lawmakers are making changes to the Covid relief package. Some upper-middle earners won’t get relief checks, but that’s less than a one-percent cut from the $1.9 trillion package. Is the money going to the right places? And is it too much in an economy that’s already propelled by the return of social activity? Finally, this week featured controversies about Dr. Seuss, Mr. Potatohead, and whether it’s okay to call people “neanderthals.” Is the uptick in silly news stories a sign that nature is healing?

A third vaccine Feb 27, 2021

We’re getting a third covid vaccine. Johnson & Johnson is set to deliver 20 million doses by the end of March, and this vaccine only requires one dose per person. Vaccine rollout in the US is accelerating and is faster than most other rich countries. Are we doing a good job with this? When can we go back to normal, and has Anthony Fauci become a bit of a wet blanket?

Plus: Donald Trump’s planning to continue steering the Republican Party, a setback for a Democratic minimum wage increase proposal and Renuka Rayasam talks with the panel about what happened in Texas: why the state’s electrical system was so vulnerable to cold weather and political fallout from the disaster.

Left, Right & Center & Independent Feb 19, 2021

Former President Trump has been acquitted in his second impeachment trial and now we are officially out of the Trump era… for now. Congress can now turn its attention to passing another round of covid relief and Democrats are prepared to do this with no Republican votes, if necessary. Independent Senator Angus King of Maine joins the panel for an update on those negotiations, why a bipartisan deal isn’t in the cards and how Democrats are deciding how much money to spend and on what. Then economics and housing reporter Conor Dougherty talks with the panel about the housing crisis in Califorrnia and nationally, and how the pandemic has changed it for the better and for the worse.

On trial Feb 12, 2021

Former President Trump is on trial in the senate. Democrats showed dramatic video presentations with previously unseen footage of the Capitol riot showing how close some lawmakers came to danger. Trump’s lawyers say the trial is unconstitutional — and besides, the riot was not his fault — and they appear to be taking most Republican senators along with them. Meanwhile, the White House has been mostly ignoring the impeachment trial and making plans to go bigger on deficit spending with better economic projections convincing them they have more room to borrow and spend on relief and infrastructure. Anya Kamenetz joins the panel to talk about schools reopening, as the Biden administration seeks to balance the interests of parents and teachers. A hacker recently tried to put dangerous levelss of lye in a Florida wter systeem. It didn’t work this time, but how much should we worry in the aftermath of the massive Solarwinds hack that affected untold numbers of government agencies? Nicole Perlroth talks about cybersecurity and major risks facing the United States and what we should be afraid of.

Closer to $2 trillion Feb 05, 2021

Democrats are much closer to passing the nearly $2 trillion relief package President Joe Biden has proposed. A Republican pitch for a much smaller package doesn’t look to be going anywhere. The White House says doing too little is way riskier than doing too much, but economist Larry Summers is worried the package is too big and will endanger efforts to spend later on infrastructure. Who is right? Josh Barro talks with Megan McArdle and David Dayen about that, Senator Romney’s proposal for a child benefits package, and special guest Helen Andrews makes the conservative anti-Boomer case.

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