A bill was introduced by Democratic members of Congress last week to curb prescription drug costs - will the plan create better options for patients or stifle innovation?; plus, SCOTUS will likely take on question of whether the Civil Rights Act covers LGBTQ people; the latest on Syria; and more.
Does the Civil Rights Act cover LGBTQ people -- SCOTUS likely to take up question
A federal appeals court in Chicago ruled yesterday that Civil Rights Act of 1964 extends workplace anti-discrimination protections to LGBTQ people, contradicting another decision handed down a month earlier by a different federal appellate court.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by Kimberly Hively, an instructor at a community college in Indiana who alleged that the school had fired her because she is a lesbian.
The conflicting decisions likely means that the case would go all the way up to the Supreme Court. California already has strong anti-discrimination laws in place for the LGBTQ community, but the outcome of the Hively case will have national significance.
Guest:
Douglas NeJaime, visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School
Tax policy experts weigh in on nixing federal deduction for state and local taxes and potential effect on CA
Thanks to a federal tax deduction to state and local taxes that allows for deducting what you pay in personal property, real estate and income taxes Californians were able to pare down their taxable income in 2014 by $101 billion.
However, the rule that makes that possible is under threat of being axed as part of Republicans in the House of Representatives, who are moving forward with the GOP’s plan to turn its focus toward tax reform after their health care legislation failed last month.
The federal government say this year they’ll lose out on almost $100 billion in federal revenue thanks to the rule, and they say that getting rid of it will not only make the filing process easier but also backfill the revenue that would be lost to raising the standard deduction and lowering rates. Here in California, which benefitted financially more than any other states from the rule according to a study from the Tax Policy foundation, state and local officials worry that the burden of cost may be passed on to the average taxpayer.
What do you think of House Republicans’ proposal?
Guests:
Alan Viard, resident scholar on federal tax and budget policy at the American Enterprise Institute
Edward Kleinbard, professor of law at the Gould School of Law at USC and former chief of staff of the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation from 2007-2009
Weighing whether government intervention could curb drug prices
A debate on government control of drug prices has been brought to the fore. That is, after a bill was introduced by Democratic members of Congress last week to curb prescription drug costs.
As reported by The Washington Post, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) and Rep. Peter Welch, two of the bill’s co-sponsors, have been in conversation with President Trump about decreasing rising drug costs by allowing the government to negotiate with Medicare. But will the plan create better options for patients or stifle innovation?
Larry speaks with experts from both sides of the aisle to find out more.
Guests:
Zeke Emanuel, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and chair of the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the University of Pennsylvania
Paul Howard, director of health policy and senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute
Analyzing the Trump administration’s next steps after Syria’s chemical attack
The attack in Syria’s Idlib province Tuesday is raising questions about the Trump administration’s response.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the suspected chemical attack, which took the lives of at least 74 people has been blamed on the Syrian government. Now, lawmakers are speaking out on what the U.S. strategy toward Syrians should be.
Larry talks to experts on the Trump administration’s options going forward, and the impact of what this could mean for human rights on the ground in Syria.
Guests:
Louisa Loveluck, Washington Post correspondent covering Syria; she authored the recent article, “Chemical attack kills dozens in Syria as victims foam at the mouth, activists say”
Jessica Ashooh, scholar at the Atlantic Council, specializing in Middle East strategy; she was a senior policy planning analyst in the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a participant in the Geneva II peace talks
Joshua Landis, professor of international and area studies and director of the Center for Middle East Studies at the University of Oklahoma; Landis’ blog is SyriaComment.com
Divided we fall: Why California Democrats are having a GOP moment
A Republican president and a Republican-led Congress have not been enough to push the GOP’s Obamacare replacement bill out of the House.
The failure has exposed the internal divisions within the Republican Party.
California Democrats are facing a similar problem. Despite having a supermajority in the state legislature, it’s uncertain whether Governor Jerry Brown’s ambitious transportation package would get the votes it needs.
CalMatters reporter Laurel Rosenhall and political scientist Nathan Monroe join AirTalk to look at the internal factions within the California Democratic Party and Democrat-led state legislature.
Guests:
Laurel Rosenhall, reporter at the nonprofit journalism venture CalMatters, who covers California politics. Her latest piece looks at the divisions within the California Democratic Party
Nathan W. Monroe, an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Merced
New Lee Morgan documentary: A tragic but poetic love letter to jazz’s legendary trumpeter
In 1972, Lee Morgan was at Slug’s Saloon in New York City for a gig when a fight broke out.
Morgan grabbed the aggravator and threw her outside of the club, only to be shot in the chest with a pistol. Holding the pistol was his common law wife, Helen.
The events surrounding that snowy, February evening are pieced together in a haunting but beautiful new documentary: “I Called Him Morgan” reveals Helen was not only her husband’s murderer, but the same woman who nourished him out of a heroin addiction and into an incredible career as one of jazz’s greatest trumpeters.
Host Larry mantle speaks with the writer-director of the film, Kasper Collin, about its making and the impact of Morgan’s music on his life.
"I Called Him Morgan" is playing at the Laemmle's Playhouse and the Laemmle's Monica Film Center.
Guest:
Kasper Collin, writer and director of the documentary “I Called Him Morgan”