Countdown to government shutdown? Will Egypt's secular revolution be making way for a religious democracy? New census results show that the number of nonwhite children is declining in Los Angeles. Author Doug Saunders on his book, Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History is Reshaping Our World.
Countdown to government shutdown?
With a federal government shutdown looming and no clear plan in sight to avoid it, House Republicans have proposed another short-term stopgap measure cutting $12 billion, a number six times higher than their last offer. Democrats have thus viewed the bill as dead on arrival, and claim it is merely a means to shift blame on a shutdown, if it happens, to the Obama White House. If no agreement is made between the two parties, then potentially 800,000 government officials and thousands of members of the military in Iraq and Afghanistan would not get paid. Is this political posturing getting out of hand? Must top politicians remain steadfast to achieve the budget necessary for the country? If a shutdown occurs, how will it play out? How can it possibly be avoided?
Guests:
Lisa Lerer, Bloomberg News reporter based in Washington, DC
Bob Stern, President of the Center for Governmental Studies
Congressman Tom McClintock, R-CA’s 4th District; member of the Budget Committee
Congressman Adam Schiff, D-CA’s 29th District
Will Egypt's secular revolution be making way for a religious democracy?
Since Egypt's revolution and the ousting of Hosni Mubarak in February, progress towards a true democracy has been erratic. Gains were made as voters approved constitutional amendments imposing term limits on the president and removing bans on who can run for office. Parliamentary elections are on course to take place in September, with a presidential election shortly thereafter. This looks like a positive trend but the worry is that such a speedy schedule will favor the conservative Muslim Brotherhood and Mubarak's National Democratic Party. Meanwhile, the secular and urban revolutionaries who served as the movement's early champions are finding themselves unable to solidify into parties of their own. Going beyond politics, the economy is suffering as the revolution negatively affected commerce and tourism. Crime has been on the rise as the police fled during the revolution, allowing for prisons to be opened and criminals to escape. While police forces are back, they are weak and scared. Will the original vision of the Egyptian revolutionaries be realized? Will the elections go to the religious radicals due to their superior organization skills? Will Egypt provide a stable model for the rest of the Middle East during this volatile time, or will it prove to be a flash in the pan?
Guest:
Scott MacLeod, Professor at American University of Cairo and Managing Editor of the Cairo Review of Global Affairs, a new quarterly policy journal launching next week about Egypt’s revolution
Is there a non-white population drop in the greater L.A area?
The Brookings Institution turned up an interesting statistic when they combed through the most recent census data. According to an analysis by the group, although the number of non-white children nationwide has grown by 22%, here in Los Angeles the number of non-white children is on the decline. In fact, the greater Los Angles area is the only metropolitan area to see a decline in non-white children. But there’s more: there aren’t just fewer non-white kids, there are fewer kids overall. Over the last ten years L.A lost three-hundred thousand children. The author of the study, Dr. William H. Frey says he’s not sure what accounts for the population drop. Are residents deciding against kids? Too old for kids? Are parents moving their kids to Altadena, Lancaster or Riverside to avoid raising them in the city? We’ll find out.
Guest
Dr. William H. Frey, Senior Fellow at Brookings Institution, Demographer and Sociologist specializing in U.S. demographics
Arrival cities & the impact of migration
Most Americans have ancestors who at some point journeyed from village to city. Today, a third of our world is on the move. Tales of immigration often focus on the departure and the journey. But what if we look at immigration from the arrival standpoint? In his new book, Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History is Reshaping Our World, journalist Doug Sanders explores what happens once immigrants begin to settle. Is urban life good for the planet? What impact does migration have on our urban areas, politics and priorities?
Guest:
Doug Saunders, author of Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History is Reshaping Our World