The Herman Cain train is officially off the rails. Could composting work county-wide in Los Angeles? Balanced budget rule for all of eurozone? Will Obama gain Republican support for payroll tax cuts? The anatomy of a skyscraper.
The Herman Cain train is officially off the rails
On Saturday, Herman Cain announced that he was suspending his campaign for the presidency because of continued and expanding allegations of sexual misconduct and extra-marital affairs. Cain accused the media of focusing undue attention on his alleged dalliances, saying that the media spin has cast a cloud of doubt over himself, the campaign and his family.
But the campaign suspension doesn’t mean you’ve seen the last of Herman Cain. By suspending and not ending his bid he can still legally accept contributions and he may use those funds to travel around the country touting his tax plan (9-9-9) and his foreign policies.
Now that the Republican herd is thinning, former long shot Newt Gingrich is still surging in the polls. Analysts are saying that many of the supporters Cain lost in the last couple of weeks have moved to the Gingrich Camp. There’s even a chance that Cain could endorse Gingrich, which may cement Newt’s frontrunner status.
WEIGH IN:
So what does this mean for the rest of the contenders? Will Gingrich be the only one to benefit from the derailing of the Cain Train? Republicans seem about as excited about Gingrich as they are about Romney. Will we see another candidate surge ahead? Or even a new horse in the race?
Guests:
Arnold Steinberg, veteran Republican political strategist and analyst
Matt Rodriguez, Democratic strategist; former senior Obama advisor in 2008, now runs the Los Angeles office for the Dewey Square Group
Could composting work county-wide in Los Angeles?
In Northern California and other states, local governments are making a big push to divert tons of waste from landfills with county or city-wide composting programs.
One of the strictest programs is in place in San Francisco. In 2009, the city enacted new regulations that made gathering compostable waste mandatory for all businesses and residences. Alameda County’s waste management authority has proposed a mandatory composting plan. It aims to divert 90 percent of waste from local landfills in the next 10 years.
The potential impact of mandatory composting could be huge. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2009 report on municipal solid waste, food scraps make up about 33 percent of all discarded waste in local landfills; that's more than any other material that people throw out.
Here in Los Angeles, that number could be even higher because of our dense population. If we could get a third of all solid waste out of landfills and turn it into a usable resource it could make a big difference for the Southland's enormous garbage problem.
Jeremy Drake, member of the Sierra Club's Zero Waste Coalition, said aside from reducing discarded waste, the products of composting could be used to help reduce dependence on irrigation and petrochemical fertilizers in agriculture.
"Three million tons of organic waste is being thrown in landfills in L.A. County every year. There are ways that we can manage that material in a responsible way," Drake said. "People might forget that four of the most productive agricultural counties are in Southern California."
But the Los Angeles County Disposal Association's Ron Saldana said L.A. may face trouble implementing large-scale composting precisely because of its high population numbers.
"In Southern California it's pretty hard to find an area that isn't heavily populated. The permitting becomes, I think, the number one restriction. And certainly we do have to add these facilities, and the industry is working hard with all of the regulatory agencies to try to get more facilities online."
Compost is essentially rotting food, especially when you add more than just fruits and vegetables into the mix. They're not only smelly but they generate an enormous amount of heat and could even be a fire hazard. "Out of sight, out of mind ... [neighborhoods] just do not want these types of facilities in their area," Saldana said.
According to Saldana, compostable waste is already trucked out of the region because there aren’t enough facilities in the region, adding to costs.
"If you look at collection rates in Northern California compared to Southern California, it's not unusual to see many cities and many residents in those cities paying two to three times more ... than in Southern California," Saldana said Monday. "If you're going to recycle, that's great and we want to do it, but somewhere along the line somebody’s going to pay for it."
WEIGH IN:
Do the costs of composting outweigh the benefits? Is a county-wide program a possibility here or do southern California's unique challenges make one impossible? Where do you stand on composting? Do you do it yourself or would you rather keep your food scraps out of sight and out of mind?
Guests:
Jeremy Drake, member of the Sierra Club, Angeles Chapter, Zero Waste Coalition
Ron Saldana, executive director, Los Angeles County Disposal Association, a trade group representing trash haulers and facility managers
Balanced budget rule for all of eurozone?
This week promises to be significant for Europe's debt crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is leading the charge by proposing new stringent rules for all eurozone members.
In a speech last Thursday, Sarkozy called for "more discipline, more solidarity, more responsibility" and specifically urged members to adopt enforceable rules obliging them to balance their budgets. Referred to as a "Golden Rule," Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel, want balanced budgets to be a constitutional obligation for all 17 member countries.
The budget minister of France, Valerie Pecresse, was more explicit on Friday. In an interview on BFM television she said, "We want automatic sanctions by European institutions [for countries that breach budget limits.]" Of course, Washington has been quarreling with the notion of a balanced budget amendment. Almost all states in the U.S. already have such rules, but because they aren’t sovereign the consequences are different.
WEIGH IN:
Could this be one solution for Europe's economic woes? Or do sovereign governments need greater flexibility, rather than less? Is it plausible that all 17 members would adopt such a measure? Or is this one step towards creating a two-tier eurozone? Who is Sarkozy’s intended audience – all of Europe or is he playing to domestic politics and a coming election? Today, Sarkozy and Merkel will meet to refine a strong Franco-German pitch for a new European Treaty. Friday, the summit of EU heads of state and government begins in Brussels.
Guests:
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, Research Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics – private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research institution devoted to the study of international economic policy since 1981.
Noah Feldman, Professor of Law, Harvard University.
Obama urges GOP to extend payroll tax cut
Today, President Obama urged Republicans in Congress to extend a payroll tax cut which is set to expire at the end of the month. Failure to extend the cuts would cost the typical American family about $1,000 next year and will affect 160 million citizens. Obama is attempting to draw GOP support by citing their platform of no new tax hikes, which would result if the cuts are not renewed. Republicans are not jumping on board though based on ideology alone. They are hesitant to agree until the cut can be paid for by offsetting budget costs.
WEIGH IN
Will Republicans support Obama's plan? How would failure to extend such cuts affect your own life?
Anatomy of a skyscraper
Our cities are getting more crowded and polluted everyday. In order to adapt to the growth and expansion of the urban landscape we must design buildings that are taller, smarter, and more environmentally efficient. The modern skyscraper is the pinnacle of that adaptation. These buildings have become small cities that service thousands of inhabitants and though many are not architectural wonders, they provide solutions to a number of global problems.
In "The Heights," author Kate Ascher gives us an illustrated tour through the inner-workings of the modern skyscraper and examines every aspect of the design, construction and maintenance of these modern marvels. Ascher also explains the science behind a number of functions in the skyscraper like how high-speed elevators work using so little electricity and how complex calculations allow even the tallest buildings to sway just the right amount in the wind.
"The Heights" also chronicles the people who build and maintain these behemoth structures and the architects who calculate how weight and weather affect their designs. Is it possible for modern skyscrapers to be on the cutting edge of design, technology and environmental efficiency? Are they the best or worst way to service thousands of individual working under one roof?
Guest:
Kate Ascher, author of "The Heights: Anatomy of a Skyscraper" (Penguin Press)