What’s that under the tree? A payroll tax deal. KPCC film critics Tim Cogshell, Henry Sheehan and Charles Solomon join Larry to review the week’s new film releases including War Horse, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Adventures of Tintin, We Bought a Zoo, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and more. TGI-FilmWeek! Plus, the latest news.
What’s that under the tree? A payroll tax deal
Congressional negotiators have reached a deal over extending the payroll tax cut for two months, before the tax break expires Dec. 31. House Republicans learned terms of the agreement in a late-day conference call yesterday. The House is set to vote on the deal today.
Boehner said in a statement that he and Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid agreed to change legislative language to protect small businesses from new reporting requirements included in the plan. The short-term deal allows for negotiations in the coming weeks on a year-long extension to be discussed by conferees from both the House and Senate.
“Today, I congratulate members of Congress for ending the partisan stalemate,” said President Barack Obama in a statement. “Because of this agreement, every working American will keep his or her tax cut – about $1,000 for the average family.” Unemployment insurance will also continue, under terms of the deal. “When Congress returns, I urge them to keep working to reach an agreement that will extend this tax cut and unemployment insurance for all of 2012 without drama or delay,” added Obama.
WEIGH IN:
Are you relieved about a short-term extension allowing for more negotiations? What are your thoughts on the partisan nature of this debate? How would raised taxes affect you?
Guest:
Congressman John Campbell, (R-CA) 48th Congressional District in Orange County, which includes Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel
Congressman Brad Sherman, (D-CA) 27th Congressional District contains the west San Fernando Valley cities of Sherman Oaks, Reseda, Northridge, and Porter Ranch
Mark Barabak, national political reporter for the Los Angeles Times
Voting to the beat of their own drum
In a recent analysis of state voter registration administered by USA TODAY, the data shows Americans are abandoning the traditional political parties. And this is isn’t a miniscule amount; over 2.5 million voters have left the Democratic and Republican folds since 2008. The number of independents is on the rise, not just thanks to these disaffected voters, but due to new voters choosing to opt out of the two-party system from the get-go.
Democrats lost numbers in 25 states and Republicans decreased in 21, while independents gained in 18. The trend is most apparent in swing states; of the eight which register voters by party, Democrats lost 800,000 voters and Republicans 350,000. Independents gained nearly as many as Republicans lost: 325,000.
These numbers point to the decades-long erosion of the Democratic and Republican parties consolidation of power. As Washington has grown ever more partisan since the 1990s, third-party candidates like Ross Perot then, Ralph Nader in 2000 and today’s libertarian Republican Ron Paul have proven attractive to the public.
WEIGH IN:
How will the candidates running for president tap into this growing block of voters? Can the two parties do anything to bring people back? Have you registered as an independent after being a lifelong Democrat or Republican? Why?
Guests:
Mark Barabak, national political reporter for the Los Angeles Times
Jonathan Miller, Co-Founder of No Labels; former Kentucky State Treasurer
Bob Stern, Former President of the Center For Governmental Studies
FilmWeek: War Horse, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Adventures of Tintin, We Bought a Zoo, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and more
KPCC film critics Tim Cogshell, Henry Sheehan and Charles Solomon join Larry to review the week’s new film releases including War Horse, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Adventures of Tintin, We Bought a Zoo, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close and more. TGI-FilmWeek!
Guests:
Tim Cogshell, film critic for KPCC and Box Office Magazine
Henry Sheehan, film critic for KPCC and HenrySheehan.com
Charles Solomon, animation critic for KPCC, author and historian for amazon.com