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AirTalk

AirTalk for February 26, 2015

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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
)
Listen 1:33:58
California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins of San Diego is proposing a package of bills to fund more units of affordable housing. Also, AirTalk looks at the practical and moral sides of refusing to pay back student loans. Then, more businesses are tailoring job descriptions to appeal to millennials' desire for making the world a better place.
California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins of San Diego is proposing a package of bills to fund more units of affordable housing. Also, AirTalk looks at the practical and moral sides of refusing to pay back student loans. Then, more businesses are tailoring job descriptions to appeal to millennials' desire for making the world a better place.

California Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins of San Diego is proposing a package of bills to fund more units of affordable housing. Also, AirTalk looks at the practical and moral sides of refusing to pay back student loans. Then, more businesses are tailoring job descriptions to appeal to millennials' desire for making the world a better place.

Assembly Speaker’s bill aims to pump hundreds of millions into affordable housing development

Listen 24:22
Assembly Speaker’s bill aims to pump hundreds of millions into affordable housing development

In the hopes of tackling an issue that has plagued California metropolitan areas for years, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins announced a plan to pump hundreds of millions of dollars a year back into local housing development.

It's been hurting since Governor Brown created a $1 billion annual hole when he dissolved redevelopment agencies four years ago.

For the full story, click here.

Guests:

Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), Speaker of the California Assembly

Senator Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar), Republican leader of the California State Senate, representing District 29, which stretches from Anaheim to Diamond Bar

Chris Thornberg, Founding Partner, Beacon Economics

Exploring the practical and moral sides of striking on student debt

Listen 23:13
Exploring the practical and moral sides of striking on student debt

Some former college students say they're boycotting repaying their student loans.  

These 15 students of the for-profit education giant Corinthian, which runs schools like the Everest Institute, WyoTech, and Heald College, say they’ve got low incomes, lots of debt, and they’re accusing Corinthian of misleading them about their schools’ programs and graduation rates. But, the consequences of not paying are also big.

AirTalk looks at the practical and moral sides of refusing to pay back student loans.

Guest:

Ric Edelman, Chairman,Ceo of Edelman Financial Services, who has written numerous books on personal finance

Debating Charter Amendments 1&2: How to increase voter turnout in the upcoming election

Listen 31:44
Debating Charter Amendments 1&2: How to increase voter turnout in the upcoming election

Angelenos’ abysmal voter turnout has become somewhat of a running joke, so perhaps it’s with some irony that two charter amendments in the upcoming election hope to change that.

Charter Amendments 1 & 2 would  sync L.A.'s election dates with state and federal elections. Supporters say this will increase participation, while they admit it’s still only a bandaid for a much larger underlying problem of political disengagement. But opponents argue the charter amendments are not even likely to fulfill higher turnout in every city election.

Guests:

Dan Schnur, Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC and adjunct faculty at USC Annenberg School; he’s a supporter of Charter Amendments 1 & 2

Hans Johnson, Spokesperson, Save Our City Elections, a group that opposes Charter Amendments 1 & 2

Jessica Levinson, professor at Loyola Law School and vice president of the L.A. Ethics Commission

Corporate America’s new recruitment tactic: Selling a greater good

Listen 14:38
Corporate America’s new recruitment tactic: Selling a greater good

A job isn’t just a job for many in the millennial generation. In addition to earning a paycheck, younger workers also want to know that they’re helping to make the world a better place.

And businesses are tailoring job descriptions to appeal to this desire for loftier goals. In her piece for the Wall Street Journal, reporter Rachel Feintzeig looks at what some companies are doing to sell the job.

Guest:

Rachel Feintzeig, reporter who covers corporate management for the Wall Street Journal