Will new gun control legislature make a difference? Can it pass? We'll discuss Vice President Biden's potential plans. We'll also consider a proposed tax that would go toward cleaning up L.A.'s stormwater drains. Later, we'll talk about China's one child policy, California's minimum wage, and Los Angeles' first public fruit park. All that and more, today on AirTalk.
Setting sights on practical solutions to gun violence
The federal government has had a no-gun-sale database since 1998. California maintains its own Armed Prohibited Persons list. Yet millions of mentally ill people remain unlisted, ostensibly still able to purchase firearms legally. Vice President Biden’s task force to reduce gun violence has focused on improving the effectiveness of such databases.
Is this a realistic goal, given how many different agencies need to coordinate the information at the local, state, and federal level? Is the focus on gun access for the mentally ill an appropriate response, given the vast majority of acts of gun violence are not committed by those with mental illness? What are the practical implications of maintaining such a list? Can someone ever be removed from the list if they regain their mental well-being?
Guest:
Steve Lindley, Chief of the Bureau of Firearms, California Department of Justice
Money down the drain? Stormwater cleanup parcel tax proposed by LA County Flood District
Toxins, sewage and debris ranging from plastic water bottles to soccer balls regularly find their way Southern California’s beaches and oceans through L.A.’s waterways after a heavy rain. Now, county water officials are proposing a property-based tax to help fund clean-up efforts.
The fee would be based on the size of an owner’s land parcel; homeowners would be assessed approximately $54 a year, city parks around $600 and elementary schools around $8,000. The LACFD estimates the parcel tax would raise around $275 million a year, to be spent on various cleanup projects. Cities, homeowners associations and school districts have voiced opposition to the proposal. The county Board of Supervisors is holding a public hearing on Tuesday, and is expected to decide soon on whether to issue a special ballot asking landowners to vote on the measure.
In other environmental news, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal by the American Trucking Associations against the City of Los Angeles. The truckers are protesting regulations at the Port of Los Angeles that set standards for air quality, safety and security.
What environmental issues are most important to you? Do you think stricter regulations on industry will make a difference? Would you agree to pay a parcel tax if it means cleaner beaches? Or is there another way to handle the issue of stormwater pollution?
Guests:
Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Third District
Don Knabe, Los Angeles County Supervisor, Fourth District
Molly Peterson, KPCC reporter
Are China’s 'little emperors' an economic drag?
Ever since China enacted its one-child policy, negative stereotypes have been used in association with the rise of the country’s “Little Emperors.” These only children are marked as being lazy, spoiled and prone to tantrums. While that may not sound so different from our perception of only children in the United States, there is different weight to China’s situation. One only child can be a handful, but what about a whole nation of them?
Now, it looks like a recent study from Monash University in Australia reinforces those popular presumptions with research. When comparing adults born after the one-child policy went into effect to those born before the rule, the younger adults display less altruism and a higher aversion to taking risks. They also shied away from competition in relation to their counterparts born before the policy, and displayed a higher degree of negativity. Researchers also drew connections between these characteristics and China’s future economic competitiveness. As those born after the one-child policy continue to enter the workforce, eventually they will be the predominant group.
What will it mean for an entire office to be comprised of only children? What if they’re risk averse? Will that negatively impact entrepreneurship? How does this apply to the United States? What’s your take on all this? Do you think the plight of the only child is simply myth, or is there validity to it?
Guest:
Clayton Dube, Director of the USC U.S.-China Institute
Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D., co-author of "The Narcissism Epidemic," Professor of Psychol0gy at San Diego State University
POLL: What's the right minimum wage for California?
Lobbyists and legislators in Sacramento are debating whether California should boost the minimum wage. Currently, it sits at $8.00 an hour, but Assemblymember Luis Alejo's (D-Salinas) AB 10 seeks staggered increases in the coming years. His plan would bump it to $8.25 in 2014, follow with two 50 cent boosts over subsequent years, then automatically index it to inflation as of 2017.
Alejo tried a similar bill last year but it failed in the face of business opposition. Groups such as the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Restaurant Association warn of the unintended consequences of a higher minimum wage. They argue employers will cut down on hiring or move out of state. The last increase was before the great recession, back on January 1, 2008. Reacting to the freeze, a handful of California cities have instituted their own wage hikes above $10.
What are the economics of a modern minimum wage? How does California compare to the rest of the country? Why doesn't California tie the minimum wage to the Consumer Price Index, as nine other states do? What does research show about how businesses react to wage hikes?
Guests:
Sylvia Allegreto, PhD; Economist, Institute for Research on Labor & Employment, University of California, Berkeley
John Kabateck, Executive Director, National Federation for Independent Business in California
Los Angeles gets state’s first public fruit park
While the trees are only saplings, the figurative seeds have been planted for a fruit park in Del Aire. A fruit park may sound redundant, but this marks a change in the way communities approach and use public space. Typically, fruit trees and the like are frowned upon for use in parks due to the risk associated with child injuries from falling. But when proposals were being accepted for changes to Del Aire Park, one group found a way to convince Los Angeles County to reconsider.
Fallen Fruit, a group of artists which focuses on community involvement projects, proposed turning Del Aire Park into a place where residents could not only gather outside, but even use the fruit trees in the park for food. It will take some time for the saplings to grow, but the ultimate vision is to use a variety of crops so that there will be some kind of fruit ripening throughout the entire year.
Beyond providing a healthy snack, what benefits do these parks provide? How did Fallen Fruit come up with the idea? Will the park primarily be maintained by the city, or resident volunteers? Are you a Del Aire resident? What do you look forward to most about this park?
Guest:
David Burns, one of the co-founders of Fallen Fruit, the artistic group which proposed the plan for a fruit park in Del Aire Park in Hawthorne
TCA report: Arrested Development on Netflix isn’t the only show on
Depending on how you feel about television, the conference that’s wrapping up in Pasadena this week is either your dream or your nightmare. TV writers and critics from all over the country have been camped out in ballrooms watching hours and hours of new shows, meeting with stars, writers and executives, all for The Television Critics Association’s winter press tour.
While smaller cable and online channels like Sundance, Netflix and blip made their showing--impressing some of the critics with edgy new offerings and mini series--a big focus at TCA is on the networks. Specifically, whether they’re able to create exciting new content and get the ratings to support those shows.
If you’ve been keeping close tabs on TV’s midseason, what are you most excited for? And what more do ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox have to do get you to tune in?
Guest:
Alyssa Rosenberg, pop culture blogger for ThinkProgress, and correspondent for TheAtlantic.
Brian Lowry, Chief TV critic for Variety