The freeway is free, right? Pay to drive in HOV lanes coming to LA. Plus, Obama’s goals for health care reform—a health care debate, and the book Food for a Younger Land. Join the conversation
Pay to drive? L.A. County considers Congestion Pricing
The freeway is free, right? No--they're built and maintained through taxes. But there's a push on in the US to start charging people directly for using freeways. It's a big change, so the idea is to start with a pilot project. In LA County, the plan is to start letting solo-drivers pay to use stretches of the HOV lanes on the 10 and the 110. Sound fair? Maybe if you can afford it ... maybe not, if you're part of a carpool and already using the lanes.
Frank Quon, Deputy District Director of Operations for CalTrans for Los Angeles and Ventura County
Health care debate
The sides are lining up in the fight over President Obama's goals for health care reform. Obama has said that he wants a health care plan that lowers costs, improves the quality of care and coverage, and protects consumer choice. He also wants to ensure that all Americans are insured, either through a private plan or a government-run plan. Critics argue that a government-sponsored program that competes with private health plans would hurt market-based competition and reduce individual choice. Larry Mantle gets the arguments from each side of the health care debate.
Alex Wayne, Health Reporter at CQPolitics.com
Matt Bai, political writer for the New York Times magazine
Gerald F. Kominski, Ph.D., Professor, Department of Health Services at the UCLA School of Public Health and Associate Director for the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Uwe Reinhardt, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University. One of the nation’s foremost authorities on US health care trends and policy
Stimulus Woes
A cloud of doubt looms over President Obama's stimulus plan as unemployment numbers continue to rise and the economy is still stumbling. Obama's stimulus plan was hailed by many as the saving grace to a faltering economy. Yet, nearly 100 days after the plan was signed into law only 6-percent of the funds have been spent, according to the Los Angeles Times, and 150,000 jobs have been created. Critics say it is a negligible result in comparison to the loss of over 2 million jobs this year. Should Americans adopt the President's wait and see attitude? Larry talks to the experts about the stimulus plan.
Heidi Shierholz, economist at the Economic Policy Institute
Curtis Dubay, Senior Tax Policy Analyst for the Heritage Foundation
Food Of A Younger Land
Before the fast food convenience of drive thrus and the grocery warehouses of Costco and Sam's Club, there was the food of a bygone era. In "The Food of a Younger Land," author Mark Kurlansky takes readers back to the 1930s and 1940s, when the Great Depression forced a government project called "America Eats." Kurlansky captures the essence of that time and includes photos, anecdotes and his personal analysis of the food of America's roots. There is even a recipe of a Depression Cake, perhaps perfect for our time.
Mark Kurlansky, author of "The Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food Before the National Highway System, Before Chain Restaurants, and Before Frozen Food, When the Nation's Food Was Seasonal." He is the author of many books, including "Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World," and "Salt: A World History"