Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest on why Democrats are at odds with one another over a funding bill that would send $4.5 billion in aid to the U.S.-Mexico border. We also take a look at the potential effects the Supreme Court ruling on the census citizenship question could have on California; and more.
The Forces Pulling At Both Sides As Democrats Debate How To Address Worsening Conditions For Migrant Children Held At Southern Border
With a vote planned for today on a funding bill that would send $4.5 billion in humanitarian aid to the southwestern U.S. border with Mexico, and some within their ranks dissenting over how the funding might be used if the package were to be approved, some House Democrats find themselves at odds with one another over whether the funding package is the best way to solve the problem.
Members of both the Congressional Progressive and Hispanic Caucuses met with Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) yesterday to share their concerns that the administration might use the funds to detain more children. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, along with three other progressive Democrats, released a statement over the weekend saying they would not support the legislation. Assuming the entire 435 member House shows up for the vote, the Washington Post reports 235 House Democrats will only be able to afford 17 people breaking rank in order to get the bill passed. Republicans, meanwhile, have said they won’t support the House bill but could get behind a bipartisan bill that came out of a Senate committee last week.
The disagreement has gained even more attention following hundreds of migrant children being transferred out of a Border Patrol station in Clint, Texas where it was reported that the kids were living in squalid conditions without soap, clean clothes, or toothbrushes.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guests:
Cristina Marcos, congressional reporter for The Hill; she tweets
Erik Wasson, congressional reporter at Bloomberg News; he tweets
Comparing Democratic Candidates’ Student Loan Forgiveness Plans. Plus, Are Any Of Them Feasible?
On Monday, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced a plan to cancel all $1.6 trillion of student loan debt, paid for by a tax on Wall Street speculation.
Student loan debt is becoming a hot issue for democratic presidential hopefuls. Sen. Elizabeth Warren proposed a student loan relief plan in April that would nix 50k of debt for people who learn less than 100k annually.
Julian Castro has also proposed policies that would ease student debt, for example calling for a cap on payments until a borrower is earning over 250% of the federal poverty line.
We compare and contrast these student debt relief plans. Who would they target? How will they be funded? Plus, if you have or have had student loan debt, what do you think of the proposals?
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guests:
Steven Johnson, staff reporter at the Chronicle of Higher Education; he tweets
Ben Miller, senior director for postsecondary education at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a policy institute and advocacy organization
Jason Delisle, resident fellow at American Enterprise Institute (AEI), a think tank in Washington D.C.; he specializes in higher education financing with an emphasis on student loan programs
With Supreme Court Ruling On Census Question Coming Soon, A Look At Its Potential Effects On California
It’s impossible to predict exactly when it will come down, but Supreme Court watchers and Americans across the country are anxiously awaiting a ruling in Department of Commerce v. New York, which concerns a controversial question that the Trump administration wants to add to the 2020 U.S. Census that would as respondents to divulge their citizenship status.
The case itself seeks to overturn a ruling by a judge in the Southern District of New York which ruled that the Commerce Department was prohibited from putting the question on the census, but the larger question revolves around whether or not the addition of the question would hinder the government’s constitutionally-assigned duty to perform its once-every-ten-years count of the U.S. population. The Trump administration says the question would help to better enforce a 1965 law that is aimed at protecting voting rights of minorities. Opponents say asking for citizenship status would depress responses, which would hurt the count’s accuracy, especially in places like California or Texas that have large immigrant populations. An undercount, they say, would not only provide the government with inaccurate data but also shift apportionment of congressional districts and federal funding that is tied to Census numbers.
Today on AirTalk, guest host Libby Denkmann gets the latest on the proceedings at the Supreme Court and what word on the street is about how the justices might rule on the Census citizenship question and explores the potential effects on California if the justices side with the Trump administration and allow the question on the Census.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guests:
, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog and author of the blog “Howe on the Court”; she tweets
Dylan Riley, professor of sociology at UC Berkeley and co-author of “Antecedents of Censuses from Medieval to Nation States: How States and Societies Count” (Palgrave, McMillan, 2016)
PTSD, Harassment And Health Hazards: Inside The Working Conditions of Facebook’s Content Moderation Centers
In 2017, Facebook began opening content moderation sites in cities across America including Phoenix, Austin, and Tampa, with the ambitious objective of improving their moderation accuracy by delegating moderation duties to people familiar with American culture and slang.
What happened and what continues to happen inside those moderation sites is nothing short of a nightmare.
Facebook, who outsources their content moderation to companies like Cognizant, often sets high production goals, as high as 98% accuracy, which often pushes content moderators to their physical and emotional brink. One Facebook content moderator who worked for Cognizant at their Tampa facility actually had a heart attack at his desk and died last year in the facility.
Workers inside these facilities receive as little as $28,800 a year and each day only receive two 15 minute breaks and a 30-minute lunch, alongside a small “wellness” break of nine minutes when they feel they’ve been too overwhelmed by the content they’re moderating.
With regular exposure to some of the most graphic content on the internet, which includes everything from animal and child abuse to torture and murder, most workers subsequently develop post-traumatic stress disorder and other related conditions.
In addition to moderating the PTSD-causing content, workers within these facilities also have to deal with an unsafe and hostile working environment. There have been multiple reports of sexual harassment within the Cognizant facilities, as well as numerous instances of both verbal and physical fights among employees. To add on top of that, workers have also found pubic hair and fingernails at their desks, along with other bodily waste, and the Cognizant facility in Phoenix has been dealing with an infestation of bed bugs for the past three months.
Facebook says it is working on the problem and will conduct a thorough audit of its content moderating partner and will institute other changes to insure the well-being of its contractors.
How do you think Facebook should handle content moderation? Is content moderation at all possible without the severe mental health consequences? Are you a current or former Facebook content moderator? Give us a call at 866-893-5722.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guest:
Sarah T. Roberts, author of "Behind the Screen: Content Moderation in the Shadows of Social Media" Yale University Press (June 2019); assistant professor of information studies at UCLA; Co-Director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry
Your Big, Fat, Expensive Wedding? There’s A Loan For That
Is your dream school out of your price range? Do you need to expand or improve your home? Are you struggling to afford the perfect wedding? Don’t worry – there’s a loan for that.
As expenses for weddings continue to rise, personal loan providers have found a brand new group of prospective borrowers: brides and grooms. Online lenders are marketing the loans as a way couples can spring for luxury add-ons that often make the big day more Instagram-worthy, like custom calligraphy or a stunning venue. Some of these startups have interest rates as high as 30 percent – and the number of borrowers is only increasing.
If you’ve had a wedding, how did you pay for it? Looking back, do you think it was a good investment? If you’re planning a wedding, would you ever consider a loan to afford the big day of your dreams – and who is expected to pay? Call us at 866-893-5722.
With guest host Libby Denkmann
Guest:
Liz Weston, personal finance columnist; she writes for NerdWallet and is a certified financial planner; she tweets