Immigration reform pep rally. The disclosure of secret government spending. Los Angeles reconsiders its regulations for business parking. Author Howard Gardner talks about his new book, Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the 21st Century.
Immigration reform pep rally
President Barack Obama is making a high profile trip to the border city of El Paso, Texas today to talk about immigration reform. The White House says it is time to fix "the broken immigration system so that it meets America's 21st century economic and security needs." While the administration has provided some clear policy pronouncements on it in the past, this speech could be more about politics than policy. After the defeat of the DREAM Act last year, bipartisan and public support could be the real goal of his El Paso speech. Is there political will from all sides for dealing with immigration issues? Is the President willing to invest his political capital in this fight? GOP leadership said the border must be secured first -- what will that take? The White House insists there are economic gains to be made in immigration reform, but for whom?
Guests:
Chris Newman, Legal Director, National Day Laborer Organizing Network
Steven Camarota, Center for Immigration Studies
Steve Smith, (R-Maricopa) Arizona State Senator, sponsor of SB 1406, the border-fence legislation signed by Governor Jan Brewer on April 28
Secret spending
President Obama is considering an executive order that would require companies bidding on federal contracts disclose all donations to federal candidates, political parties, committees or interest groups spending money on campaigns once the total exceeds $5,000 in a given year. In 2010 the Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment rights of groups to spend money on campaign ads but confirmed the prohibition of corporations or unions to give money directly to campaigns. To get around this prohibition, some interest groups have formed nonprofits through which they can funnel campaign contributions, thus avoiding the requirement to reveal their funding sources. The White House contends that the order provides transparency to taxpayers about political spending by government contractors but critics like California Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the No. 3 Republican in the House, says the proposed order "seems like a blatant attempt to intimidate, and potentially silence, certain speakers who are engaged in their constitutionally protected right to free speech." What do you think of this order to require disclosure of political spending?
Guests:
Gary Toebben, President of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Tara Malloy, Associate Legal Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center
New parking plan positive for small businesses…but what about residents?
Currently business owners in Los Angeles are required to own a certain number of parking spaces based on the size and type of business they run. But a new city ordinance would change all that. Under the new plan the city would create parking districts then determine the amount of parking needed for the entire district. It would mean a lot more flexibility for business owners as they would no longer have to buy or build new parking spaces. LA City rolled out a pilot parking project in Eagle Rock four years ago which allowed businesses to pay into a city-run parking fund to maintain street parking and meters. The goal of this program was to increase development by saving small business owners money. The LA City Council will vote on the ordinance this summer but the debate is already heating up. Residents in one proposed parking district in West L.A have filed suit against the city saying the spill-over from the businesses reduces parking available for neighborhood residents. So it’s a question of developers versus homeowners. Should the city of Los Angeles give businesses a break? And if so…at what cost?
Guests:
Mott Smith, Principal, Civic Enterprise Associates, a strategic planning and development company in the city of Los Angeles
Cary Brazeman, Founder of L.A. Neighbors United, a community group
Truth, beauty and goodness in the 21st century
In an age when anyone with a computer can produce and circulate instant information, what is “truth?” When photographs, and even faces, can be doctored to fit popular standards of attractiveness, how do we define “beauty?” And with the explosion of internet rumors and the ease of illegal downloading, does anyone value “goodness?” Every civilization has defined these principals for itself, but as times change, so do our perceptions of traditional values. In his new book, author and educator Howard Gardner argues that despite our ever-changing world, truth, beauty and goodness are and should remain cornerstones of our society. Gardner, who pioneered the theory of multiple intelligences, sheds some much-needed light on how these elusive concepts may be reframed, reformulated and nurtured into the next century.
Guest:
Howard Gardner, author of Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the 21st Century