Former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger admits to fathering a child with a former staffer. IMF Chief arrested on attempted rape charges. Gov Brown’s budget revise – let the politicking begin. The debate over tax policy for "Big Oil" heats up. It’s not easy to be green, especially if you’re Wal-Mart.
Bombshell: Schwarzenegger fathered child with household help
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger admitted today that he fathered a child with a member of his household staff ten years ago. He reportedly told his wife, Maria Shriver, about the affair and the child shortly after leaving office in January and the two have been living separate lives for months. Gossip site TMZ is reporting that, though Shriver has not filed for divorce, she has consulted a financial planner, which may be the first step towards dissolving the marriage. By all accounts – even his own – Schwarzenegger was a ladies' man and has admitted to “bad behavior” in the past, even while married. So what makes this affair different? Does the fact that a child came out of the affair make it worse? Cheating is, by definition, dishonest. Might politicos who have affairs, lack integrity at work? What right, if any, does the public have to learn the details? Can a politician or their family really expect to keep their private lives private?
French culture on trial following arrest of DSK?
France is reeling from news that one of its most revered politicians, Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK), was arrested Saturday for allegedly attacking a chambermaid in his hotel room in New York. Strauss-Kahn, chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was refused bail on Monday and remanded to jail, where he’s expected to remain until his next court appearance on May 20. He is charged with attempted rape, sex abuse, a criminal sex act, unlawful imprisonment and forcible touching. The most serious charge carries up to 25 years in prison. Strauss-Kahn has denied all charges. French President Nicholas Sarkozy responded cautiously, saying the presumption of innocence must be maintained and the courts must be allowed to do their job. But of course the court of public opinion is already churning – and DSK isn’t the only one on trial. Some critics argue that he’s a known womanizer and that the French are too accepting of bad behavior from their politicos. NPR’s Eleanor Beardsley joins us from Paris to talk about the café chatter and what impact this story might have on French politics and culture.
Guest:
Eleanor Beardsley, NPR Correspondent in Paris
Gov Brown’s budget revision – let the politicking begin
After tinkering with the budget proposed in January, Governor Jerry Brown unveiled Monday a revised state budget with some surprising fixes. Key highlights? $2 billion less in income taxes than proposed in January. Increased funding for public K-12 education. Bureacratic slash-and-burn, starting with the elimination of 43 boards, commissions, task forces, offices and departments deemed an “inefficient use of taxpayer dollars.” And, the unloading of state-owned properties, such as the L.A. Coliseum and Ramirez Canyon, underutilized real estate which Brown hopes could be sold to beef up state coffers. Republican leaders have applauded the plan to fund education and pay down state debt, but fret that it still has us on a path to overspending, relying too heavily on future tax increases. What’s the real takeaway and what comes next?
Guests:
Dan Walters, Political Columnist, The Sacramento Bee
Marisa Lagos, Sacramento Bureau Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle
John Myers, Sacramento Bureau Chief for KQED’s California Report
The debate over tax policy for "Big Oil" heats up
Tonight, the Senate will vote on the future of tax perks for the five biggest private oil companies. The tax loopholes save “Big Oil” about $2 billion a year -- money intended for oil exploration and job creation. But in light of their robust profits during these hard times, oil executives were grilled in Senate hearings last week about why they need taxpayer help. In the last quarter, the top five oil companies alone brought in $35 billion in profit. Today we put some of those questions to the CEO of the American Petroleum Institute -- the political arm of the oil industry. Why did some oil execs call the tax breaks unnecessary a few years ago, but not today? If the tax breaks were eliminated, how many jobs would be impacted? Considering climate change and pollution problems, particularly in our region, should we be subsidizing exploration of energy with lower emissions?
Guests:
Jack Gerard, CEO, American Petroleum Institute
Daniel Weiss, Senior Fellow and Director of Climate Strategy, American Progress
It’s not easy to be green, especially if you’re Wal-Mart
In his new book “Force of Nature,” Pulitzer Prize- winning journalist and author Ed Humes tells the story of the unlikely partnership between H. Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart and Jib Ellison, a sustainability consultant and how they’ve struggled to define what is means for the biggest of big box superstores to go green. For a company the size of Wal-Mart to make the commitment to sustainability is a veritable paradigm shift, which required the CEO and the environmentalist to prove that going green is the most efficient and most profitable way to do business. According to Humes, Wal-Mart’s embrace of sustainability created a tipping point for other companies and then for whole industries. This green revolution in big business is causing Wall Street to rethink how corporations are valued while it shatters the myth that profit and sustainability are incompatible. Can Walt-Mart or other behemoth retailers ever really become green?
Guest:
Ed Humes, author of Force of Nature: The Unlikely Story of Wal-Mart’s Green Revolution