Now that the Presidential election is over, Republicans and Democrats in Washington are preparing to avoid a fiscal cliff that could have dire consequences for the U.S. economy. Americans are also getting acclimated to an array of new state laws with national implications regarding recreational and medical marijuana, marriage equality and more. Also, tax-payers in California will be paying higher taxes after approving Proposition 30, which is intended to fund public education across the state. We're talking about all that and more on today's AirTalk.
Republicans and Democrats focus on fiscal cliff compromise
The election is over, and President Obama’s second term is kicking off with a partisan economic debate that seemed to be put on hold during the campaign: the looming fiscal cliff. The “cliff” refers to the $600 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes set to implement automatically at the end of the year. If the president can’t negotiate successfully with the Republican controlled Congress, the measures could set America back into a recession.
The fiscal cliff is a priority for both parties now that election dust has settled – President Obama held a bipartisan phone conference early Wednesday morning to address the issue. In a speech on Wednesday afternoon, Speaker of the House John Boehner expressed Republican willingness to work with the President and the Democrats in Congress to find a temporary fix to avoid “falling off” the cliff in order to give everyone time to work on a more substantive long-term solution next year. Short-term measures may include accepting new revenue that the Obama administration would like to come from tax-hikes for the wealthy, but Speaker Boehner says can be generated by closing loopholes.
Representatives from both parties have stressed the need for compromise to avoid an economic crash – how might they be able to reach an agreement? What kinds of measures would prevent the U.S. from falling off the fiscal cliff? Will the lame duck Congress be able to effectively work with the President to provide an interim solution?
Guests:
Xavier Becerra, Democratic Congressman for California’s 34th district; Vice Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and Ranking Member of the Social Security Subcommittee and member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
Devin Nunes, Republican California Congressman, 21st District and member of the House Ways and Means Committee
Brad Sherman, Democratic Congressman, 30th District and member of the House Financial Services Committee
OC election results roundup
The GOP has long held the lion’s share of registered voters in Orange County, so it’s no surprise that voters there favored Mitt Romney for President. But disappointment came early in the evening as Fox News called Ohio for Obama shortly after 8:00 Tuesday night. Now the O.C. GOP is licking its wounds and eyeing the future.
On the local front, there were a number of key issues and races for Orange County voters on this year’s ballot including the highly contested Anaheim City Council race and the Santa Ana Mayor’s race. We’ll check in with one of our OC roundtable journalists to get the latest results.
Guest:
Julie Gallego, government & politics editor, Orange County Register
Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana, but how will federal authorities respond?
California was the first state to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes, but Colorado and Washington have become the first states to allow the recreational use of the plant.
“It’s important to put what happened in Colorado and Washington into perspective”, says Beau Kilmer, co-director of the RAND Research Policy Center. “No modern jurisdiction has ever removed the prohibition on commercial production, distribution, or possession of marijuana for non medical purposes. Not even Holland.”
The two states’ newly passed initiatives directly conflict with federal law and may instigate an imminent legal battle with the Obama administration. Federal law prohibits the production, possession and sale of marijuana, which is classified as a Schedule 1 drug − the same category as LSD and heroin.
“This type of change I think should help let the federal government know that maybe they should let the states experiment and determine if it’s the right policy or not," said Joe Elford, Chief Counsel, Americans for Safe Access.
Elford notes the victories in Colorado and Washington could also have an effect on California’s Supreme Court case of localities banning medical dispensaries. “When you have positive momentum, I would expect that will influence how courts deal with the issue as well as the federal government,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department said it was only reviewing the state initiatives, but otherwise has been unusually quiet on the matter.
The legalization of non-medical pot also raises legal questions for another federal agency, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS.) No matter how “legal” the states consider the plant to be, the IRS cannot legally ignore tax code Section 280E, which denies deductions for any business trafficking in controlled substances.
Although some medical marijuana dispensaries have found small loopholes in federal tax law in order to conduct business, it is unclear whether companies dealing in recreational pot will be able to do so.
Will Colorado and Washington ignite a trend to legalize recreational marijuana across the nation? How should federal authorities handle state-approved recreational use of pot?
Guests:
Joe Elford, Chief Counsel, Americans for Safe Access
Beau Kilmer, co-director, RAND Drug Policy Research Center
What’s next for LGBTQ rights across the country?
Advocates for same-sex marriage had a lot to celebrate, Tuesday. Voters approved of laws that let same-sex couples marry in Maine and Maryland, and a similar initiative is poised to pass in Washington state. Meanwhile, Minnesota became one of the first states to remove a ban on same-sex marriage from its constitution. That would allow the state legislature to pass a law that would let gay, lesbian, and transgender couples get married, though it’s expected to do so anytime soon.
Until this year, voters have typically not supported same-sex marriage, California’s Prop 8 in 2008 is evidence of that past perspective. But advocates say Tuesday’s gains show strong momentum and a change in public opinion. That in turn could influence the U.S. Supreme Court, which will have to decide in the next few months whether to take up the Prop 8 legal challenge or any of the cases that have called the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.
With President Obama’s reelection and growing support for same-sex marriage, the tide could be turning for LGBTQ rights. How significant will this momentum be on the national scale? Have a majority of Americans grown comfortable with same-sex marriage, or will the spread be limited to more progressive states? Could a change in public opinion affect how judges rule on the issue?
Guests:
Scott Barclay, Senior Scholar in Public Policy at the Williams Institute at UCLA Law School, a think tank that researches LGBT law and policy
Cliff Rosky, professor of law at the University of Utah
Prop 30’s impact on K-12 and higher education
Due to steadfast Democratic support, Governor Jerry Brown’s Proposition 30 tax increase passed on Election Day. Proposition 30 will raise the sales tax a quarter-cent for four years starting in 2013, and taxes on the wealthy will increase up to 3 percent for the next seven years.
These tax hikes are expected to raise $6 billion annually for California’s education system, and that includes K-12 and higher education such as the California State University and the California Community Colleges. Without the passage of Proposition 30, the state budget was expected to call for hundreds of millions of dollars being cut across the board for public schools.
How exactly will Proposition 30 affect the education system in California? How will avoiding the loss of funds affect the K-12 system? And what about higher education? What does this mean for academic staffing, class size and class offerings?
Guests:
John Deasy, Superintendent of Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)
Brice Harris, Chancellor of the California Community Colleges