Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti stands by the city's current immigration policies, despite threats from a future Trump administration to cut federal funding for sanctuary cities; why Los Angelenos are suing Chipotle in a class-action lawsuit over a misleading 300-calorie chorizo burrito sign; we take a look at the one thing California liberals and Texas conservatives might have in common this year; and AirTalk is here to help guide politically divided families through the Thanksgiving holiday.
3 reasons it might be difficult for Trump to withhold funding from 'sanctuary cities' like LA
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti isn’t budging on the city’s immigration stance, even with the threat of cut-offs to federal funding.
According to the L.A. Times, the president-elect’s pick for White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus said that Trump is exploring ways to cut federal funding to so-called sanctuary cities. Los Angeles is expected to receive $500 million in federal funds this fiscal year, which would include help with homeless shelters and port security.
Garcetti said Monday that doing so would be a “mistake,” and cause social and economic problems.
With Garcetti and many of the city’s leaders going against Trump’s immigration stance, what could the federal government actually do to cut off funding to Los Angeles?
Aside from a lengthy and exhausting Congressional fight, here are three reasons why withholding federal monies could backfire, according to former L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky:
1. Trump would have to take on LA — and many other cities across the nation.
Yaroslavsky: For the Federal government to take on Los Angeles or New York, and virtually every major city in America that has a large immigrant population. . . Atlanta, Houston, Portland San Diego--you're taking on a big chunk of America, and is this really what the White House wants to do?
2. Since the term "sanctuary city" is largely symbolic and has no legal power, withholding funds wouldn't create much payoff.
Yaroslavsky: Sanctuary cities have no legal standing whatsoever. . . It's a symbolic statement on behalf of the city on immigration. . . For Priebus or the president-elect to say that a sanctuary city has any legal function is absurd. If the White House wants to say to New York or Los Angeles, 'Rescind your symbolic resolution, or we're gonna withhold a billion dollars from your light rail project,' [it wouldn't make sense] at a time when the president-elect is talking about increasing funding for infrastructure development.
3. Local law enforcement would have difficulty finding resources to enforce immigration law (and it would be too costly for the federal government to step in).
Yaroslavsky: What I think the Chief of Police Charlie Beck and others have said across the country is, 'Don't ask my police department to go out and round up people in their homes. If the federal government wants to do that, let them hire 10,000 or 100,000 new federal police officers and do it. There are more important crimes that local law enforcement has to be dealing with. . . Our cities are under policed, they don't have the capacity to go out and do more.
Guest:
Zev Yaroslavsky, former Los Angeles County Supervisor, and is now affiliated with the UCLA’s history department, and the Luskin School of Public Affairs; he tweets
Chipotle challenged over misleading 300-calorie burrito signage
If you think a Chipotle burrito consisting of tortilla, white rice, cheese, tomato salsa, black beans and chorizo can’t possibly add up to 300 calories, you’re not wrong.
Three Los Angeles customers are filing a class-action lawsuit against Chipotle, claiming the restaurant misrepresented the calorie count of its new chorizo burrito, which actually adds up to about 1,050 calories, based on Chipotle’s online nutrition calculator.
One of the customers said he was misled by the 300 calorie sign, and “felt excessively full” after consuming the burrito.
Chipotle apologized to a different customer via tweet for the confusing sign, saying “…we’ll make things more clear next time. The 300 calories is for the chorizo.” They've since updated the sign.
Because plaintiffs say that this represents Chipotle’s larger trend of misleading nutritional information, the lawsuit would cover everyone who bought Chipotle for four years leading up to the complaint, even though the chorizo option has only been around since October.
The plaintiffs argue that customers are entitled to accurate information regarding the nutritional value of food, but some say that one misleading sign doesn’t make for fraud and that consumers should rely on their own common sense.
How would this settlement work, if the plaintiffs are successful? Could this lawsuit be a foot in the door for similar calorie count disputes? Do you think the lawsuit is valid or unreasonable?
Guests:
Danny Abir, Managing Partner of the plaintiffs’ firm in the Chipotle lawsuit, Abir Cohen Treyzon Salo LLP based in Century City
Jeff Stier, an attorney focused on public health issues for the National Center for Public Policy Research - a think tank focused on the free market
Is California to Trump what Texas was to Obama? The secession movement under a new administration
What do California liberals and Texas conservatives have in common?
In the way the lone star state assumed an antagonist role in the Obama administration, the golden state may do the same under the upcoming Trump leadership. With his promise to repeal the Affordable Care Act, remove sanctuary cities for immigrants, and loosen environmental regulations, President-election Donald Trump put California in a defense position.
This calls to memory eight years ago when Republican officials in Texas took an anti-federal government stance after Obama took office. They rejected policies, reduced funding on mandates, and trimmed regulations, mostly through the court system. The state of Texas sued the Obama administration more than 45 times on healthcare, immigration, sustainable energy, and even transgender bathroom policies.
As former Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott told the Associated Press “I go into the office, I sue the federal government, and I go home.”
Fast forward to present-day, will California copy the same legal strategy in fighting Washington? Host Larry talks with Evan Smith, CEO of the Texas Tribune, and Jazmine Ulloa, reporter for the LA Times, on how California will act under the Trump administration.
Guests:
Evan Smith, CEO and co-founder of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news organization
Larry N. Gerston, a professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University and author of many books, including “Not So Golden After All: The Rise and Fall of California” (CRC Press, 2012)
Navigating a post-election Thanksgiving
For many Americans sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner with their extended families this week, politics will likely be a topic of discussion that’s nearly impossible to avoid, and it can lead to tensions running high on a holiday that’s supposed to be about family, football, food, and relaxation.
Already, reports are surfacing across the country of people who are uninviting relatives or who have themselves been uninvited to Thanksgiving dinners due to their political leanings. For some families, the answer may very well be to leave politics out of the discussion pool altogether. For others, there is no option but to duke it out amongst the family and hope that everyone can still toast to the good old USofA when it’s all said and done. Because at the end of the day, they’re still your family and you’re supposed to love them no matter what...right?
How will you go about handling politics as a discussion topic at Thanksgiving? Are you avoiding family gatherings altogether because of the election? What tips do you have for others about best practices for talking politics at the dinner table? Have any relatives been excluded from your family celebration because of their political beliefs? Have you been uninvited from a family Thanksgiving because of how you voted?
Guests:
Amy Cuddy, Ph.D., social psychologist and associate professor at Harvard Business School; she is the author of ‘PRESENCE: Bringing Your Boldest Self To Your Biggest Challenges’ (Little, Brown, and Company, 2015)
George Yancy, Ph.D., professor of philosophy at Emory University and the philosophy of race; he is the author of several books, including ‘Look, A White!: Philosophical Essays on Whiteness’ (Temple University Press, 2012)