In anticipation of Trump unveiling his new tax plan this afternoon, AirTalk discusses the potential political and economic impacts of the proposal. We also examine the decline in U.S. entrepreneurship; receive updates on Puerto Rico and the territory's need for hurricane relief; and more.
A look ahead on the economic impact of Trump’s tax plan
President Trump and Republican leaders have drawn up a tax plan.
As NPR reports, the plan is set to be the most sweeping overhaul of the tax code in 30 years. Aiming to boost the economy, this will include deep cuts to individual and corporate tax rates. Trump will promote the plan Wednesday, on the fairgrounds of Indiana State University.
Larry speaks to economists today to learn more about the ins and outs of the plan.
Guests:
Anna Edgerton, Congressional reporter at Bloomberg; she tweets
Harry Stein, director of fiscal policy at the Center for American Progress, a left-leaning research think tank; he tweets
Romina Boccia, deputy director of the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy at The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank; she focuses on government spending and the national debt; she tweets
Kyle Pomerleau, economist and director of federal projects at the Tax Foundation, where he oversees the center’s research; he tweets
Entrepreneurs and economists dissect downward trend in entrepreneurship in SoCal and nationwide
Despite the U.S. economy’s steady improvement since the end of The Great Recession, new data from the Census Bureau suggests that the United States is seeing a significant decline in start-ups from previous years.
The reason for the drop? That depends who you ask. Some economists say it’s because the massive companies that dominate different sectors of the market are so big that they can either swallow up or completely disregard any competition. Some point to the aging Baby Boomer generation, meaning there are simply fewer Americans who are around the prime age to start a business. Others say there’s simply less access to capital -- banks are lending less and venture capitalists are turning their attention away from funding brand new businesses and toward investing in businesses that are already growing and excelling. And still others say that increased regulation at the state and federal level is scaring off would-be entrepreneurs from starting a company.
What do you think is fueling the decline in entrepreneurship across the country? Are we seeing similar trends in Southern California? What could be done to change this trend?
Guests:
Robert Litan, adjunct senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations; economist and antitrust lawyer
Vincent McCoy, executive director of the Inland Empire Small Business Development Center
Susie Pryor, associate director of the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship and associate professor of entrepreneurship at Cal State San Bernardino
In the aftermath of Maria, a look at US federal aid to Puerto Rico
Headlines and photos coming out of Puerto Rico show a bleak future.
Power is still out in much of the U.S. territory due to Hurricane Maria and it’s unclear when that will be resolved. As POLITICO reports, Gov. Ricardo Rossello has called this the “biggest catastrophe” in its history, and after hurricanes in Texas and Florida, it’s difficult to say how much funding will be allocated for the damage done to the island.
President Trump spoke about the disaster on Tuesday at the White House. He agreed to boost funds to the territory, and will visit both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands next week. He also said his administration has been great with its response to hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and Maria will be no different.
The president had also tweeted about the damage from Maria, saying that Puerto Rico had problems long before the hurricane added to the devastation. Critics of Trump’s comments are taking that as misplaced blame. And the differences between rebuilding efforts between U.S. territories and states have come to the fore.
So what are the differences in how Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida have been handled after these natural disasters?
Guests:
Will Grant, a correspondent for the BBC who was in San Juan, Puerto Rico, covering Hurricane Maria; he left the territory on Monday; he tweets
Jacqueline Klimas, defense reporter for POLITICO; she authored the recent article, “In Puerto Rico, another desperate plea for help;” she tweets
LA's on the verge of saying goodbye to (most of) its iconic palm trees
The Los Angeles skyline is on its way to losing its iconic palm-frond silhouette.
A recent story in the L.A. Times explains how, due to a fatal fungus and an invasive weevil, palm trees are on their way out. With the exception of six historic areas, the city will be replacing them with native, drought-tolerant plants.
Despite their instant association with Los Angeles, the palm tree is actually a transplant (pun intended), brought over in the 19th and 20th centuries in order to glamourize the desert-scape of California.
We talk history and ecology of the classic but non-native palm, as the future portends a very different landscape for our city.
Guest:
Kitty Connolly, executive director of the Theodore Payne Foundation, a non-profit that aims to educate Southern California about its native landscape
How much stock do you take in online reviews?
Amazon has been taking strides to keep people from posting fake reviews on its site.
But according to a report from ReviewMeta, which uses an algorithm and statistical modeling to measure the validity of online reviews, less trustworthy or “unnatural” reviews have been showing up for products sold on Amazon since June. As reported by Forbes, Amazon has banned most products with “incentivized reviews,” meaning reviewers write about products that have been given to them for free.
Of course, it's a problem that plagues not just Amazon, but many e-commerce companies. So how can you tell which online reviews are honest? Do you still take stock in online reviews, and if not, how do you decide on what to buy?
Guest:
Spencer Soper, Seattle-based e-commerce reporter at Bloomberg; one of the companies he reports closely on is Amazon