President Obama is just the latest politician to promise sweeping change in Washington. But how easy or hard is it to change the system? How different is government bureaucracy than the private sector working environment? Why is it so inefficient? We ask Bill Parker, author of “The Agency Game: Inside the Bureaucratic Jungle”.
On Friday, the Labor Department reported 663,000 jobs were lost in March and the unemployment rate is not 8.5 percent. Just how bad is the job market? Will it get better anytime soon? What government policies help or hurt an economic recovery? How real is the inflation fear right now? And what will the Obama budget really accomplish? We ask James Shirk, Bradley Fellow in Labor Policy at the Heritage Foundation.
On Friday the Iowa Supreme Court ruled a 1998 law defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman as unconstitutional. The decision was unanimous. What reasoning did the court give? What options do traditional marriage supporters have in reversing this decision? Why could Iowa become the start of a legal nightmare over marriage in many other states? We ask Iowa Rep. Steve King.
Next year, the 2010 U.S. Census will be conducted. Right now, the census forms do not classify respondents as legal or illegal residents of the country. Some lawmakers are trying to change that. But what are their chances of succeeding? What is at stake in terms of Congressional boundaries if no distinction is made? We ask Josiah Ryan, Staff Writer for cnsnews.com.
The Capitol Steps are back for some Friday fun! They’re also out with a new CD, “Obama Mia”. We have the title track for you. Our guest is Steps star and co-founder Elaina Newport.
We have Thursday’s top news… What arguments are Republicans and Democrats using in today’s House debate on the Obama budget? What message did the U.S. Senate issue to the Federal Reserve about the ongoing Wall Street bailout? What happened on Wall Street Thursday? Why did it move so decisively? What did the G-20 Summit accomplish? How much more spending is being pushed into the global economy? What action did Congress take today on the issue of tobacco? We have the answers as we bring you the biggest stories for Thursday, April 2, 2009.
What was the debate like over the massive Obama budget in the House Budget Committee? Are Democrats right that the huge projected deficits should be blamed on President Bush? Which provisions in this budget concern Republicans most? What message do Senate Democrats send by threatening no debate on the budget? We ask New Jersey Rep. Scott Garrett, a member of the House Budget and Financial Services Committees. We also get his reaction to Obama’s orders to the auto industry and the U.S. leading the charge in donating $1.1 trillion to the International Monetary Fund and World Bank at the G-20 Summit.
How much revenue is the Obama administration hoping to raise by taxing the carbon emissions of energy producers and other industries? How much of an increase will that mean in your energy bills every year? What impact will it have on manufacturing jobs? And what rhetoric should we be ready for when this legislation comes up for debate? We ask Dan Kish, Senior Vice President for Policy at the Institute for Energy Research.
How will America react to the U.S. joining the other G-20 nations in shelling out $1.1 trillion to help developing nations through the World Bank and International Monetary Fund? How big of a setback is it for Obama that the leaders did not find consensus on stimulus spending? What is the main message expressed by President Obama’s budget priorities? Do Republicans really have a better fiscal vision? How should we read the photo finish in the special House race in New York and the Justice Department dropping its case against former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens? We ask John Gizzi, political editor at Human Events.
On Thursday, House Democrats will pass President Obama’s $3.6 trillion budget blueprint for Fiscal Year 2010. Included is more than $600 billion for reforming the nation’s health care system? What kind of health care changes would require that kind of spending? How much more spending would we see when millions opt for government-sponsored care as opposed to the privately insured? And how would access to care be affected? We ask Grace-Marie Turner, President of the Galen Institute.
