Voters Put Essential Services on the Chopping Block
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President Obama's in town tonight facing gay rights protestors, as Proposition 8 faces a new challenge in federal court. In Sacramento, more cuts are proposed in essential services. Is that really what the people called for in last week's election? On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, a committee of Congress has laid down the gauntlet for the fight to slow global warming. We hear the pros and cons of a bill that would revolutionize energy use and change the lives of Americans.
Banner image: Students go about their business at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as the prospect of billions of dollars in cuts looms for California after voters turned down five of six budget-reform measures in this month's special election to deal with the massive state budget crises. Photo: David McNew/Getty Images
Main Topic
The Economics and Politics of Global Warming ()
At the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December, the Kyoto Treaty on Global Warming will be renegotiated. Environmentalists say the US has a responsibility to play a leading role. A House Committee has passed a sweeping measure, the 932-page American Clean Energy and Security Act. It would "raise the cost of life" for all Americans. President Obama says the battle to slow global warming will be good for the US economy. But some environmentalists warn it’s too little, too late. Some conservatives argue it’s not worth the effort. We hear the beginning of the debate will go on for at least the rest of this year
Guests:
- Joseph B. White: Washington Bureau Senior Editor, Wall Street Journal
- Bruce Braley: Congressman (D-IA)
- Carroll Muffett: Deputy Campaigns Director, Greenpeace USA
- Dan Lashof: Director of the Climate Center, NRDC, @Dlashof
- David Kreutzer: Senior Policy Analyst, Heritage Foundation, @dwkreutzer
Links:
Making News
Should We Make a Federal Case Out of Proposition 8? ()
Two lawyers from opposite ends of the political spectrum joined forces today to file suit against Governor Schwarzenegger and other California officials. They claim that Proposition 8, upheld yesterday by the State Supreme Court, violates both the Due Process Clause and the 14th Amendment of the federal constitution. Ashby Jones writes the Law Blog for the Wall Street Journal.
Guests:
- Ashby Jones: Writer, Wall Street Journal's Law Blog
Main Topic
Voters Put Essential Services on the Chopping Block ()
In the aftermath of last week's election, education is on the chopping block, non-violent prisoners will be getting out early and California may be the only state in a first-world country with no subsistence benefits for children. Governor Schwarzenegger and other elected officials say they're responding to "the voice of the people." But is the people's "voice" really so clear?
Guests:
- Michael Hiltzik: Columnist, Los Angeles Times, @latimeshiltzik
- Mark Pisano: former Executive Director, Southern California Association of Governments
- Barbara O'Connor: Director, Cal State Sacramento's Institute for the Study of Politics and Media
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Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
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