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NPR
Political reporter for NPR; former business and economics correspondent for Vox.com
PROFILE
Danielle Kurtzleben
Guest
FROM Danielle Kurtzleben
To the Point
Can voters believe that all their votes will be counted? Donald Trump is already raising questions about the outcome of the November election, telling supporters, "I'm afraid the election is going to be rigged. I have to be honest." While experts discount Trump's claims about "voter fraud," they concede that electronic voting is vulnerable to hacking. One advisor predicts a political "bloodbath" if Trump should lose, while the Clinton campaign calls him "a reflexive conspiracy theorist." Will the dispute lead voters to lose faith in the integrity of the electoral system? Is that the real threat to democracy in America?
To the Point
Free Trade: Obama's Legacy and Your Pocketbook The Trans-Pacific Partnership would be the biggest trade deal in American history. It started 13 years ago, with Chile, New Zealand and Singapore, and now involves the US, Japan and ten other countries, comprising 40% of the world's economy. It's being negotiated in secret, but enough is known to call it "insanely complex," so Congress will be asked to vote up or down instead of trying to amend it. It would bolster the President's "pivot to Asia," but many Republicans like it anyway. Liberal Democrats see a Wall Street giveaway and more lost jobs. We hear assessments of the potential impact on the US, the Pacific Rim and you.
To the Point
US Economy Added 295,000 Jobs in February The latest Labor Department report shows nonfarm employers added 295,000 jobs last month, while unemployment fell from 5.7 to 5.5 percent. Wall Street's looking for an increase in interest rates sometime this summer. But, not all the data are encouraging about the economy. That's according to Danielle Kurtzleben , economics and business correspondent for Vox.com.
To the Point
When Childcare Costs as Much as College In the last twenty years the cost of childcare has outstripped every other item in the family budget. Meanwhile the quality of care is lower than any other developed nation in the world. According to the latest Pew Research Center study , a growing number of parents are opting out of the workforce as a result -- and despite the Lean-In and feminist revolutions -- the parent dropping out of the workforce is still, usually, a mom. Is the exploding expense of childcare setting back the clock on the women's movement? Should the government subsidize childcare as aggressively as higher education? Should the United States have federally mandated paid parental leave and more subsidies for childcare?
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Left, Right & Center
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
To the Point
Human Rights in the era of Donald Trump President Trump’s UN Ambassador, Nikki Haley, said today the US might pull out of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. Serious violators of human rights are members of the Council itself–and a US resignation could make things worse. Later on today’s show, now that he’s into his second term, comedian turned US Senator Al Franken is telling jokes again.
To the Point
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.