Manhattan Institute
Diana Furchtgott-Roth is a fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a member of the Trump transition team. From 2003-2005 she served as chief economist of the US Department of Labor. She is also a former columnist for RealClearMarkets.com and the co-author of Disinherited: How Washington Is Betraying America's Young.
President Trump's opening offer America's deal-maker-in-chief has proposed a budget so draconian it's already called "dead on arrival" in Congress. Massive cuts in domestic programs would fund the biggest jump in military spending since Ronald Reagan faced down the Soviet Union. But many Republicans are disturbed that the biggest losers would be in rural areas where Trump himself won the most votes. Democrats are predictably outraged over threats to environmental protection and help for the working poor. The give-and-take is just beginning.
Does the Growing Income Gap Threaten the Middle Class? In 1915, the top 1% of Americans had 18% of the nation's wealth. Now they have 24%. That's despite the invention of labor unions, government regulations and the income tax. Timothy Noah, senior writer for the online magazine Slate.com, has written a 10-part series on income inequality, its effect on the economy and what can be done to reverse the trend.
Is Income Inequality a Threat to the Middle Class? One hundred years ago, in the era of Robber Barons, the richest 1% of Americans had 18% of the nation's income. The income tax, labor unions and the New Deal leveled things out but, since the 1970's, the income gap has been growing again and now it's wider than ever. Are the very rich just the top of a healthy middle class, or is the economy a zero-sum game with top earners refusing to let their wealth trickle down? We hear a debate that underlies the issues being raised in this year's midterm campaigns.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
How was the trip? President Trump's travels got less fun as he went from the Middle East to Europe.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.