Columbia University
Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and special advisor to United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; author of The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity
PROFILE
Jeffrey Sachs
Guest
FROM Jeffrey Sachs
Which Way, L.A.?
Are Higher Taxes the 'Price of Civilization?' Democrats, Republicans, Tea Partiers and Wall Street Occupiers all agree that America needs more jobs, but they don't agree on how to create them. Republican presidential candidates will stage another debate in Las Vegas tomorrow, with most calling for creating jobs by cutting taxes and regulations to free up the private sector. Today, President Obama began a three-day trip to early primary states, calling for a jobs bill to be paid for with higher taxes on the richest Americans. What about taxing the rich, or a national sales tax? Is government the problem or the solution?
To the Point
Are Higher Taxes the 'Price of Civilization?' President Obama is campaigning in crucial states this week, demanding that Congress pass his jobs bill and increase taxes on the richest Americans. Potential Republican rivals, who will stage another debate in Las Vegas tomorrow, have jobs plans of their own, with most calling for creating jobs by cutting taxes and regulations to free up the private sector. But what if high unemployment is the "new normal?" Are both parties offering "gimmicks" that can't overcome structural weaknesses in the economy? Are they thinking too small? Has America lost the broad consensus that democracy requires? Is there a moral as well as an economic crisis?
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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.
To the Point
Terrorism and tweets, hate speech and murder Just days before an election, Britain is coping with a rash of deadly terrorism, and Prime Minister Theresa May is on the defensive. And again today, President Trump has tweeted criticism of the Mayor of London. Later, a double murder in Portland, Oregon has revealed the ugly past of a supposedly “progressive” city. One immediate question: is “hate speech” protected by the First Amendment?
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
To the Point
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.