- Social:
Urban Institute
Senior fellow at the Urban Institute's Center on Labor, Human Services and Population
PROFILE
Julie Isaacs
Guest
FROM Julie Isaacs
To the Point
Is Pre-school Education Being Oversold? In his State of the Union speech, President Obama made a proposal that hasn't been tried since the Nixon Administration: federally funded assistance for pre-school education. The President says universal pre-school education will boost high-school graduation, while reducing teen-pregnancy and violent crime. He's using the red states of Georgia and Oklahoma to demonstrate that it's working. But critics say benefits fade away quickly and don't work long enough. Would the program really be "universal" if it's aimed at the poor with means testing to filter out kids in upper- and middle-income families? State and local governments account for most education spending. Would a preschool program help Washington level the playing field in an era of growing inequality?
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To the Point
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
To the Point
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
To the Point
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?
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?