Bloomberg View
Megan McArdle is a columnist for Bloomberg View and the author of the forthcoming book, The Upside of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success. She is a former business and economics editor for The Atlantic.
PROFILE
Megan McArdle
Guest
FROM Megan McArdle
Left, Right & Center
Supreme Court closes the term allowing partial travel ban Newest SCOTUS Justice Neil Gorsuch makes himself known.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Should Democrats fight the election of Trump? Donald Trump’s presidential win is expected to become official Monday . That’s when members of the electoral college cast their votes for the president-elect. But there’s a growing effort on the left to try to flip electors’ votes to Hillary Clinton. The push has come amid revelations that Russia may have tried to sway the election in Trump’s favor, and Trump’s nearly 3 million popular vote loss. Mostly absent from that conversation: the Democratic party.
To the Point
Reality Check: health insurance and Obamacare Even President Obama says the Affordable Care Act has real problems, which Bill Clinton says make it the "craziest thing [he's] ever seen." That's put it front and center in the presidential campaign, to the delight of Donald Trump and the discomfort of Hillary Clinton . She wants reform. He wants repeal. And millions of newly insured people may be in for a "November Surprise:" a big jump in premiums -- before the election. We hear two very different approaches to an issue that has the potential to influence the voting.
Left, Right & Center
Republicans Debate Safety, the House Agrees on Spending The Republicans hold their last presidential debate of the year.
Left, Right & Center
Republicans Rage Against the Liberal Media Debate backlash and a budget deal in the Senate.
To the Point
Jon Stewart’s Legacy on News and Politics Jon Stewart’s announcement that he’ll be leaving The Daily Show was almost an after-thought at the end of his program on Tuesday. Stewart’s been at it for 16 years—but he hit it big in the year 2000 as the US Supreme Court was deciding the case of Bush v. Gore—and the winner of the presidential election. Stewart didn’t invent political satire, but he updated it during the rise of the Internet and the decline of public trust in news on TV and cable. Now that he’s leaving The Daily Show, we’ll look at his influence on journalism and politics.
Left, Right & Center
Tragedy in Paris Charlie Hebdo and the stakes for Free Speech, oil prices plunge and the revolt at Harvard.
To the Point
Walmart, Wages, and Black Friday Walkouts In Miami today, Walmart workers became the latest participants in a week of labor actions scheduled to culminate on Black Friday. Workers are demanding $25,000 a year, full-time jobs for those who want them and an end to retaliation against those who participating in labor actions. As it leads other retailers in opening up for business on Thanksgiving Day, how is Walmart responding? What's the potential impact on the consumer economy?
Which Way, L.A.?
Solyndra and the Future of Clean and Green Technology Congressional investigators have revealed details of how $535 million in federal dollars went down the drain on guaranteed loans for high-tech solar panels. The Bush Administration put the deal in motion, but Solyndra went bankrupt on President Obama's watch, and Republicans are circulating embarrassing emails. Is the scandal really as bad as it sounds? If the US wants a "Green Economy" to create jobs here at home, are loan guarantees needed, despite the risk? Are there other ways to compete with China, which subsidizes all manufacturing costs so it can undersell the competition?
Recommended
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
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
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.