former Director of Finance, State of California
Former director of the California Finance Department; head of Genest Consulting, which analyzed the insurance exchange bills for the California Chamber of Commerce
PROFILE
Mike Genest
Guest
FROM Mike Genest
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
How Trump's budget affects housing and the environment in California President Donald Trump released his budget blueprint today. Proposed cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency, Housing and Urban Development, and public education could deal a painful blow to California. Trump’s blueprint is so extreme that some top Republicans are pushing back against parts of it.
Which Way, L.A.?
Health Insurance Exchange in California Two bills on Governor Schwarzenegger's desk would make California the first state to establish an insurance exchange under President Obama's healthcare reform. Consumers who don't have health insurance through their employers, Medicare or Medical would be able to comparison shop among plans approved by a five-member board.
Which Way, L.A.?
Schwarzenegger Threatens Minimum Wage for State Workers It's more than three weeks into the new fiscal year, but the state legislature with Democrats in the majority has not passed a budget . Failure to meet the constitutional deadline is nothing new, but this year there's a revenue shortfall of $15 billion. Governor Schwarzenegger says it's too expensive to borrow the money to keep going, so he has a proposal to defer a billion dollars in spending a month: cut the pay of some 200,000 state workers down to the federal minimum wage. They'd have to get by on $6.55 an hour until the budget was passed.
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To the Point
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.
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
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?