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Center on Budget Policy Priorities
Vice President for Food Assistance Policy at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.PROFILE
Stacy Dean
Guest
FROM Stacy Dean
To the Point
Despite Tough Times, Is There a War on Food Stamps? Federal money for food stamps has almost doubled since the start of the Great Recession, now covering 48 million people. The Census Bureau says that's kept four million people out of poverty. But Republicans in Congress say it's increased dependency on hand-outs. They want to cut $40 billion in food stamp money over the next 10 years.
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KCRW Features
What are LA parents doing with their kids during the strike? During the teacher strike, a lot of students are not going to class. According to the district’s tally, about 163,000 turned up for school Tuesday, out of a total of about half a million. Some are spending their time on the picket line. Older students might go study at Starbucks or play hooky. But the parents of younger children in L.A.
To the Point
Trump‘s Wall and the Politics of ‘Us Versus Them’ Politically, Trump’s great wall may not be worth the government shutdown. But it appeals to his base, including evangelical Christians. As the country’s white, protestant majority gives way to diversity, some fear that the essence of America is changing. Opposition to immigration in Western Europe is no coincidence.
To the Point
National Security: An Adult in the Room America’s mainstream media are obsessed with President Trump’s off-hand policymaking in military and foreign affairs. But his mistakes don’t justify the unquestioned authority given the Pentagon, the CIA and the FBI. William Arkin is quitting NBC News with a scathing assessment. He says the national security state has created a condition of “perpetual war” without making America safer--and that the media are failing to report it. L ater on our Climate Change Update segment: how the government shutdown is hurting American science.