Ithaca College
Associate professor of Sociology at Ithaca College and visiting scholar at the Center on Aging and Work at Boston College
PROFILE
Stephen Sweet
Guest
FROM Stephen Sweet
To the Point
A Slower Recovery for Older Workers This week, two senators introduced a bipartisan plan to renew long term unemployment benefits for the more than 3 million Americans still looking for work. Congress allowed the benefit to expire last December. But even if the bill passes and insurance is reinstated, it provides only a temporary bit of relief. In the meantime, the long term effects of the recession and this sluggish recovery are hitting some Americans more than ever. One group stands out: middle aged women. As the economy took a dive, many women left the workforce to care for their aging parents – now as they try to re-enter the workforce they find their applications are going straight into the "do not call" pile. Special thanks to Over 50 and Out of Work .
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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
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
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
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?