former Chief Recovery Officer, State of Vermont
Former Chief Recovery Officer responsible for coordinating Vermont's use of federal stimulus money; contributing editor at VermontTiger.com
PROFILE
Tom Evslin
Guest
FROM Tom Evslin
Which Way, L.A.?
Economic Stimulus: The Promise and the Reality President Obama's stimulus package is officially called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act . It was advertised as a fast-track program for hiring the unemployed as well as creating new jobs. After it was enacted in 2009, California received $50 billion. Two years later, only half that amount has been spent. We hear from Laura Chick, California's former "stimulus watchdog" and others.
To the Point
What Has 800 Billion in Stimulus Spending Bought? During the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt put four million people to work in four months. In two years, President Obama's $787 billion stimulus has failed to reduce unemployment as promised, and much of the money hasn't even been spent. When it was enacted in 2009, it was advertised as a fast-track program for hiring the unemployed as well as creating new jobs, and was to focus on projects called "shovel-ready?" So-called stimulus watchdogs in Vermont and California say there is no such thing. What about the money that has been spent? Has the Reinvestment and Recovery Act been a victim of false advertising as well as red tape?
Recommended
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?
Left, Right & Center
The week that wouldn't quit Will next week get even weirder? (Special one-hour episode)
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.