Background Briefing: December 3, 2018 | Shirley Jahad sits in for Ian Masters
The Latest with the Trump-Russia Investigation and Prospects of Impeachment
We begin with the latest twists and turns in the Trump-Russia Investigation and broach the topic: what is the threshold of calling for impeachment? The founders of the constitution created the impeachment powers by raising concerns about election fraud, bribery, traitorous acts and foreign intrusion. All of those very points seem to be lighting up in the Mueller investigation. We talk with Harvard Law professor Laurence Tribe, whose latest book is To End a Presidency: The Power of Impeachment.
Why Medicare for All Costs Less
Then, with the December 15th deadline coming up to sign up for health care, we look into the surge in support for Medicare for all on the heels of the midterm elections. A new report says that the cost of giving full coverage to everyone is less than sticking with the current private insurance system. We speak with the author of that report, economics professor Robert Pollin.
The Author of “Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America”
Then finally, here in the final months before the holiday season, as many families are checking their budgets for travel and gift spending, we explore how the American dream is becoming more and more elusive and people with middle class jobs are slipping out of the middle class. Alissa Quart joins us. She is the author of Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America. The cost of the big essentials like health care, college and housing have been skyrocketing while incomes have been flatlining. Now the wealth gap is threatening a bedrock this country has prided itself on: its robust middle class.