Month: February 2017
The Retreat from Town Hall: Reporters Pursue Access as Some GOP Officials Pull Back
“Technology such as teleconference calls and Facebook enable government officials to claim that they are talking with constituents. But in the more controlled virtual space, they also are able to avoid potential confrontation with voters and questions from the press…But the appearance of access should not be mistaken for the genuine item—especially at a time when some politicians are retreating from contentious in-person encounters.”
Trump Ethics Monitor: Has The President Kept His Promises?
“Although Donald Trump sits in the Oval Office now, he continues to own stakes in hundreds of businesses, both in this country and abroad. Ethics experts say this vast international web of personal financial ties could influence Trump’s thinking on public-policy decisions. Trump has dismissed such concerns; he notes presidents are exempt from the conflict-of-interest rules that apply to Cabinet members and other government employees. Past presidents have complied voluntarily with the ethics rules. What Trump and his team have done is commit to certain steps that do touch on some of the ethics and conflicts-of-interest concerns. The Trump Ethics Monitor focuses on those promises and tracks their status.”
How Trump’s Campaign Staffers Tried to Keep Him Off Twitter
The Year in Hate and Extremism, February 2017
“After half a century of being increasingly relegated to the margins of society, the radical right entered the political mainstream last year in a way that had seemed virtually unimaginable since George Wallace ran for president in 1968. A surge in right-wing populism, stemming from the long-unfolding effects of globalization and the movements of capital and labor that it spawned, brought a man many considered to be a racist, misogynist and xenophobe into the most powerful political office in the world. Donald Trump’s election as president mirrored similar currents in Europe, where globalization energized an array of extreme-right political movements and the United Kingdom’s decision to quit the European Union.” Annual report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Poverty Reduction Programs Help Adults Lacking College Degrees the Most, February 2017
“Working-age adults without a degree, who are sometimes described as members of the working class, are far more likely than those with a degree both to have low incomes and to be lifted out of poverty by government policies or assisted by government health programs. As a result, when it comes to the potential this year for substantial cuts in poverty reduction programs and repeal of the Affordable Care Act, people without a college degree have the most at stake.” From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.