Daily Clips: November 13th, 2015
Stiglitz: Sanders is right – everybody has the right to healthcare, sick days and paid leave: Here is an intriguing conversation between Nobel Prize-winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz, and Amy Goodman at Democracy Now! They talk about a range of issues, mostly relating to the 2016 race, but this section of the talk I found to be particularly interesting:
AMY GOODMAN: So that’s Hillary Clinton. You advise Hillary Clinton?
JOSEPH STIGLITZ: I talk to her, yes.
AMY GOODMAN: So, her response—”We’re not Denmark”—as a put-down to Bernie Sanders?
JOSEPH STIGLITZ: Well, it’s a fact we are not Denmark. But the question is whether the United States is rich enough to be able to make sure that everyone has a basic right to healthcare, family leave, parental, you know, sick leave—we are exceptional—whether we are a society that can tolerate—that should tolerate the levels of inequality that we have. I think Bernie Sanders is right about that. And I think that we—Hillary is right that one of the strengths of America should be that we can give opportunity for small businesses. Actually, Denmark and Norway do that, as well. So, what I would say is that Bernie is absolutely right that providing the basic necessities of a middle-class society should be the right of everybody in our country.
David Brooks criticizes Marco Rubio! For the first time in this race, Brooks had stern words for Rubio – a man he has previously lauded as “young and thus uncorrupted.” In his latest column, Brooks seems to have had enough of Rubio’s fence-sitting on immigration, stating: “I’m sorry, Marco Rubio, when your party faces a choice this stark, with consequences this monumental, you’re probably not going to be able to get away with being a little on both sides.”
The real job for the next Democratic president: There are a lot of promises which are being made by Bernie, Hillary, and Martin, but the odds of them accomplishing any of these commitments are very low. As Suzy Khimm notes, a Democratic president will (most likely) have to contend with a Republican-controlled Congress. In short, political gridlock will remain.
Therefore, Khimm argues that candidates should focus “more heavily on issues where there’s significant latitude for the executive branch to act without having to rely on Congress—particularly immigration and criminal-justice reform.” Her insights are extremely useful as we prepare ourselves for tomorrow night’s debate.
