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03/07/2017: What’s it cost to reconfigure almost a fifth the economy?
Mar 7, 2017

03/07/2017: What’s it cost to reconfigure almost a fifth the economy?

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All the punditry flying today about the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act boils down to a couple essential questions: How many people will it cover, and what will it cost? Figuring that out will fall to the Congressional Budget Office, which uses modeling to try and predict the bill's effects. But when you're messing with nearly a fifth of the American economy, that's complex work. Plus, a look at America's "dignity gap" and what happens when a family sitcom runs straight into the political moment.

Segments From this episode

Employers prepare for 'A Day Without A Woman' protest

Mar 7, 2017
Organizers of Wednesday’s planned “A Day Without A Woman” protest are asking women to stay home from work to underscore their economic contributions. Women make up nearly half the U.S. workforce. Organizers of the protest also want women to only patronize women and minority-owned businesses. It’s unclear how many people will participate, though a few […]

Who scores the GOP's revised health plan and its costs?

Mar 7, 2017
The Congressional Budget Office figures the price of new legislation and tries to predict behavioral changes.
 Tom Price, U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services, compares a copy of the Affordable Care Act, right, and a copy of the new House Republican health care bill at the White House daily press briefing.
Alex Wong/Getty Images

Permian Basin oil find cheers U.S. drillers

Mar 7, 2017
Oil drilling and fracking are back in America — that’s the storyline out of the big annual oil industry confab in Houston this week. Crude oil prices have recovered from a two-year bust. The rigs are getting back to work. But a new location is the talk of the day. No, not Alberta, Canada, or […]

What it means to close the 'dignity gap'

Mar 7, 2017
AEI president argues that the poor need an American culture that values them.
"Something like a third of the American population is starting to express pretty grave doubts in their ability to earn their success in the United States," says Arthur Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute. Above, people wait in line at a jobs fair in Sunrise, Florida.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

'The Real O'Neals' runs into reality

Mar 7, 2017
This ABC show is what you might expect for a network comedy. Or it was, until Donald Trump got elected.
At its heart, "The Real O'Neals" is about a teenage boy coming out. Above, executive producers Todd Holland, Stacy Traub and the show's cast.
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images

Food company dependent on immigrant labor is 'concerned' about political rhetoric

Mar 7, 2017
Kurt Loudenback of successful Grand Prairie Foods employs a mostly refugee and migrant workforce.
A part of Kurt Loudenback’s business that has grown substantially is sandwich building. He says that work can't be automated.
Photo courtesy of Kurt Loudenback

All the punditry flying today about the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act boils down to a couple essential questions: How many people will it cover, and what will it cost? Figuring that out will fall to the Congressional Budget Office, which uses modeling to try and predict the bill’s effects. But when you’re messing with nearly a fifth of the American economy, that’s complex work. Plus, a look at America’s “dignity gap” and what happens when a family sitcom runs straight into the political moment.

Music from the episode

Airfield Javelin
Winners Delicate Steve
Skipping Rocks Oddisee
Dawn Chorus Boards of Canada