Trade Deals

Trade Deals

Top of Mind with Julie Rose - Radio Archive, Episode 75 , Segment 5

Episode: Shame, Polarized Presidency, Trade Deals

  • Jun 2, 2015 9:00 pm
  • 26:37 mins

Guest: Wade Jacoby, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at BYU  Before he leaves office, President Obama would like to finish up a trade deal that would be the largest in a generation. It would link 12 nations, including Canada, Chile, Japan and Australia, lowering tariffs on goods they trade and strengthening America’s economic power in Asia as a counterbalance to China’s growth.  Congress is far from convinced that the deal is a good thing and they’re deeply divided on whether or not to give the president fast track authority to make such trade deals without out getting line-by-line approval or amendments from legislators.  “Trade deals” don’t sound awfully exciting to most Americans, but they can have a major impact on local economies. They are also almost always controversial in Congress. As one Democratic Representative told the New York Times this week, “Outside of an authorization of military force, votes probably don’t get tougher than trade.”

Other Segments

Polarized Presidency

21m

Guest: Robert Smith, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University, Author of “Polarization and the Presidency: From FDR to Barack Obama”  In America today, people who identify as Republicans are more reliably conservative than they’ve been in 20 years. And Democrats are more reliably liberal. In other words, we’re an increasingly polarized nation where politics are concerned. A new book co-authored by San Francisco State University political scientist Robert Smith looks at the role presidents have played in driving the parties apart. His conclusions may surprise you: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are among the most polarizing by his measures. But JFK, LBJ and George H.W. Bush and were not.  The book is titled, “Polarization and the Presidency - from FDR to Barack Obama.”

Guest: Robert Smith, Ph.D., Professor of Political Science at San Francisco State University, Author of “Polarization and the Presidency: From FDR to Barack Obama”  In America today, people who identify as Republicans are more reliably conservative than they’ve been in 20 years. And Democrats are more reliably liberal. In other words, we’re an increasingly polarized nation where politics are concerned. A new book co-authored by San Francisco State University political scientist Robert Smith looks at the role presidents have played in driving the parties apart. His conclusions may surprise you: Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are among the most polarizing by his measures. But JFK, LBJ and George H.W. Bush and were not.  The book is titled, “Polarization and the Presidency - from FDR to Barack Obama.”