News & Public Affairs
Is Social Security Going Broke?
04/24/12 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Tuesday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Social Security, trustee's report, surplus, deficit, Nacy Altman, Strengthen Social Security Campaign
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I'm Rob Lorei. The McClatchy News Service is reporting: "The nation's Social Security and Medicare programs are sliding closer to insolvency, the federal government warned Monday in a new report underscoring the fiscal challenges facing the two mammoth retirement programs as baby boomers begin to retire.
Medicare, which is expected to provide health insurance to more than 50 million elderly and disabled Americans this year, is expected to start opera...
Be the first to commentHundreds flock to St. Pete jobs fair listen
09/19/11 Josh HoltonWMNF Drive-Time News Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: jobs, Unemployment, unemployment rate, unemplyment, unemployment benefits, American Jobs Act, obama, Deficit, St. Petersburg
As of last Friday, Florida has had three straight months of 10.7 percent unemployment. Today the St. Pete Times hosted a jobs fair in downtown St. Petersburg. President Barack Obama is trying to address the problem through the American Jobs Act. It would include 5 billion dollars to help public safety officials a...
Be the first to commentPresident Obama signs debt ceiling increase passed by Congress listen
08/02/11 Seán KinaneWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: debt ceiling, debt crisis, Deficit, Barack Obama, spending, taxes
This afternoon President Barack Obama signed legislation to increase the nation's borrowing authority and avert government default. Congress linked the debt ceiling increase to deficit reductions. But they will be only accomplished through spending cuts, not revenue increases. President Obama said that for future deficit reductions, to expect even more cuts, including to Medicare, in addition to higher taxes.
Be the first to comment“This compromise guarantees more than $2 trillion in deficit reduction. It’s an...
President Obama holds press conference on federal deficit debate
07/11/11 Robert LoreiLast Call Monday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: federal deficit, tax increases, President Obama, tax breaks, oil companies, Jon Walker, Firedoglake, Deficit, taxes
Good afternoon, welcome to the Last Call. I'm Rob Lorei. Earlier today President Obama held a press conference regarding the ongoing talks on the debate over whet to do about raising the federal ceiling on the debt limit. At the press conference the President acknowledged that he was considering cuts to entitlements. He also said he was not considering raising taxes immediately, that he did not want to balance the budget on the backs of the middle class and that he was in favor of renewing th...
Be the first to commentIn a major address on the budget, President Obama proposes lowering the deficit listen
04/13/11 wire reports including APWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Barack Obama, economy, Medicare, taxes, deficit
President Barack Obama is setting a goal of lowering the deficit by $4 trillion dollars over the next 12 years as he wades into the politically volatile debate over the nation's crushing debt.
A week after formally announcing his re-election campaign, Obama is proposing a mix of tax increases already rejected by Republicans, and cuts to safety-net health programs likely to alienate many liberals.
In a speech today at George Washington University, the president proposed cutting defense s...
Be the first to commentIs Social Security Really On The Brink Of Collapse?
12/02/10 Robert LoreiRadioactivity: Live Call-In (Thursday) Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Social Security, deficit
The White House panel on reducing the deficit has released its final report calling for widespread cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Panel co-chairs Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson want to gradually raise the retirement age for Social Security to 69 by 2075, decrease the cost of living benefits for Social Security recipients, impose new limits on the Medicare health insurance program, and end several middle-class tax breaks while reducing income taxes for corporations. The panel will hold...
2 commentsTempers flare as Hillsborough Commission discusses executive pay raises listen
06/18/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Hillsborough County Commission, salaries, wage increases, economy, budget, deficit
A week after it was reported that some of Hillsborough County Administrator Pat Bean’s top assistants received raises, the issue was revisited again today by County Commissioner Kevin Beckner.
Saying he wanted to control his anger, the freshman lawmaker said he needed more understanding about why such an issue happened at a time when Commissioners are dealing with a deficit of more than $100 million that could lead to more than 500 employees being laid off.
Beckner called for an inde...
Be the first to commentCindy Sheehan speaks in St. Petersburg listen
06/18/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Thursday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: politics, Cindy Sheehan, economy, deficit
Peace Activist Cindy Sheehan appeared in St. Petersburg last night.
Speaking at Nova 535, Sheehan spoke for approximately an hour, where she touched on a variety of subjects, including many in her new book, Myth America.
Sheehan moved to San Francisco a couple of years ago, specifically to challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in her bid for re-election last year, a topic she discussed last night.
Sheehan’s home state of California is in serious financial difficulties. The state f...
Be the first to commentKen Welch on Pinellas economy, listen
06/16/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Tuesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Pinellas County Commission, budget, economy, deficit, Ken Welch
Pinellas County Commissioners are conducting their public hearing portion of their meeting this afternoon.
Over the weekend, WMNF spoke with Commissioner Ken Welch about the economic woes Pinellas is undergoing. He says the county is staring at a deficit of at least $110 million.
Be the first to commentColumnist: Bush mostly to blame for deficit listen
06/10/09 Mitch E. PerryWMNF Drive-Time News Wednesday Listen to this entire show:
Tags: Deficit, national debt, economy
The Congressional Budget Office forecasts that in the coming years, the federal government will be running the biggest deficits since the years just after World War II.
Republicans blame President Obama’s budget for this – but according to New York Times Business Columnist David Leonhardt, Obama’s ambitious agenda is responsible for only a small part of the deficits. However, Leonardt writes that the president does not have a realistic plan for eliminating it.
Leonhardt looked at the...
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