Radioactivity 1 19 17
Good morning, welcome to Radioactivity. I’m Rob Lorei.
Coming up—one of the possible candidates for Florida governor is up in Washington DC this week. He’ll join us in a moment to talk about Donald Trump, global warming and whether or not he’ll run for governor….Later I’ll ask you what you think the highs and lows were during the eight years of president Obama.
But first two listener comments about yesterday’s interview with Wendell Potter—the health insurance executive who blew the whistle on the secret ways the health insurance industry wields power and control over our health care system. Yesterday we talked about repealing and replacing the ACA.
Here’s what two listeners had to say.
Tape
The next election for governor of Florida is next year. Already there is a lot of talk about who will replace Governor Rick Scott. One of those people is Miami Beach Mayor Phil Levine, a successful business man. He’s in Washington DC this week. He’s facing a host of problems—rising sea levels are causing street flooding in parts of his city—even when there is no rain. Protecting Miami Beach against the rising seas will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. And Florida Power and Light wants to build two new nuclear reactors in Southeast Florida and is seeking permission to store radioactive waste and contaminated water 3,000 feet underground in an aquifer connected to South Florida’s drinking water supply. I spoke with Mayor Levine yesterday and started by asking him whether he had learned anything new about the incoming Trump administration while he was in Washington DC this week.
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Tomorrow at noon President Obama’s time in office ends and President Trump will be officially installed as the nation’s 45th president. He was elected as the US was suffering from the Great recession.
Summary
Since President Barack Obama first took office here are some numbers about the economy from FactCheck:
• The economy has added nearly 10.7 million jobs.
• Median household income has gone up $1,140, or 2 percent.
• The buying power of the average worker’s weekly paycheck is up 4.2 percent.
• Median sales prices of existing single-family homes are up 23 percent.
• The unemployment rate has dropped well below the historical norm; job openings are at a 15-year high.
• Corporate profits and stock prices have both soared to record highs.
• The number of people lacking health insurance has gone down by 16.5 million.
• The murder rate is down nearly 5 percent, despite an increase in 2015.
• The number of unauthorized immigrants estimated to be living in the U.S. is down, according to demographers.
• Wind and solar power have quadrupled; coal production has dropped 36 percent; carbon emissions have gone down 12 percent.
• However, the poverty rate is still 0.3 percentage points higher, and the number of Americans on food stamps is up nearly 36 percent.
• Federal debt has more than doubled, and annual federal deficits, after shrinking, are again on the rise.
• The home ownership rate has dropped to the lowest point in more than 50 years.
• Handgun production has more than doubled. (Source: http://www.factcheck.org October 2016)
But of course the economy is just part of the record. There are many other areas—including his foreign policy
Here’s what I’d like to talk about: after eight years in office what were the best and worst parts of President Obama’s presidency and how would you compare him to the incoming president?
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