Patt Morrison for Wednesday, December 29, 2010

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

 

1:21 – 1:39

Gavel crosses the aisle for the 112^th Congress – Democrats/Round 2: Congressman Becerra weighs in

Congress is taking a rest this week after closing out its lame-duck session with an impressive list of victories for President Obama and Democrats, including the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the nuclear-arms reduction agreement, a health bill for 9/11 responders, a food safety bill, middle-class tax cuts and the extension of jobless benefits. But legislators will be back at their desks soon enough on January 3^rd with a full work load… facing them will be the omnibus spending bill, tax overhaul, education, immigration, redistricting, increased investigations of all-things Obama, and funding (or de-funding) of the various parts of the health care bill. Today we hear from democratic Congressman Xavier Becerra on how he plans to approach the 112^th and a newly minted Republican majority.

 

Guests:

Rep. Xavier Becerra, D – District 31, which includes areas of Los Angeles. He is Vice-chair of the House Democratic Caucus and a member of the Ways and Means and Budget committees.

WILL CALL IN

 

 

1:41 – 1:58:30

Loan modification law binds those facing foreclosure in Catch 22

A California state law to protect homeowners is backfiring—foreclosure lawyers can’t legally get any money until the case is done, so lawyers leery of losing or getting sued aren’t taking cases at all.  That leaves homeowners facing foreclosure in a tight bind, effectively shutting them out of legal representation when they most need it.  In a state with the highest rate of home foreclosures in the country, the demand for legal services is growing and pro bono legal aid firms, which are nearing full caseload, are the only resources to turn to.  How do you keep the honest lawyers in the game and scammers out?  Patt dissects the unintended consequences of a well-meaning law and what can be done to change it.

 

Guest:

Walter Hackett, managing attorney, Riverside office, Inland County’s Legal Services, a legal aid non profit; he was a banker for 27 years

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-         He says they are at full case load right now and the need is definitely still out there

-         he says he currently makes 1/3 what he could as a banker, which he was for 27 years.

-         Doesn’t think the law should be repealed, but does need to be clarified

 

NOT CONFIRMED:

TBA, Rep from the CA Bar Association

 

Ron Calderon, state senator who sponsored SB 94

 

 

2:06 – 2:58:30

This time, he won’t be back: the legacy of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

In a campaign commercial during his 2003 run for governor, in the midst of a historic and historically crazy recall campaign against Gray Davis, Arnold Schwarzenegger promised simple, decisive action once he took office.  “Here’s my plan,” said the eventual governor.  “Audit everything.  Open the books.  And then we end the crazy deficit spending.”  Things didn’t exactly go that way over the next seven years for Gov. Schwarzenegger, with protracted budget battles in all but one year of his two terms and budget deficits that kept reaching and breaking records.  As the ultimate testament to (and possible indictment of) his work, Gov. Schwarzenegger leaves office next week with the state staring down a potential $28 billion budget deficit and yet another debate over spending cuts or tax increases to close the gap.  The governor promised to blow up boxes, to “kick the unions’ butts” and bring a level of bipartisan governing that had been largely absent in Sacramento.  Even with the budget acrimony and the several years of a tough recession, did the iconic governor come close to achieving any of those goals?  We look back at the legacy that Arnold Schwarzenegger leaves on California as he prepares to leave public service.

 

Guests:

Mark Paul, senior scholar at the New America Foundation and a visiting scholar at the Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley; he has written about California policy and politics for three decades as a journalist at the Sacramento Bee, a policy thinker, and a state official.

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Joe Mathews, Irvine Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation; author of the People’s Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy and a columnist for the Daily Beast; his latest book is California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How we Can Fix It

IN-STUDIO

 

Deborah Burger, Co-president of the California Nurses Association

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Stan Glantz, Professor of medicine at USC.  He is also the Vice President of the UC Faculty Association and the immediate Past Chair of the UC System Committee on Planning and Budget
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Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights

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Arnold Steinberg, veteran political strategist and analyst

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Representative of the California Sierra Club

 

UNCONFIRMED

Former State Senator Don Perata

 

 

 

Jonathan Serviss

Producer, Patt Morrison Program

Southern California Public Radio

NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles

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