BLACK ISSUES FORUM: Local and National Topics Leading to 2024 Elections

A look at topics impacting our decisions for 2024 elections. Plus, renewed debate about monuments and our country’s history of slavery raises a question: are we’re preserving history or our future? Host Kenia Thompson discusses these topics and more with Immanuel Jarvis, chairman of the Durham County GOP; columnist Mary C. Curtis (Roll Call); and Brett Chambers, lecturer at NC Central University.

Impact of Government Shutdown

CHARLOTTE,  NC — Wednesday marks the 26th day of the partial government shutdown with no end in sight as Americans wait on lawmakers to resolve this standoff.

It’s not only the federal workers themselves who are at risk. Lately, the country is seeing airport slowdowns as TSA agents and air traffic controllers are affected; food inspections are being curtailed; national parks are being overrun with tourists and litter.

And if this shutdown keeps going, we may start to see some of those long-term impacts get worse. People could then potentially lose their homes and cars, and won’t have access to their medicine. Some already cannot afford to pay to fill their gas tanks to get to work. In the future, food-stamp payments may be affected.

And some are finding other jobs, finding a government job fulfilling but too unpredictable when it comes to paying the bills. (Mary C. Curtis)

Our Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis discusses what happens if this shutdown lasts much longer.

Government Shutdown and Border Wall

CHARLOTTE, NC–

President Trump and lawmakers may not have made much headway in discussions on ending the government shutdown and agreeing on terms for a wall on the southern border.

Tuesday night, the president made his case in a nationally televised address from the Oval Office, countered by a speech from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Meetings are set this week.

But what will happen next as 800,000 workers are on furlough or working without paychecks?

WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis weighs in.

For 2018 Trump Starred in Best (Worst?) Reality Show Yet

OPINION — In television shows, the cliffhanger is a bit of a cheat, putting a lead character in jeopardy so fans will have a reason to tune into the new season. Those (including me) who have labeled the current president and his administration something of a reality show — with its surprise guests, plot twists and dizzying cast of characters — could hardly have predicted how much Trump and crew would have followed the script.

As 2018 ends, the United States is on the brink of not only a new year but also new and not always encouraging developments of national and international significance. And no one, certainly not the president, knows how it will end.

A Year of Uncertainty in Charlotte and Beyond

CHARLOTTE, NC — From the partial government shutdown to North Carolina’s 9th Congressional district race, there is a lot of uncertainty as we wrap up 2018.

WCCB Political Contributor Mary C. Curtis is anticipating what’s next in Charlotte and beyond as we head into 2019.

Opinion: To Make Government Work, You Have to Respect It

Explore any part of the vast expanse of the Western United States, and you are sure to stumble across a plaque affixed to the corner of stone stairs leading to a pathway through a national park or monument. You will no doubt get similar unexpected knowledge from a sign hanging on the wall of a library in small-town America.

Things Americans take for granted, many of them, were financed by the federal government, built by U.S. workers, grateful for the Depression-era lifeline provided by the Works Progress Administration. Many of the roads, bridges and sidewalks that crisscross cities in every part of the country share the same provenance — the federal government everyone complains about.

It all works, somehow, until a shutdown, the latest version of which ended almost before it began. And boy did everyone breathe a sigh of relief when they learned the (much maligned) post office would keep sending and delivering through rain and hail, sleet and shutdown.

A Tax Bill, a Budget and a Deadline

CHARLOTTE, NC– It’s been a busy week, with the Senate taking a big step forward toward passing a Republican $1.5 trillion tax package when the Budget Committee, on a party-line vote, cleared the way for the full Senate to vote on the bill this week. But a meeting to pass a budget and avoid a government shutdown hit a snag when a presidential tweet caused top Democratic leaders to be no-shows for a White House meeting. (Mary C. Curtis)

Inside the Shutdown


 

CHARLOTTE, NC: We’re on Day 2 of the Government Shutdown. While the economy is holding up steady, the American people are starting feel the effects of the standoff in the nation’s capital. Washington Post columnist Mary C. Curtis discusses the shutdown’s effects on North Carolina and if she sees a solution anytime soon.