Building on three sold-out years, the vibrant Oxford-style public policy debate series, Intelligence Squared U.S., arrives at the Skirball Center for ten provocative and informative live debates on hot-topic issues of the day.
California is the First Failed State
The argument presented at this debate is whether California is a special case – with a dysfunctional political culture – or a bellwether of failure soon to come to other high-spending states. Uniquely charged by its constitution to guarantee the "happiness" of its residents, the state empowered its people to demand by referendum whatever they wanted to spend money on – from better schools to bigger prisons and to refuse by referendum to pay the bills. A legislature paralyzed by the absence of a workable middle – and a requirement for a 2/3 vote to impose taxes – combined and have dug the state into what many deem an inescapable hole.
Panelists for the motion:
Andreas Kluth, Bobby Shriver, Sharon Waxman
Panelists against the motion:
Lawrence O’Donnell, Van Jones, Gray Davis
Andreas Kluth as been writing for the Economist since 1997 and currently covers California and the western states from Los Angeles. In previous assignments, he covered technology, Asian business and global finance. Bobby Shriver was elected to the Santa Monica City Council by the highest percentage of voters in that city’s 120-year history in 2004. Re-elected in 2008, he continues his work to reduce homelessness in the city and across Los Angeles County. Sharon Waxman is editor in chief, founder, and CEO of TheWrap.com, a primary news source focused on the business of entertainment and media. She is an award-winning journalist and best-selling author, and a former Hollywood correspondent for The New York Times. Lawrence O’Donnell is a senior political analyst for MSNBC and an Emmy-winning producer and writer of NBC’s The West Wing. From 1993 through 1995, O’Donnell was the Democratic chief of staff of the United States Senate Committee on Finance. Van Jones worked from March to September 2009 as the special advisor for green jobs at the White House Council for Environmental Quality, where he developed policy recommendations to help implement the Obama Administration’s commitment to clean energy jobs. Gray Davis was overwhelmingly elected the 37th governor of California in 1998, winning 58 percent of the vote. As Governor, he made education a top priority, signing legislation to strengthen California’s K-12 system, increasing accountability in schools, and expanding access to higher education with a record number of scholarships and college loans.
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John Donvan, correspondent for ABC News Nightline, moderates the IQ2US series. The debates can be watched on the Bloomberg Television ® network, are aired by NPR® on more than 185 stations and podcasts are available from iTunes. Newsweek is the IQ2US media sponsor for the 2009/2010 season.
