Tagged: politics

Two federal government agencies are teaming up with Amtrak to fight human trafficking.

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman announced the new partnership Thursday.

Florida has one of the strictest rules in the country for lobbyist gift-giving: an absolute ban.

And the state has one of toughest laws for campaign contributions: a $500 limit.

And yet, there’s a contradiction that everyone in Tallahassee seems to know about.

A lobbyist cannot buy a legislator dinner, or a cup of coffee, or a bottle of water. But a lobbyist can hand over a check for hundreds of thousands of dollars in a “CCE.”

Florida has a national reputation for its Public Records Law. But a new study by the Center for Public Integrity and Public Radio International has given the Sunshine State a D in “Public Access to Information.”

The State Integrity Investigation is the first attempt to look across all states at how good the system is for preventing political corruption.

The investigation graded each state on more than 300 indicators of accountability, transparency, and corruption risk. The indicators are divided into 14 categories, which appear on the report card.

The State Integrity Investigation – a collaboration of Public Radio International, the Center for Public Integrity and WLRN in Miami – is the first comprehensive look at state government  for every state in the country. What’s working? What’s not working? How susceptible is the process to corruption? 

Florida's government, overall, was given a C-minus for its integrity – not great, but still the 18th best in the country.

10/01/12 - Monday’s Topical Currents is with Time Magazine Senior Correspondent Michael Grunwald, who’s chronicled the events and reactions surrounding the 2009 federal stimulus package, which reached 700-billion-dollars. In The New New Deal, Grunwald examines what prompted conservatives to condemn the stimulus as a monstrous waste and liberals to lament the lost opportunity for a bigger and bolder package. Grunwald speaks with literary contributor Ariel Gonzalez.

09/27/12 - Thursday's Topical Currents begins with Miami-Dade’s “Ethical Governance Day.” We’ll speak with Ethics Commission Executive Director Joseph Centorini and Miami-Dade Schools social science coordinator Jackie Viana. Events begin October 12th. And more. Linda Gassenheimer and TV Chef Aida Mollenkamp with cooking tips from her book, Keys To The Kitchen. 

09/26/12 - Wednesday's Topical Currents is with NYU political science professor Bruce Bueno de Mesquita, co-author of The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior Is Almost Always Good Politics. Perhaps the authors are overly cynical, but a dictator can stay in power as long a ruling coalition can be maintained, even if it is a small minority. Democracies, in contrast, tend to be wide coalition systems and must satisfy a far wider population segment.