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tv   The Ed Show  MSNBC  May 20, 2014 2:00pm-3:01pm PDT

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caucus. that's all for now. see you back here tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. eerp. "the ed show." is up next. good evening, americans and welcome to the "the ed show." i'm ready to go live from new york. let's get to work. we're considering additional kinds of tax breaks for wealthy corporations. but do we hear from the other side? >> there's a place where that idea's co-exist and has a reality and i've been there. ♪ portland, you're so beautiful ♪ portland? >> a city no longer invest in walmart. >> because of the company's controversial business and labor practices. >> it says to walmart, we'd like you to change your practices. >> many walmart employees have to depend on public assistance because their salaries are so low. >> walmart calls it is proof of its efforts to take care of
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employees. >> anyone can afford food there, except for people who work at walmart. >> we're subsidizing walmart is not providing for their workers. >> one walmart store cost taxpayers $900,000. >> we'd like it if your jobs were better jobs with benefits. >> good to have you with us tonight folks. thank for watching. remember this man? senator ted kennedy? he gave what i thought was a very famous and profound speech on the senate floor in 2007. when he asked the question, when does the greed stop? well, it's a question that hadn't been answered really. when does the greed stop? we have elections going on tonight and some tea partyiers who are trying to unseat some regular republicans. they're all the same, they're all going to go back to washington if they get there and do the same things they've been doing all along so i don't have any plooim coverage for you here
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but i have this story because we may have an answer to the question the senator posed on the floor in 2007. when does the greed stop? this is the story that i think really matters and what people are going to be paying attention to. the city of portland, oregon, is working to make the lives of their residents better. you see, poirldrtland announced will no longer invest in walmart. city council, not one or two but the city council has decided that walmart is not a socially responsible company. no broadcaster, no radio announcer, no tv person, no writer, it was the elected people of 30er8d, oregon, that made this statement. portland had $36 million invested in walmart or 2.9% of the portfolio of the city of portland, oregon. portland plans to dump all of its investments in the company
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by 2016. this is just the latest blow to walmart. it came under fire recently as we played. profiftests have been taken by storm and it's where they keep the toilet. that's what people think of walmart right now when it comes to treating their employees because they make not just a few, they make billions of dollars. walmart has been running these ads in an attempt to combat public opinion.
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>> i give him, a for effort on that one. but the numbers are clear. walmart's trade deficit with china between 2001 and 2006, basically, helped to destroy 200,000 u.s. jobs. unnecessary will, i might add. an estimated 333,000 of those were in the manufacturing sector. manufacturing is a long-term investment with the potential for long-term benefits but for some reason, our country's having a hard time recognizing that. walmart is the largest private sector employer in the united states of america. what a proud thing to be able to say. think how good their commercials would be if they paid people a living wage and didn't have them on federal assistance. even a walmart posted a $16 billion profit in 2013. taxpayers, that's you and me, we
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continue to pick up the tab pore walmart's low wages. walmart workers receive over $2 billion in government assistance each year. this pencils out to over $1 million in public assistance per store. easy to figure, isn't it? roughly $4800 per walmart employer, employee, those folks that work there. we know that walmart can afford to play their employees a livable wage. they could just pass the cost along to the consumer, couldn't they? just a little bit more? >> let's tray is single mom that is a cashier at testify walmart shops there. she earns food stamps from the government and turns around and spendle 24e78 at walmart. what would it take to push a mom up to where she no longer qualified for food stamps. let's say she works a typical amount walmart would have to raise her ways to above $13 and
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this would cost the company $4.8 billion a year. if walmart wanted the pass those costs on to the consumer they'd have to raise their prices 1.4%. for example, that means the mac and cheese wou and cheese would have to jump. >> they are suffering. people live paycheck to paycheck and not even that. and then the taxpayers clean up the mess. the public is well aware walmart hurts small business. they can't compete on that kind of scale. they are aware they let their employees live in poverty. this is why portland, oregon, is exactly right as i see it, to dump their walmart investments. the city is doing america, i think, a favor by calling out this corporation. what are -- are they just not
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socially responsible? certainly they're social live respectable because people shop there. they want low prices. who's gaining in all this? what about the workers? is it fair? portland, oregon, has decided that, let's see, there must be tax abatements. there might have been a break on property tax. all kinds of stuff out there walmart has gotten from portland and other cities around the country. and, of course, the sales pitch is, we're big. we employ people. we'll offer more. the city of portland isn't buying that right now. get your cell phones out. tonight's y ee's question -- she government invest tax dollars in walmart? text or blog. we'll bring you the results later on in the show. for more, let me bring in the city commissioner from the city of portland, oregon, steve novak. i appreciate your time. >> thank you, ed.
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>> you bet. why has the city decided tend to the investments with walmart? >> well, last year, i was newly elected to the council and i got an e-mail from somebody asking if portland was going to dis-invest from fossil fuels and it occurred to me i didn't know our investment policies so i called up the treasurer you are and said what are our socially responsible investment criteria and she said, we don't have anywhere, actually. i thought, that surprises me. a progressive city like portland wouldn't. so we started to develop some and we decided that with in deciding whose bonds to buy, we don't buy bonds -- we don't buy stocks we buy bonds. we would look to a company's labor record and it's environmental record and it's impacting human health. whether it engaged in extreme forms of tax avoidance or generally unethical and engaged in bribery et cetera and whether
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it abused its market power so we are looked at acommittee to give us recommendations as to how to apply them. the truth is, most of these big companies probable ukd find something to blaine about. we concluded that if we can find companies that have serious problems on a number of these criteria we'd put them on a do not buy list. we have in committee that's helping us with that work. we decided initially, win company we knew would make it to the do not buy list and that's walmart. abuse of labor practices because of its abuse of market power and its general kornt unethicalness. >> has the city of portland given tax breaks to walmart. >> not for property tax relief or something like that? >> not that i'm aware of. >> so it's just the way they do their business with their employees is the way. >> and the fact they were engaged in a massive i bribery scandal in mexico and they've
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driven down the manufacturing in america, you've read the book "the wall pamart effect." >> i haven't\seen a poll on how people in oregon feel about walmart. i know we've gotten a lot of pos reinforcement from the progressive community in portland for taking the if rap. the phone is not ringing off the hook with walmart supporters in my office. >> i wouldn't think so but i think it's a pertinent question. even a city commission is supposed to do what the constituents want. would you like to see wall part le leave the city of portland or do things differently? >> i'm not excited about them being here as long as they behave. we've seen examples of boycotts or investment campaigns of one kind or another have changed corporate behavior. it wouldn't cost much for
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walmart to pay their employees a little better and i don't think they would collapse if they stopped bribing officials in mexico. >> so how does this turn around? you as a city commissioner, what would walmart have to do for you to go back to a city commission meeting ranld say -- "let's rethink this." paying people better and cutting people's hour in order to kick them often of health care. see a couple of years without any bribery scandals and some evidence that they're in not engaged in the complete degradation of the quality of manufacturing temperatures manufacturers unless you cut you're prices a5% every year we'll kick you you have our shelves. a number of things would have to change. >> portal city commissioner, steve novick, interesting, appreciate your time. is this the wave or a start of something. senator bernie sanders in very mopt. what do you make of this? all it takes is one and other people look. what do you make of it? >> you're right, ed.
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that's how things get start. yang starting with walmart i want to congratulate the folks in portland for their courage and wisdom in doing this. at the end of the day you have this absurd irony of walmart being owned by the walton familiar lay which is the wealthiest family in america. a family that owns more wealth than the bottom 40% of the american people. do we think that walmart can pay workers a decent wage? yeah, i think they can. can they provide decent benefits? i think they can. the insanity of the situation is, that with their low wages and minimal benefits the workers have to get on medicaid or food stamps or government-sponsored housing all paid for by taxpayers nooerd to subsidize walmart. >> i started with senator kennedy back in 2007 and asked the question, when does the greed stop. is this the beginning of that? do you think that walmart is too big to even rethink their
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business practices? do republicans care that taxpayers are subsidizing walmart employees? >> no. i don't think the -- the republican -- the modern-day republican party is there to protect the walmarts and the large corporations and protect the wealthiest people in the country in every way they can but what's exciting is i think we're beginning to see not only in portland, standing up to walmart. in seattle, folks are fighting for a higher minimum wage. at stanford university where the students are demanding divestment from school money going to fossil fuel industry. you're seeing a grassroots effort that as a result of public obstructionism here, it's hard to do anything. >> and these movements all over america are standing up for justice. citizens united. 500 communities in america are saying loud and clear, we need a constitutional amendment to
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overturn citizen united so the coke brothered and billionaires can't buy theites government so i'm excited. >> i'm anxious to see what the community reaction will be in portland a -- i'm not convinced walmart will make a difference, make any changes but they're in running ads saying they're committed to manufacturing in america. what's your response to that? >> i'll tell you a funny story, ed. many years ago i was in china. and i visited a walmart in china and they had all kinds of american products and i said to the guy running walmart asia. i said, tell me, what percentage of these products that i see here are manufactured in the united states of america. he was very sheepish and kind of apoll gett--
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>> i think these protests or actions by local city governments are enormously important. when one community does it and in this case, portland, oregon, this will spread. i think the grassroots of this country are being activated and are going to continue to go forward. >> senator bernie sanders, appreciate your time on "the ed show." remember to answer i want to's question. share your thoughts with us on twitter and account the ed show." coming up, republicans can deny it all they want but the tides are changing in florida. the rapid response pa 234e8 weighs in on the rising sea levels. but first, coke brothers
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exposed. robert greenwald she hads some light on it. at&t can help simplify how you manage it. so you can focus on what you love most. when everyone and everything works together, business just sings.
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it's one more part of our commitment to america. what folks are talking about. social media join up with us and we'd appreciate it if you did. facebook dot come/"the ed show" and ed.msnbc.com. you can get my radio podcast and we got ed.com. social media nation has decided we're reporting here are today's top trenders voted on by you. >> to the prom, prom, prom. >> the number three trender. dream date. >> i wasn't looking forward to prom because it's not my kind of a party. >> she said the only way i'd go to the prom is if joe biden took . >> i don't have a celebrity
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crush but joe biden cracks me up. >> she wrote to vice president biden last fall calling him the most delightful man in america. eight months later he made a special request from kim's flower shop. >> a wrist corsage. you wear it on your wrist 123450 white roses and a red, white and blue ribbon combination. >> if he didn't take her she might have to go with house speaker john boehner. >> number two trender, super storm. >> is this video shot sunday evening -- >> the storm is coming. >> a time lapse across 70 miles from wright to new castle, wyoming. >> storm kmasers catch some wild weather in wyoming. >> that was a wall cloud. that's what will drop the tornado. >> it's a twister. >> and could go as high as 55 to 70,000 feet above the ground. amazing video. no damage or injuries. >> in today's top trender,
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exposed. >> these billionaires are dumping obscene mounts of money at these political organizations. >> they fund the ideas and the think tanks. >> the coke brothers can buy the senate. >> robert greenwald brings the coke money big-money election influence to life. >> americans -- his plan to spend at least $125 million. >> a million here and there, it's really not a big deal. >> in trying to coke brothers in this election this. >> we need to fundamentally change the system that allows legalized corruption to go on and on and on. >> what's next? >> joining me tonight, robert greenwald of "brave new films" in washington this evening. his documentary, "coke brothers expos exposed" 2014 edition. and on capitol hill, harry reid
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has made it its mission to make sure the country knows what the coke brothers were about and democratic leader in the house, nancy pelosi. rosh better, good to have you with us. do you expect a lot of support 23r9 progressive community because you clearly have the attention of lawmakers? >> yes, we do. we have over 15 groups that are working with us. of all sides on different issues. the thing about the coke brothers, ed, not dissimilar to the conversation you were having with senator sanders about all mart, they fundamentally attack so many different issues that are important to the quality of our life and the reality is, every single one of us, we're all paying a price for the coke brothers' millions that go against our fundamental interests. >> harry reid obviously says he wants to see a constitutional amendment that will do away with citizen's united. that's a great conversation and
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i to the lie agree with it and it's fruch legislatively pie in the sky the way the government is set up now. is this the best way to do this? go straight to the public? i'm all for harry reid but he's playing the role of an activist right now, right? >> profound social change, only comes about when people get involved in every -- think of the civil rights group and the peace movement. that didn't start with way piece of legislation that we knew would get passed. that started with people saying "no more." and what we try to do with the film is let everybody know, your job, your homes, your education, your social security, the environment, they're all being affected by the brothers and other billionaires using their money. they're trying to buy politicians and buy politics. >> what's different about this documentary and this edition as opposed to the previous work
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you've done on coke industries and the coke brothers and their involvement in politics. >> there's a variety of things. most important and the reason we did this new edition is this thing called citizens united. and the coke brothers were instrumental in citizens united happening. the size and scope of the money, ed, we have an amazing team of researchers. they hire lawyers and hide the money and comes in legally in all different kinds of ways. why are they hiding hundreds of millions of dollars from the public? what is their shame if supposedly, they belief that everyone should have this right and we think it's very, very important, again, that people understand -- this is not an abstract idea. my life is being affected by the policies they are buying. >> let's play a clip from your documentary which is going to be
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released tonight. >> $13 million a day sounds wonderful and i couldn't imagine anybody making that much even being concerned with somebody making minimum wage. >> it doesn't make sense how they could consider taking it away or luring it. if anything, i think they would be giving back. >> mainstream media not doing enough to tell these types of stories? >> well, there has actually been quite a bit of incredible investigative work done by the traditional media and we use that in the film. whether it's the recent piece in "the new york times" or jane mayer's of worg or the book coming out today. what we do with the film is make it personal. make it human. that's what film can do. >> do you want harry reid and nancy pelosi to tell the american people to watch this? i mean, let's face it. you're putting it out on the web. there's no charge for it. why is harry reid and nancy
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pelosi involved in the launching of this? >> because it's an investigative film this puts the pieces tob t together. we can't buy these spots to brainwash people so we come up what facts and the about to make it free shows people this is a tool that must be used. it's a tool to help people understand and figure out what's going on. and i think that the ability, ed, through social media and through our facebook and twitter, and through our website, to say, here's what's happening. take a look at it. and then send it on and forward it to somebody on environmental union. any the issues. >> they said it was troubles that they used taxpayer resources to publicize this partisan propaganda. what's your response to that?
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>> we know the coke's will say or do anything. they won't talk themselves. they have hired hands who do it. my response is with let's have a debate about the issues that the film raises. we welcome that. there are real issues, ed. they should be debated. but the diversionary tactics they use raises suspicion. >> and they don't have electronic media spokes people, do they? >> no. >> so they send out, you know, states and such stuff as that. but i certainly would love to have one of them come on the program and visit with you a little bit and we can so a little peace pipe. we can figure out what's going on, maybe? >> it would be great if they could talk but they don't. they hide behind hooired hands. >> good to have you with us. brave new films.
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that's where you can get it on the internet. coming up still ahead, florida republicans could wind up in deep water if they continue to deny clooirmt science. and the postmaster general is again, is misleading americans about the institution's ability to succeed. the punchout coming up. we're right back. if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis, like me,
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no one's losing their job. there's no beer robot that has suddenly chased them out. the technology is actually creating new jobs. siemens designed and built the right tools and resources to get the job done. welcome back to t"the ed shw powerpoint" what do you believe ask the biggest threat facing the middle class? we just talked about it. money and politics. if we had publicly-funded elections, the middle class would have a heck of a lot better getting their issues addressed. there would be different people in washington. our next question is from hue. he wants to know -- why do
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republicans -- ruins the country. they want to ruin the government and the best way to rue win is to control it. if you have total control you can do what ever you want. the next time if they get control of the government there won't be any minority voices around. stick around. "rapid response po nell" is next. i'm 45hampton pearson with stock market. stocks fell after the federal reserve said a rate hike might come sooner than expected if the economy continues to im. staples, one of a number of retailers posting disappointing results, including home demo. and spring selling season is off to a slow start after an
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i don't agree that somehow there are actions we can take today that would have an impact on what's happening in our climate. our climate is always changing. >> you don't think that the human activity and the production of co2 is causing this? >> i don't believe that human activity is causing these dramatic changes to our climate the way these scientists are portraying it and i don't believe the laws they propose we pass will do anything except it will destroy our economy. >> that's one for the archives. >> climate change should be a
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top priority when 75% of your constituents live near the coast. however, senator marco rubio suspect the only florida republican with a dangerous and confusing stance on the issue. let's bring in governor rick scott. he's also living in a state of denial and it could cost him personally. look at falorida. here's what the scientists prosect it will look like in the year 2100 with sea levels rusing. governor scott's $9.2 million mansion sits about 200 feet away from the ocean and a foot above sea level. well, the sea on his stretch of beach has already risen about eight or nine inches over the last century. what's happening here? it doesn't seem to worry rick scott. a tampa bay times reporter recently asked the governor, whether he sees the rising sea level as a threat to his house. of course, he who want be around in those years and skop and
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we'll make sure to continue to make the right investments in the state to take care of our environment. we love living here. okay. joining me now on our rapid response panel, former florida state representative, anna revis logan and msnbc contributor and former lieutenant governor. governor, let me start with you, what's your reaction to the story when you hear that the facts don't matter and it doesn't matter if my house is in the way. >> well, in the case of governor scott, of course, he's a businessman. and a politician. so the politician lives along the ocean in florida. saying that he's not concerned. but the businessman, the businessman bought a ranch in montana, high in the rocky mountains on the border with british colombia a few years ago so he's hedging his epets,
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wouldn't you think? >> he's going to the high ground early on. he did you want beliefth scientists but he thought of the high ground. look, this 2012 report found that sea level will rise. it will triple the chance of a storm surge. it could put 11,000 homes in namele at risk of flooding by 2030 are floridians taking notice of this? >> absolutely. we don't have to go into the future. during the high tide and full moon in miami beach it gets so flooded the residents have to stay indoor. i recommend rick scott come out during the next full moon or high tide and walk down the road and tell the residents what they're experiencing is a figment of their imagination. >> this is an issue that should matter to all floridians. how much is a candidate's stance on claim change you think, actually play, anna, in the state of florida and how much will this play into the
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governor's race? >> i think it's very important. we care about our climate and keeping florida booem beautif i our sunny skies. the reason why we zau individuals to live here is because of the climate. the beautiful weather and sandy beaches. if the sandy beaches are gone where are they going to go? they're certainly not going to come to florida? >> what will it take to convince the republicans that the threat is real. the national climate assessment released not long ago is a document that this country has never seen before. yet as a party collectively, the republicans aren't going to get on board with any scientists 2458d say that we're in an environment of a changing climate that clearly, is very ominous. what's it going to take to change them? >> it gets in the way of their business model. they shake down the hydrocarbon
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companies for enough dollars that they can get elected and rr re-elect re-elected. the problem with a guylike scott or marco rubio, there will be mms of dollars to build levees and pumps to protect the state that has representatives today, that deny there's even climate change going on. as the ocean goes up we can't walk away from florida. we'll spend whatever dollars we need and those will be federal dollars. so i wonder if people remember these deniers. these flat earthers that wr were leading their state when they could have taken action to, maybe, mitigate these effects. a lot of the vine tescientists saying it's moving so fast we can't reversist today. >> anna, what does governor scott mean when he says, we're
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going to make sure we continue to make the right investments in the state to take care of our environment? what's he talking about? >> i have no idea what he's 2 k talking about. there have been no investments to improve our environment. we're talking about the everglades and the restoration project. there's been no investment. the only investment the state of florida has made is its corporations making sure that the corporations are well-fed and weller cared for, not the people. >> so clearly, climate change is not in rick scott's wheelhouse although it might be in his living room? or it's all over with? >> that's a correct statement. >> he doesn't pay much attention to it. is this an opening to it. is this an opening for charlie crisp to pay attention? >> yes. he was at the forefront of the
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everglades restoration. he's an environmental governor. >> what's your advice to charlie crist. >> if i was charlie crist we ought to have a ladder in the back of his truck so everybody that has water in their living wrooirnl can crawl up into the roof and maybe live in the second story. i think that's what governor cot is talking about. he's taking actions and i guess he'll put a second and third floor on his big house there opt ocean. >> climate deniers. amazing story. i want to follow-up on a story we talked about yesterday how the seafood in the gulf has been compromised. we had this story developed by vice over on hbo talking about the amount of shrimp that's coming in because it's not ready for market because it's been compromised because of the oil spill. are the residents of florida
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experiencing this? >> not yet. i think it will trickle down when shrimp prices go up. residents don't realize it until it hits their pocketbook and then the story comes out and they realize this is what caused our prices to go up. it's unfortunate. something of that magnitude does have to come down to prices going up as the environment changes it probably has to come down to people having water in their front door. as we do have it right now in miami, on allton road during that high tide and full moon those residents are experiencing it, currently. >> thank you both. great to have you both with us tonight. thanks so much. coming up, the florida state representative, banking on bigotry for his education agenda.
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>> the most powerful idea of the modern world. today's fight for equal pay for equality in marriage against the forces of voter suppression. for all of us created equal.
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tonighting with schoolhouse
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kroc. charles vanzandt, a representative using bigoted scare tactics to push his agenda. he railed against the organization behind common core standards. >> they are promoting as hard as they can, any youth that's interested in the lgbt agenda. these people that will now receive $220 million from the state of florida unless this is stopped, will promote double-mindedness in state education and attract every one of your children to become as homosexual as they possibly can. >> charles vanzandt, i think he gets an f on his research project. the group behind common core in florida offers educational resources for lgbt youth and their families.
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not indoctrination. vanzandt is the very reason these services are important. if charles vanzandt thinks that ditching homophobia is a is a substitute for doing his homework, it's about people. we are volvo of sweden.
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book any flight or hotel and if you find it for less we'll match it and give you fifty dollars back that's the expedia guarantee when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.
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could mean less waiting for things like security backups and file downloads you'd take that test, right? well, what are you waiting for? you could literally be done with the test by now. now you could have done it twice. this is awkward. check your speed. see how fast your internet can be. switch now and add voice and tv for $34.90. comcast business built for business. . welcome back to "the ed show." this is a story for the folks who take a shower after work. republicans are delivering lies and misinformation about the post office, again.
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midway through the fiscal year, the postal service issued a quarterly press release turning an operating profit into a loss. now, the report is misleading. in fact, the postal service is actually making a million-dollar operating profit for the first six months of this fiscal year. now, the national association of letter carriers says the postal service has been turning an operating profit since october of 2012. instead of truth and fact, patrick donahoe, the postmaster general, and republicans would rather report doom and gloom. the official release went on to say, without comprehensive legislation reform, the postal service will be unable to make the required $5.7 billion retiree health benefit prefunding payment to the united states treasury due by september 30th. republicans want this american institution to fail. that's my read on it. conservatives have been attacking the post office
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resources for years. the 2006 postal accountability enhancement act forced the agency to prepay 75 years worth of future health care costs for retirees in a ten-year window. well, that was 2006. here we are 2014. not another business in the country operates like this. they don't have standards like that. so what are the real numbers and who's telling the truth? joining me tonight, the president of the postal workers association. i appreciate your time. >> very glad to be here, ed. >> tell us the story about the numbers. is patrick donahoe, the postmaster general, telling the truth about the postal revenue gains? >> no. patrick donahoe is only telling a little piece of the story. the fact is there's $1 billion of operating profit in the first six months of this fiscal year. he paints it as gloom and doom of a large multi-million-dollar debt, but that debt is based on
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a manufactured photo crisis created by dong in 2006, which they have refused to fix, that forces the post office funds, created by the users, not the taxpayers, to be shifted over to the federal treasury, leaving the post office choked and high and dry, and then the gloom and doom is what's used to promote an agenda of privatization and public services being sliced and diced, so some private entities can make a quick buck. and that's not what's good for the people of this country. >> so the united states postal service made this statement. they are claiming, those that say all the postal service needs from congress is help with restructuring its retiree health benefit plan are misguided. nothing can be further from the truth. our liabilities exceed our assets by 42 billion and there is a need for more than 10 billion to list in new delivery
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vehicles, package sortation. the postal service hasn't been making the benefit payments because we can't. what's your response to that? >> the postal service future retiree health benefits are well-funded. they're funded at about $50 billion right now. and no other company, no other federal agency is being forced to prefund 75 years in advance. so the pre-funding can be easily fixed. and along with that, there have to be some other creative things done to make sure that the postal service is vibrant for generations to come. for example, there's a lot of interest in basic postal banking. that would not only serve great needs that the public has. the millions of people that are on banks and so on. but it would bring needed revenue into the post office and it would be all performed in a trusting environment. so there are many things that
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can be done, but the underlying cause of the quote is this and the doom and gloom being talked about is this pre-funding that can and should be fixed. >> they say in their statement, our liabilities exceed our assets by $42 billion. but they don't say whether that takes into account the pre-fund that's been taking place for the last eight years, which you say has got $50 billion in the fund right now. >> right. >> so it's almost like asking a business, are you making any money and the answer back is, well, are you counting on who's paying for the light? i mean, is this a matter of what you're accounting for? >> as i understand it, they have $42 billion that they're talking about is this pre-funding requirement going into the future. it's funded at $50 billion. they're saying they want another $42 billion based on this 2006 law that's being used to undermine the entire postal system. so it's an easy fix, where we can add a lot of creativity,
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enhance services. not only banking, licensing, notary, later hours, weekend hours, and ways that the postal service can be that much more viable. this is a national treasure. and the png is trusted to lead this great institution. he should be talking about what a great future the postal service has. e-commerce. there's an explosion in packaged delivery in those systems. that's something a that the post office is set up to serve the people of this country, like no other agency, no other business, no other infrastructure in the country. >> we're going to do this story every single time they come out with numbers that are simply not correct. and this is government involvement, government takeover. they came in and forced you to do this and it makes the bottom look like oh gosh, we have to privatize the postal service. your tax dollars, folks, do not
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pay for deliveries. it's all done by user fees. they hire more veterans than anybody else in the country, and all the republicans want to do is privatize it. mark dimondstein, appreciate your time. that's "the ed show." "politics nation" with reverend al sharpton starts right now. >> good evening, ed. thanks for tuning in. i'm live tonight from washington, d.c. tonight's lead, election night in america. it's the biggest primary day of 2014. americans are heading to the polls. in six states. control of the senate in key state houses are in play, setting up battles in november. one of the biggest stories tonight, the struggle for the soul of the gop. in kentucky, senator mitch mcconnell has