Checks and Balance: Sitting ducks
Checks and Balance from The Economist
The Economist
4.6 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 2 December 2022
⏱️ 40 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Politicians have returned to Washington following the Thanksgiving break, for what Democrats hope will be a legislative flurry. Once Republicans take over the House in January, passing bills will get a lot harder. What can, and should, the lame-duck session of the 117th Congress accomplish?
Senator Angus King tells us why reforming a law from 1887 is at the top of his to-do list. We go back to a particularly productive lame-duck session. And The Economist’s James Bennet makes the case that Congress should act to protect those who grew up undocumented in America.
John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | As Helen opened her Amazon parcel, |
| 0:03.0 | her stomach filled with butterflies, rapid air technology and a grill mode feature, |
| 0:08.0 | this air-fryer tickled Helen's taste buds for a price lower than she'd ever imagined. |
| 0:13.0 | Five stars from Helen. |
| 0:15.0 | Find star-rated products at star prices. |
| 0:18.0 | Start your search on Amazon today. |
| 0:25.0 | In the 18th century, the London Stock Exchange could be a bit of a zoo. |
| 0:29.0 | It was here that the phrase is bull market when prices are rising and bear market |
| 0:34.0 | when they're falling originated. |
| 0:36.0 | And there was one more animal to add to the menagerie. |
| 0:39.0 | Bankrupts who defaulted on their debts and waddled out of the exchange in shame |
| 0:44.0 | were given an appropriate nickname, lame ducks. |
| 0:48.0 | The moniker eventually spread across the Atlantic, |
| 0:51.0 | where it was repurposed to describe politicians who'd run out of electoral, |
| 0:55.0 | rather than financial credit. |
| 0:57.0 | The lame duck congress is sitting now with a cotry of lawmakers whose days are numbered. |
| 1:02.0 | For Democrats, this could be the last chance to get some really important bills passed. |
| 1:08.0 | I'm John Prado and this is Chex and Balance from the Economist. |
| 1:15.0 | Each week we take one big theme, |
| 1:17.0 | shaping American politics and explore it in depth. |
| 1:28.0 | Today, what should Democrats do with limited time in the lame duck congress? |
| 1:42.0 | Politicians have returned to Washington following the Thanksgiving break |
... |
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