Chad’s Morning Brief: Latest on the Fiscal Cliff, More Americans Support Legalizing Marijuana, & More
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of December 3, 2012. Give us your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11 am.
1. Fiscal Cliff (link)
Negotiations over the fiscal cliff continue and Speaker John Boehner went on FOX News Sunday to discuss the current progress.
CHRIS WALLACE, HOST: So, you've been around this time a long time, you've been in a lot of negotiations. What is their game? What is their thinking as to how they're going to work -- well, they just figure they won, they're going to get what they want?
JOHN BOEHNER, REPUBLICAN SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I have no idea, Chris. If I knew, I would share it with you. I don't know what they are thinking.
WALLACE: Do you think they are being bullies?
BOEHNER: I think -- they've won the election. They must have forgotten Republicans continue to hold a majority in the House. But, you know, the president's idea of a negotiation is roll over and do what I ask. We need to find common ground and we need to find it quickly.
Boehner did say that the Presidents idea of negotiating is for Republicans to roll over and do what he wants. I'm glad Boehner recognizes that, but does that mean Republicans will avoid doing it? Not sure about that.
2. Legalize It? (link)
More and more Americans now support legalizing pot. According to HotAir.com:
For the first time since CBS News began asking the question, as many Americans now think marijuana use should be legal as think it should not.
Support for legalizing marijuana inched up slightly from 45 percent in September to 47 percent today, according to a CBS News poll, conducted Nov. 16-19. Another 47 percent think it should remain prohibited. A year ago, a slight majority of Americans, 51 percent, opposed legalizing marijuana use.
This shift in public opinion was seen at the ballot box this month, when Colorado and Washington became the first states in the nation to approve of recreational marijuana use among adults over the age of 21.
Marijuana use of any kind, however, is still illegal under federal law. It’s unclear at this point how the Obama administration intends to respond.
The poll shows a significant partisan split on the issue. Majorities of Democrats and independents favor legalization, but at 51% and 55% respectively, those majorities are not as significant as one might think. However, two-thirds of Republicans still believe it should be prohibited.
The age demos are more telling on this point. Majorities of age demos below 45 believe in legalization — although again, perhaps not as significantly as one would guess. The 18-29YO demo favors legalization by only 13 points, 54/41, while 30-44YOs favor it by almost the same amount, 53/42. The middle-aged demo, of which I’m a member, is almost evenly split at 46/48, but seniors deeply oppose legalization at 30/61.
What do you think about legalizing marijuana?
3. Alcohol Sales (link)
The local paper on Sunday had an article out discussing the impact of alcohol sales in Lubbock. I guess it was a slow weekend.
While certain areas of the alcoholic beverage industry, like the restaurant business, have seen improvements, Lubbock going wet has actually hurt some segments of the industry, said some retailers.
The one area that’s seen increased revenue is property taxes collected by the city, according to Eddie McBride, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce executive director.
“The city was already receiving sales tax revenue from businesses located at the strip,” McBride said, referring to 2006, when city officials voted to annex the Strip as a means of increasing sales tax revenue. That vote allowed for alcohol sales in the city but it did not allow them throughout the rest of Lubbock.
According to the AJ and Doc's, bar business has been hurt. Though when I drive by bars during the weekend, they look pretty full to me.
The main thing is, it's been better for consumers and Lubbock hasn't turned into a bunch of drunks as some predicted.
Other Top Stories:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
More From News/Talk 95.1 & 790 KFYO
