US Politics Mega-thread - Page 4732

When Donald Trump vowed this week to make childcare more accessible and affordable, it was just the second time during his White House campaign that he’s talked about an issue that affects millions of working Americans with young children.

The first came months ago in Iowa, when the eventual Republican nominee touted his own record as a business owner during a candidate Q&A, telling voters he provided on-site childcare service for his employees.

There is no evidence, however, that any such programs exist.

Trump, who previously voiced his opposition to government-funded universal pre-K programs, said in Newton, Iowa, in November 2015 that he had visited many companies that offered workers on-site childcare centers – and added that he offered such programs himself.

“You know, it’s not expensive for a company to do it. You need one person or two people, and you need some blocks, and you need some swings and some toys,” Trump said. “It’s not an expensive thing, and I do it all over. And I get great people because of it. Because it’s a problem with a lot of other companies.”

Trump pointed specifically to two programs: “They call ‘em Trump Kids. Another one calls it Trumpeteers, if you can believe it. I have ‘em. I actually have ‘em, because I have a lot of different businesses.”

Trump went on to describe “a room that’s a quarter of the size of this. And they have all sorts of – you know, it’s beautiful – they have a lot of children there, and we take care of them. And the parent when they leave the job – usually in my case it’s clubs or hotels – when they leave the job, they pick up their child and their child is totally safe.

“They even come in during the day during lunch to see their child. It really works out well,” he said.

But the two programs Trump cited – “Trump Kids” and “Trumpeteers” – are programs catering to patrons of Trump’s hotels and golf club. They are not for Trump’s employees, according to staff at Trump’s hotels and clubs across the country.

On August 13 2016 13:50 RubickPicker wrote:
He wants to destroy Obamacare but said once that "people won't be dying in the streets" but his paperwork basically calls for a return to the employer-dependent system we had before and the only assistance being tax credits. That's the same crap McCain and Romney.

On August 13 2016 15:21 Slaughter wrote:
Is this a state by state variation thing? Do some states have it better off? I haven't seen the horror stories that people say they have with Obamacare IE really expensive plans + small amount of choices. But I see some people bitching about it and some liking it but usually these people reside in different states.

The US government on Friday declared a public health emergency in Puerto Rico as a result of a Zika epidemic.

The declaration allows the US Department of Health and Human Services to award grants, access emergency funds and temporarily appoint personnel where needed, among other things.

“This administration is committed to meeting the Zika outbreak in Puerto Rico with the necessary urgency,” Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a department statement. Burwell traveled to the US territory in late April to evaluate its response to the outbreak.

A department spokesman did not immediately return a message seeking comment on what immediate steps the agency may take.

The announcement came hours after Puerto Rico reported 1,914 new cases in the past week, for a total of 10,690 since the first one was reported in December.

The mosquito-borne virus has infected 1,035 pregnant women, which is a concern to authorities because Zika has been tied to a severe birth defect known as microcephaly. More than 100 pregnant women infected with Zika in Puerto Rico who have given birth have had healthy babies, officials said.

Puerto Rico reported the first case of microcephaly acquired on US soil in May, involving a dead fetus that a woman turned over to health authorities. No microcephaly cases have been reported since then, but federal officials say it’s only a matter of time.

On August 13 2016 15:11 Atreides wrote:


The ACA still doesn't do a single thing besides offer me tax credits either as far as assistance goes. Except that now instead of at least 4 providers in my state to choose from I have 1 and it is over twice as expensive.

On August 13 2016 22:45 {CC}StealthBlue wrote:
Isn't this illegal?

https://twitter.com/David_EHG/status/764434921528123392