What to look for on Smart Talk Thursday, July 5, 2018:
A survey recently conducted by the Bucknell University Institute for Public Policy found that residents of six key Trump states are pessimistic about the impacts of free trade.
These states – known as the “Trump Coalition” – voted for President Trump in the 2016 election and Barack Obama in prior elections. They include Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa.
Approximately 60 percent of people in these states said free trade negatively affects economic growth, employment prospects and wages. This figure was about 10-20 percent lower in states that voted consistently Republican or consistently Democrat in the last two elections.
Additionally, the survey showed that Republicans and Democrats prioritize different goals in trade agreements. Republicans tend to emphasize the internal effects of trade, while Democrats often focus more on conditions in partner countries.
To discuss the survey’s findings, political science professor and director of the Bucknell Survey Research Laboratory, Chris Ellis will join us on Thursday’s Smart Talk.
Also, gerrymandering has been a contentious topic in Pennsylvania and the rest of the nation lately. On Thursday, former State Senator Franklin L. Kury is on Smart Talk to discuss his book Gerrymandering: A Guide to Congressional Redistricting, Dark Money, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
The book examines the Supreme Court case regarding gerrymandered maps used in Wisconsin elections. Last month after the book was published, the Supreme Court pushed the case back down to a lower court, avoiding coming to a decision on the legality of the maps.
Kury’s book also looks at the mechanics of redistricting in Pennsylvania and throughout U.S. history, and it includes information that readers can use to understand gerrymandering and redistricting in their states.
Franklin L. Kury
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