The Exchange

Is there a “Skills Gap” in the Granite State?  Some businesses say their problem is not the lack of jobs, rather it’s the lack of qualified people to fill those jobs, especially in manufacturing.  We’re looking at the reasons behind this and why some say businesses themselves need to step up if they want a well-trained workforce.    

Guests:

Jim Roche: President of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire.

Fred Kocher: President of the New Hampshire High Technology Council.

Next week on the Exchange, we begin looking at what some are calling a "skills gap” in New Hampshire. Some manufacturers say that despite the economy the jobs are there, what’s missing are the qualified workers to fill them.  Then Second District Congressman Charlie Bass sits down with us and we end the week with a three part series on immigration and the economy both nationally and in the Granite State.   E-mail us at NHPR dot org, and Join us all next week for the Exchange each morning at 9 and again at 8 pm here on NHPR!

Granite Stater, noted international attorney and independent advisor to the Afghan Ministry of Finance, Phillip Walker, gives his forecast for the political and economic future of Afghanistan. Despite the violence, he says civil institutions are beginning to take hold and the economy is growing rapidly. But, he warns, foreign aid must continue to flow into Afghanistan after NATO withdrawal for this progress to continue.

Guest:

We sift through a new study that gives New Hampshire low marks in what it calls “integrity” in State government.  While the report says the Granite state does well in some areas like the Executive and Judicial branches, it failed in others like public access to information and ethics enforcement.  We’ll look at what’s behind this report and how some in New Hampshire are reacting to it. 

Guests

Today we sit down with New Hampshire’s Senior U. S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen.   We’ll talk with her about the most recent budget battles on Capitol Hill, also news on the transportation funding front, as the impasse continues over a new federal highway bill and concerns that the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard could be caught up in the next round of Base Closures.

Guest

• U. S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen

With its two-year anniversary passed, President Obama’s law is still finding its way.  Some parts are in place, but others are very much in play, especially with the challenge to it heard by the U. S. Supreme Court, and some states, including New Hampshire, resisting elements of the law.  We’ll talk with Granite Staters involved in this and see how they are adapting to this new law.

Guests

The Granite State recently joined the growing ranks of states that have adopted this approach to self defense, which allows the use of deadly force anywhere a person has a right to be. But it has come under national scrutiny following the shooting death of a Florida teenager. We’ll explore the issues surrounding this law with its supporters and critics.

Guests

Next week on the Exchange, we begin by re-examining New Hampshire’s new self-defense law, known as “Stand Your Ground”, which has come up in the shooting death of a Florida Teenager.  Then, a Granite State roundtable on Health Care: two years after it was passed into law, we’ll look at how the debate around the President’s health care law is playing out here.  On Wednesday,  we sit down with Democratic U. S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen.   Join us all next week for the Exchange each morning at 9 and again at 8 pm, here on NHPR!

Our philosophy series, the Socrates Exchange returns with  the question “What is progress”.  Centuries  of development have allowed us to live longer and advance in ways we never could have imagined, but with over population, depleted resources, and nuclear weapons, some say we’ve progressed too far. Does progress have an ending point?  Is too much progress a bad thing? Can one person’s progress harm the progress of another? Can progress in science, technology and human rights harm progress in religion and morality?  

Guests

We examine the issues raised in a recent Union Leader series on Drunk Driving!   Despite decades of attention, the series found major problems still exist: repeat offenders still getting behind the wheel,  and the newer concern over people driving under other influences, especially prescription drugs.  We’ll look at the issues raised and solutions offered from tougher laws to more treatment.  

Guests

 Independents are a the largest bloc of voters and they're growing. In her new book, journalist Linda Killian seeks to paint a portrait of this exceedingly important group in four swing states including New Hampshire. She talks about the frustrations these voters have with their elected officials, what they want to see from the political system, and what they can do to fix it.

Guest: 

Today on the Exchange, we examine the controversy over education tax credits.  Under a proposal at the Statehouse, businesses could donate to private school scholarships,  and get a tax credit for doing so.  Supporters say it’s a way to help all students achieve, regardless of means, but opponents say it’s a back-door way to use public money for private-school vouchers.  We’ll look at this idea, and why it’s provoked so much debate.  

Guests:

Mary Stuart Gile -  Democratic State Representative from Concord 

Last year, the legislature adopted a parental notification law, over Governor Lynch’s veto.  Now, three House bills would further raise the threshold for abortion, including one that’s attracted the most attention:  requiring doctors give women detailed information about fetal development while considering abortion. 

Guests

Next week on the Exchange, we begin with a look at the issue of abortion as several bills at the State House look to toughen the standards. Then we look at the controversy over education tax credits.  Under a proposal at the Statehouse, businesses could donate to private school scholarships,  and get a tax credit for doing so.   Later we talk to the author of a new book on the Independent voter who says despite the fact that they represent forty percent of the U. S. population, are largely ignored in political races.

Today we examine the U.N. doctrine known as “Responsibility to Protect”.  It’s the idea that the international community must not tolerate crimes against humanity and has recently been invoked in such cases as Libya but not YET with Syria. Meanwhile, critics fear Responsibility to Protect opens the door to foreign influence in domestic conflicts and diminishes sovereign power.  

Guests