Debate Expectations, Fraudulent News, Costly Daycare, State Elections

The first presidential debate is around the corner. Ravi takes stock of the ways the Biden and Trump teams have approached debate preparation, explains how both camps have worked to shape the narrative leading up to the debate, and whether the candidates’ performance could impact the state of the election. He then turns to external forces in the election and explores a new piece from Julia Ioffe in Puck, which details Russia’s incompetent and sloppy efforts to influence this election cycle. Then, Reason producer Justin Zuckerman joins to share his recent reporting on the high cost of daycare in Washington, D.C., and the impact of overregulation on various industries. Ravi and Justin tackle the counterproductive regulations that have contributed to Washington’s childcare crisis, including minimum wage requirements, credentialing qualifications, staff-to-student ratios, and the impact of universal pre-K. Finally, Ravi interviews Liz Crampton, state policy reporter at Politico, about the unprecedented spending in state legislative races and how local elections could influence upper ballot races. They also discuss the repercussions of the recent primary elections in Texas, where Governor Abbott took revenge against his fellow Republican colleagues after they opposed his school voucher legislation.