Smart Talk: Negotiating skills in budget fight
What to look for on Smart Talk Wednesday, October 21, 2015:
One of the suggestions to end the 113-day-old state budget standoff between Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and Republican legislative leaders is “lock them all in a room until they get it done.”
Sounds simple, doesn’t it? But do marathon negotiations work — especially when there are several issues on which the two sides are far apart?
What is the recipe for successful negotiations? How important is compromise? How to find a resolution when two sides are apparently dug in and have been for some time? What part do personalities play in ending a stalemate? And is negotiating when politics are involved any different that resolving a contract dispute?
These are questions we’ll pose to Penn State Dickinson School of Law Professor Nancy Welsh on Wednesday’s Smart Talk. Conflict resolution and negotiations are two of her specialties.
Penn State Dickinson School of Law Professor Nancy Welsh (Photo by Tim Lambert/WITF)
Also part of WITF’s Gridlocked project looking at the impact of the state budget impasse, Carbondale Area School District Superintendent Joseph Gorham joins us. Carbondale has been one of the districts hit the hardest by budget dispute. Gorham has said his schools may have to close if there isn’t a budget agreement soon and has also talked about filing suit against the state for funding.
Finally, State Police recently showed an artist rendering of a what a woman may have looked like when her body found in Union Township, Lebanon County 42 years ago. Criminal investigator Trooper Nathan Trate talks about the cold case with us.
A recently created bust of a woman whose naked body was found partially decomposed on Oct. 10, 1973 sits on a table at the State Police station in Lickdale. (Jeremy Long/Lebanon Daily News)
