Bill Moyers Journal . James K. Galbraith

James K. Galbraith

October 24, 2008

When last week began, minders of the world's major economies had gathered together to hammer out a coordinated strategy for stabilizing the world economy. In response, investors kicked off the week with the biggest single-day percentage gain in the Dow Jones industrial index in seventy-five years. Thus commenced a roller-coaster week on Wall Street, with stock markets gaining and losing huge amounts daily before ending low on Friday.

Markets this week remained volatile, as traders reacted to a steady stream of bad economic news in the US and abroad. Economist James K. Galbraith joins Bill Moyers on the JOURNAL to help make sense of the state of the economy, the efficacy of the bailouts, and how we got here.

Photo by Robin Holland

James K. Galbraith

James K. Galbraith is currently the Lloyd M. Bentsen Chair in Government and Business Relations and Professor of Economics at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds degrees from Harvard (B.A. magna cum laude, 1974) and Yale (Ph.D. in economics, 1981). He studied economics as a Marshall Scholar at King's College, Cambridge in 1974-1975, and then served in several positions on the staff of the U.S. Congress, including as the Executive Director of the Joint Economic Committee. He was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution in 1985 before joining the faculty at the University of Texas. From 1995 to 1997 he directed the LBJ School's Ph.D. Program in Public Policy. He held a Fulbright Distinguished Visiting Lectureship in China in the summer of 2001 and was named a Carnegie Scholar in 2003. His recent research has focused on the measurement and understanding of inequality in the world economy, and leads an informal research group called the University of Texas Inequality Project with several of the school's distinguished graduate students.

Professor Galbraith has co-authored several books including: BALANCING ACTS: TECHNOLOGY, FINANCE AND THE AMERICAN FUTURE (1989), CREATED UNEQUAL: THE CRISIS IN AMERICAN PAY (1998), INEQUALITY AND INDUSTRIAL CHANGE: A GLOBAL VIEW (Cambridge University Press, 2001), which was coedited with Maureen Berner and features contributions from six LBJ School Ph.D. students, UNBEARABLE COST: BUSH, GREENSPAN AND THE ECONOMICS OF EMPIRE (2006) and his latest book THE PREDATOR STATE: HOW CONSERVATIVES ABANDONED THE FREE MARKET AND WHY LIBERALS SHOULD TOO (2008).

Professor Galbraith maintains several outside connections, including serving as a Senior Scholar of the Levy Economics Institute and as Chair of the Board of Economists for Peace and Security. He writes a column called "Econoclast" for MOTHER JONES, and occasional commentary in many other publications, including The TEXAS OBSERVER, THE AMERICAN PROSPECT, and THE NATION. He is an occasional commentator for Public Radio International's MARKETPLACE. Published October 24, 2008.

Guest photos by Robin Holland

George Soros
Bill Moyers talks with one of the world's most successful investors George Soros about the global capital meltdown, how he saw it coming, and what can be done now. (October 10, 2008)

Kevin Phillips on BAD MONEY
Bill Moyers sits down with former Nixon White House strategist and political and economic critic Kevin Phillips, whose latest book BAD MONEY: RECKLESS FINANCE, FAILED POLITICS, AND THE GLOBAL CRISIS OF AMERICAN CAPITALISM explores the role that the crumbling financial sector played in the now-fragile American economy. (September 19, 2008)

Winners and Losers
NEW YORK TIMES business and financial columnists Gretchen Morgenson and Floyd Norris discuss who wins and who loses in the financial turmoil. (September 19, 2008)

Facing up to the Economy
Bill Moyers talks with economist Dean Baker and journalist Bob Herbert about the economic challenges facing the government and the populace. (August 8, 2008)

Mortgage Mess
THE JOURNAL travels to ground zero of the mortgage meltdown — Cleveland, Ohio. Correspondent Rick Karr takes viewers to Slavic Village, one of the hardest hit neighborhoods in the nation when it comes to the spate of foreclosures caused by the subprime mortgage crisis. (July 18, 2008)

James K. Galbraith

"Plan"
by James K. Galbraith, HARPERS, November, 2008.
"The problem is not how to save capitalism but how to save the unique and successful mixed economy built in the United States over the eighty-five years since the New Deal."

"A Bailout We Don't Need"
by James K. Galbraith, WASHINGTON POST, September 25, 2008.

"Why Populists Need to Re-think Trade"
by James K. Galbraith, THE AMERICAN PROSPECT, May 10, 2007.

"The Predator State"
by James K. Galbraith, MOTHER JONES, May/June 2006.

TIMES TOPICS: James K. Galbraith

"From Free Markets to $4 Gas "
by Roger Lowenstein, THE NEW YORK TIMES, September 26, 2008.

"James Galbraith's 'Predator State': damning, incisive"
by By Roger Gathman, AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN, August 03, 2008.

"'Predator' urges change in definition of 'free market'"
by Steve Weinberg, USA TODAY, September 7, 2008.

James K. Galbraith

"Remembering J.K. Galbraith," ONLINE NEWSHOUR May 1, 2006
NewsHour Economics Correspondent Paul Solman talks with biographer Richard Parker and reviews an earlier interview he had with Galbraith.

Richard Parker on John Kenneth Galbraith NOW on PBS, March 25, 2005
Richard Parker is Lecturer in Public Policy and Senior Fellow of the Shorenstein Center at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and author of JOHN KENNETH GALBRAITH: THE MAKING OF AMERICAN ECONOMICS. View the interview online.

COMMANDING HEIGHTS, PBS, September, 2000.
John Kenneth Galbraith discusses the lessons of the great depression.

The Financial Crisis

"How Capitalism Will Save Us," Steve Forbes, FORBES, October 22, 2008
Bill Moyers mentions Forbes' commentary in his talk with James K. Galbraith.

NPR: PLANET MONEY
NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO blog and podcast covering financial news.

"Wal-Mart customers delay buying necessities"
By Lisa Baertlein, REUTERS, October 21, 2008.

"A crisis of confidence"
By Joseph Stiglitz, THE GUARDIAN, October 22, 2008.

"Greenspan Admits Some Mistakes Amid Grilling by House Lawmakers "
By Brian Blackstone, WALL STREET JOURNAL, October 23, 2008.

"Fed to the Rescue: A Timeline"
by Kristin Jones, PROPUBLICA, October 22, 2008.

"Banks Fail, and So Can Bailouts "
By Floyd Norris, THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 16, 2008.

"In Downturn, Families Strain to Pay Tuition "
By Jonathan D. Glater, THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 16, 2008.

"The Monster That Ate Wall Street "
An article on the origins of 'credit default swaps.' By Matthew Philips, NEWSWEEK, October 6, 2008.

"Fed Announces Plan to Buy Short-Term Debt "
By Edmund L. Andrews and Michael M. Grynbaum, THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 7, 2008.

"Fed Gives A.I.G. $37.8 Billion Loan "
By Barry Meier, THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 8, 2008.

"Central Banks Coordinate Global Cut in Interest Rates "
By Carter Dougherty and Edmund L. Andrews, THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 8, 2008.

"Paulson Says U.S. to Use All `Authorities' in Crisis "
By Simon Kennedy and Rebecca Christie, BLOOMBERG.COM, October 8, 2008.

NEW YORK TIMES Topics: Credit Crisis - Bailout Plan

FRONTLINE: The Long Demise of Glass-Steagall

"Lehman's Demise Triggered Cash Crunch Around Globe"
By Carrick Mollenkamp and Mark Whitehouse in London, Jon Hilsenrath in Washington and Ianthe Jeanne Dugan in New York, the WALL STREET JOURNAL, SEPTEMBER 29, 2008.

"As Credit Crisis Spiraled, Alarm Led to Action, "
By Joe Nocera, THE NEW YORK TIMES, October 1, 2008.

"Rescue's Supporters Failed to Connect With Public "
By John D. Mckinnon and Sarah Lueck, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, October 1, 2008.

Interactive Map of House votes
This NEW YORK TIMES graphic illustrates who voted yes and no on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

"How bailout deal will impact next president"
By Gail Russell Chaddock, THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR, September 28, 2008.

Charlie Rose interviews Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett joined Charlie Rose October 1, 2008, to make the case for a bailout.

Published October 17, 2008

JAMES K. GALBRAITH
Bill Moyers sits down to talk about the economic future with with James K. Galbraith, Lloyd M. Bentsen, Jr. Chair in Government/Business Relations at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Galbraith is the author of six books, the most recent, THE PREDATOR STATE: HOW CONSERVATIVES ABANDONED THE FREE MARKET AND WHY LIBERALS SHOULD TOO.

PLAYING FOR CHANGE
Bill Moyers talks with Mark Johnson, the producer of a remarkable documentary about the simple but transformative power of music.

MARGIN OF ERROR: POLL READING TIPS
As the election frenzy heightens, get some tips on reading polls from experts.

NOT CAMPAIGN NEWS
A Bill Moyers essay.

MOYERS ON 2008
Add your voice to our election year map. Plus, get perspective on pressing election-year issues from JOURNAL guests.

Our posts and your comments

October 15, 2012
Bill Moyers: Where to Find Me Now...

"That's the really important thing about "free speech"...you can figure out the HUGE DAMAGE th..." - Anna D

For Educators About the Series Bill Moyers on PBS