Christine Todd Whitman on states dealing with shrinking budgets

This week, Need to Know looks at how cities and states are privatizing public assets to raise revenue. For example, the city of Harrisburg, Pa., proposed leasing its parking meters to private investors. The city council in Harrisburg rejected Mayor Linda Thompson’s economic recovery plan, and now the state of Pennsylvania is threatening to take over the city’s government. And if it does, it’s likely to put the city’s parking in private hands.

To discuss how states are making these difficult decisions and the role of government in a fiscal crisis, Scott Simon is joined by Christine Todd Whitman, the former governor of New Jersey and head of the Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2003.

Ms. Whitman co-chairs the Republican Leadership Council, the political action committee that describes itself as supporting fiscally conservative, socially tolerant Republican candidates for office.  She also heads an energy lobbying group and she’s author of the book “It’s My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America.”