Economy Mar 23 The Toxic Asset Plan Explained After the Treasury Department released its plan today to rid banks of so-called “toxic assets” by enticing private investors to partner with the government, Paul Solman answered questions on the basics of the plan. What exactly are…
Economy Mar 19 Is the Federal Reserve Public or Private? Question: Is the Federal Reserve “federal” as the name implies, or is it as “federal as Federal Express,” meaning a private, for-profit corporation? I’ve heard it both ways and would like the answer clarified by a hard-hitting reporter whose willing…
Economy Mar 18 How and Why Is the Fed Creating $1 Trillion? Question: How and why is the Fed creating $1 trillion in new funds to buy securities? Paul Solman: They’ve been calling Fed chairman Bernanke “Helicopter Ben” since he told conservative economics icon Milton Friedman, in a speech a few…
Economy Mar 10 Is It Realistic for the President to Cut the Deficit in Half? Question: Is it realistic for the president to cut the deficit in half in four years, even while spending on the war [in Iraq] and moving [troops] to Afghanistan? Paul Solman: The skepticism seems clear and well-taken. The most important…
Economy Mar 05 What Would Happen if Washington Let Big Banks Fail? Question: What would happen if the government let Citibank and Bank of America, et al., just fail? Paul Solman: The possibilities are various, intriguing, and terrifying. Let’s say Citi goes under. The government has to honor all of the company’s…
Economy Mar 03 What’s the Significance of the Dow Dropping Below 7,000 Points? Question: What’s the significance of the Dow dropping below 7,000? Paul Solman: Just another number. To the extent that people focus on it, however, it can have the effect of increasing the anxiety over stock prices, and lead to more…
Economy Feb 27 What Are “Targeted Jobs”? Question/Comment: Paul, can you explain what “targeted jobs” are? Are these something different from the type of jobs that people are losing now? It seems to me that $30,000 spent on retaining a librarian would have the same economic benefit…
Economy Feb 25 What Would Be the Energy Cost of Electric Cars? Question/Comment: Paul, I am wondering about the new restrictions that are being forced on the car manufacturers for bio-fuel/electric/ethanol cars. Why isn’t there any mention about the cost of producing the electricity for the car batteries and ethanol? In the…
Economy Feb 24 Is There a Connection Between Reducing Taxes and Creating Jobs? Question/Comment: Simple question. President Obama and all members of Congress say the “stimulus bill must contain only monies targeted directly for job creation”. Given that the stimulus bill now has 60 percent allocated for tax reductions, please explain the direct…
Economy Feb 13 In Case You Missed It: Society’s Ability to Weather Crisis Largely Depends on Leaders’ Positions As the country struggles through an economic crisis, Paul Solman talked to author Jared Diamond about his book “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” on Friday’s NewsHour. Read the transcript here. // ]> // ]]>…