Mar 20 How Worried Are You About the National Debt? Question: How concerned should we be about (1) our level of national debt and (2) China holding a large portion of our national debt? Paul Solman: These are among the great debates of our time, of course. Short-term,… Continue reading
Mar 20 Bleak Deficit Numbers Projected Under Obama’s Budget Plan By Admin, PBS News Hour The Congressional Budget Office released figures Friday forecasting that President Barack Obama's budget will produce $9.3 trillion worth of red ink over 2010-2019 and that the deficit for this fiscal year will rise to a record $1.8 trillion. Continue reading
Mar 20 Should the U.S. Adopt the German Auto Plan? Question: I am curious how you believe we should balance helping big companies with also helping their customers. The number one basic business principle is: Businesses don’t do well without customers. Solution: Provide customers. Here’s a case in… Continue reading
Mar 19 Interest Rates on Credit Cards Are Going Up. Won’t That Further Hurt Average Joes? Question: About four weeks ago, my Chase credit card informed me that the interest rate on my current balance was changing from 5.99 fixed to 10.99 variable so that Chase could “maintain profitability” on my account. I knew that I… Continue reading
Mar 19 Watch Germany Navigates Course Through Economic Slump German economic minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg speaks with Paul Solman about the country's view on economic stimulus measures and how Europe is handling the global financial crisis. Continue watching
Mar 19 Watch Other News: Treasury OKs Aid for Auto Parts Suppliers In the day's other news headlines, the Treasury Department approved a $5 billion aid infusion for auto parts suppliers and jobless claims rose less drastically than expected. Continue watching
Mar 19 Watch Anger at AIG Continues as House Passes Tax on Bonuses The House voted Thursday to impose a 90 percent tax on some bonuses at AIG and other bailout-funded companies. Editorial writers describe reaction to the controversy across the country. Continue watching
Mar 19 Last Run: Historic Baltimore Theater Closes Hundreds of Baltimoreans grabbed seats Monday night at the historic Senator Theatre, but not to catch a movie. They were there to discuss the landmark's future. As of last weekend, the city's only single-screen movie house was forced to close… Continue reading
Mar 19 Q&A: The Path of Stimulus Funds to Local Projects By Admin, PBS News Hour Grover "Russ" Whitehurst is a Brookings Institute Senior Fellow and a former official with the U.S. Department of Education. In this Q&A, he explains how the stimulus funds will make their way to local projects, particularly for school programs. Continue reading
Mar 19 Concerns Emerge on Prevention of Stimulus Fraud By Admin, PBS News Hour Hoping to cement a strategy that protects the $787 billion stimulus bill from waste and fraud, state and federal officials testified before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Thursday about how to track and prevent wasteful spending. Continue reading