May 29 How Might GM’s Bankruptcy Work? Question: How might GM’s bankruptcy work? Paul Solman: For answers, I can’t improve upon this exchange with Wayne State law professor Laura Bartell, whose interview we’ll feature in our GM bankruptcy story, slated to run on Monday’s NewsHour. This… Continue reading
May 29 What Led to the High Interest Rates of the 1980s? Question: What were the causes and circumstances that led to the high interest rates in the 80’s? Was it inability to effect a change or inaction in addressing the issue? Paul Solman: If by “interest rates” you mean the rate… Continue reading
May 28 Preview: UAW Chief Ron Gettelfinger on the GM Deal Editor’s note: Paul Solman sat down today with United Auto Workers chief Ron Gettelfinger for a wide-ranging interview about the future of the GM, how the union may fare in any reorganization deal, and how Gettelfinger responds to critics who… Continue reading
May 28 Which New Deal Projects Have Ended Up Costing a Bundle Down the Road? Question: I recently watched your report on the Newshour about New Deal infrastructure projects in St. Louis. You mentioned the New Deal brought us the Triborough Bridge in New York, but you didn’t mention that it is currently one… Continue reading
May 27 A Final Thought on the Andrews-McArdle Affair Paul Solman: The blizzard of response to the Andrews/McArdle affair has thinned to a flurry, but flakes keep coming, affording me an opportunity to respond to the persistent inclemency and continue the multi-logue, a first for this page. Continue reading
May 27 Do Mutual Funds Count as Savings? Question: You recently did a piece on savings, and it made me wonder. Every month, I shunt some money automatically into mutual funds (nothing to do with an official retirement account). The portion that is in a money market… Continue reading
May 26 Is There Any Talk of Reinstating Glass-Steagall? By Business Desk Question: Is there any talk of reinstating the Glass-Steagall Act? Paul Solman: For those who can’t remember as far back as 1933, Glass-Steagall was an act of Congress passed only three months after President Roosevelt took office and… Continue reading
May 25 Response to Andrews-McArdle Question: How do you react to the unseasonal blizzard of emails in response to the Megan McArdle post/the Ed Andrews parry/the McArdle riposte? Paul Solman: Fascinating to see the strength of sentiment — on both sides. Enough of the facts… Continue reading
May 22 Ed Andrews Responds to Criticism in the Blogosphere Paul Solman: Yesterday, free-market enthusiast Megan McArdle, who describes herself as “the tallest female econoblogger” but is more often identified in the blogosphere as a libertarian, devoted a post on theAtlantic.com to Ed Andrews, the… Continue reading
May 22 What Are the Chances the Government Will Profit on the Bank Bailouts? Question: It seems that almost all of the news we hear about the government’s bailout of the banks is negative, as if the American taxpayer will never see another dime of the bailout money again. But isn’t it true… Continue reading