wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

We've been asking our listeners for ideas on how to fix the economy. Congress has raised the debt ceiling and established a "super committee" to find ways to reduce America's debt. It's clear that the country needs a concrete plan to fix the economy. One suggestion that some of our listeners have is to increase inflation.

All week we are reviewing the year that was — the year that marked the beginning of the financial meltdown and the recession that we continue to live through. Today we’re taking stock of how the nation’s banks are managing, one year after the government spent billions of taxpayers' dollars to bail them out. For a look at what regulations need to be in place to avoid future financial disasters, we talk with Eliot Spitzer. He was New York's attorney general before being elected governor; he first made a name for himself for keeping an eagle eye on the banking industry. We are also joined by Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University and author of the new book, Create Your Own Economy: The Path to Prosperity in a Disordered World. (click through for the interview transcript.)

The Uncommon Economic Indicators project continues with a look at some of the "Bright Spots" you've reported on. Tyler Cowen, economics professor at George Mason University and blogger at Marginal Revolution, discusses what does well during a downturn. Then, Jane Kennedy, director of ...

Economist, blogger, and restaurant critic Tyler Cowen has written a guide to getting more of the good stuff in life by understanding the hidden economic patterns behind everyday situations. Discover Your Inner Economist shows what economic notions and theories say about ordering from a menu, attracting the right mate, appreciating ...