wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

can you wrap fish in a Kindle?

mark,
100% with u on that

Question: Will the government charge interest on this bailout money? I understand that some of the banks want to pay the government back so that they do not have to abide by the government restrictions. Will they be required to pay interest? Will the auto companies? Will AIG? When I borrow money I have to pay interest.

What about the 'cap and trade' proposal on CO2 emissions potential impact on economy? The problem it presents policymakers and how to work through it... Tom Friedman discusses this at length in Hot Flat and Crowded. Many economists, business leaders, and environmental activists assert that it such a mechanism is key to stimulating clean energy investment and research, driving consumers to purchase efficient cars and appliances, and the green jobs. Short term pain for longterm gain.

GM's behavior over the past 8 months doesn't pass the sniff test. I'm not expert but I believe GM knew it was going to have to file for bankruptcy even while it was taking bailout money...mainly to pay bonuses, exit packages and penchants. GM's higher ups have a lot more explaining to do--it should be illegal to take bailout money if you secretly know your company is going to file for chapter 11. Why aren't more investigative reporters looking into this? This is serious.

I think that some of the most critical points that we need to remember about the economy are:

1) we need the auto companies we now OWN to become GREEN companies that sell TRANSPORTATION.

2) We need a NATIONWIDE plan where the 'eisenhower interstate highway' becomes a conduit for MASSIVE investment in HEAVY rail that will facilitate tractor trailers being transported BY rail.

See my blog and search transportation
www.sos-newdeal.blogspot.com

mark in nj

I pledged yesterday when I realized that I was actually listening to Brian Lehrer AND the Pledge drive!

I think your guest has been too busy traveling to read the paper since 2004 or 2005. I was hoping for some insight

Zandi himself has a pretty dismal track record over the past year to two years.

Home sales _only_ took a jump _after_ the previous month's numbers were revised down.

"the April figure was only 1,000 higher than a March level that had just been revised down by 5,000. April new home sales were 4,000 below the sales level that had originally been reported for March."

Housing prices continue to drop. Unemployment continues to rise. Wages continue to fall. Foreclosures continue to rise.

With all due respect to your guest we've listened to these people and their "everything is just fine" attitude all along and we got screwed. Why should we think this way is better than bankruptcy? His is just another opinion based on...? I guess based on theories we down here just don't understand. I am cautious maybe suspicious. He IS promoting a book, after all, just like most of the folks who appear on these shows.

Maybe Mr. Zandi would like to comment on Moody's -- his own company's -- track record. Moody's was at the leading edge of this economic disaster, giving top ratings to the obscure financial instruments that enabled the bubble that has now burst.

Zandi has a clear conflict of interest.

sorry -- zandi.

how much have economists and rating agencies contributed to the so called global panic...and to what extent are these two gatekeepers, each with their own (often hidden) biases, now prompting Americans to hope that the answer to free market forces that lead to economic downturns is the so called Government "Bailout?"

And do you see yourself, Mark Zandy, as removed from the big pile of today's economists and rating agencies -- or one of its most prominent and prolific representatives?

Does his fix include regulating his boss, Moody's, to stop them getting payment from the companies they rate?