Federal Bailouts and Double Standards

Making News

Pakistan Moves against Mumbai Attacker Group ()

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind of 9/11, reportedly wants to plead guilty. A hearing's being held at Guantánamo Bay. Meantime, it's reported that Pakistan has arrested the mastermind of the recent attacks on Mumbai. Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid is author, most recently, of Descent into Chaos: The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

Guests:

• Ahmed Rashid: journalist and author

Main Topic

Bailouts, Perferences and Industrial Policy ()

The White House says if Democrats can get their act together it's "very likely" the Big Three automakers will get massive federal assistance. But auto workers are on a caravan from the Midwest to Washington, complaining they have to make more concessions than Wall Street financiers. The Bank of America, which got $25 billion in taxpayer bailout funds, cut off credit to their employer; the auto workers got three days notice of termination, when federal law requires 60 days. They've become a symbol of the complaint that the bailout process favors the white-collar financial sector at the expense of blue-collar workers. Is Wall Street more important than other sectors of the economy? Does the US need a policy for manufacturing, too, like Barack Obama's jobs-creating stimulus plan?

Guests:

• Harold Meyerson: Executive Editor, American Prospect, @haroldmeyerson -
• Philip Levy: Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute
• Scott Paul: Executive Director, Alliance for American Manufacturing, @ScottPaulAAM
• Daniel Ikenson: Associate Director of the Center for Trade Policy Studies, Cato Institute

Links:

• Senate Banking Commitee hearing on state of the auto industry
• United Auto Workers on bridge loans to auto industry
• Meyerson's article on the case for keeping the Big Three out of bankruptcy

Reporter's Notebook

Tribune Declares Bankruptcy; NY Times Borrows against Its Building ()

The Tribune Company, with major newspapers in Chicago and Los Angeles, has filed for bankruptcy, and the New York Times may have to mortgage its property in New York City. Both actions belie the struggles of an increasingly troubled industry. A 20-year veteran of the defunct Knight-Ridder Newspapers, Ken Doctor is an analyst for Outsell and Content Bridges, which focus on the transformation of the news media from print to digital.

Guests:

• Ken Doctor: Analyst, Outsell and Content Bridges, @kdoctor