To the Point
American Populism: 21st Century Style
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American Populism: 21st Century Style

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Some AIG executives have given their bonuses back, but the fires of populist anger have already been lit.  Can Republicans credibly lead the charge against Wall Street?  Will leftists turn on the Democrat in the White House?  Can public outrage be harnessed to help fix the economy? Also, Geithner and Bernanke up against hostile questioning on Capitol Hill, and the codes used by police dispatchers have been staples of TV shows and movies, but they're being replaced all over the country. We get the story from Dallas.  

Banner image: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (L) and William Dudley (R), President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, listen to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (C) speak during today's hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

Making News

Geithner, Bernanke Run into a Buzz Saw on Capitol Hill ()

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told Congress today he wants new powers to regulate companies like AIG and eliminate threats to the financial system.  But he and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke ran into hostile questioning from the House Committee on Financial Services. Justin Fox, business columnist for Time magazine, writes the Curious Capitalist blog.

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Main Topic

American Populism: 21st Century Style ()

Treasury Secretary Geithner and Federal Reserve Chief Bernanke were on the hot seat today as members of Congress channeled the outrage of their constituents. Historians are reminded of populist anger during the Great Depression, the Gilded Age and Andrew Jackson's war against central bankers. Advisors on Capitol Hill and at the Obama White House are calculating the depth of public resentment over the loss of home value and retirement savings. Is it greater on the right or the left? Will it paralyze Congress? Can a popular new president turn it to his advantage?

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Reporter's Notebook

Dallas Police Department Drops Police Code ()

In the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, police, fire and other agencies had trouble talking to one another, in part because they used different codes to describe what was going on. Ever since, there's been an effort to replace the codes with plain English, most recently in Dallas, Texas. Eric Aasen writes for the Dallas Morning News.

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