Another Budget Shortfall Impacts Politics and Schools
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Credit card companies made big money by extending easy credit, but now they’re reducing borrowing limits, jacking up interest rates and even closing accounts. Also, USC, UCLA and CSUN are all heading to the NCAA Tourney. On our rebroadcast of today’s To the Point, we consider what that means for consumers and the economy. Also, California’s budget problems are not over, even if voters uphold last month’s $42 billion compromise. Will a new, $8 billion shortfall lead to thousands of teachers being laid off after all?
Main Topic
The Credit Card Economy Comes Home to Roost ()
The credit card industry has extended $5 trillion in available credit.” So far, only $800 billion is currently owed. But, as more and more people look to credit cards as a way to coping in tough times, “easy credit” is becoming a thing of the past. What happens when an industry that extends “easy credit” in good times has to contract? Is anyone looking out for consumers?
Guests:
- Kelli Grant: Senior Consumer Reporter, SmartMoney.com
- Robert Manning: Professor of Finance, Rochester Institute of Technology
- Gail Hillebrand: Manager of the Financial Services Advocacy Campaign, Consumers Union
- Dan Ariely: Professor of Behavioral Economics, Duke University
Links:
- Ariely's 'Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions'
- Manning's 'Credit Card Nation: The Consequences of America's Addiction to Credit'
- Consumers Union on overdrafts
- Consumers Union's 'Defend Your Dollars'
- Credit cards and the new Federal Reserve Board rules
- SmartMoney on how credit card issuers are unloading customers
- SmartMoney on '10 things credit card companies won't tell you'
- Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act of 2009 (Maloney, HR 627)
- Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 (Dodd, S 414)
Main Topic
Another Budget Shortfall Impacts Politics and Schools ()
In May, California voters will be asked to ratify the $42 billion tax increase and spending-cut program worked out by Governor Schwarzenegger and squabbling legislators of both parties. But last week, the Legislative Analyst dropped something awful into the punch bowl. For the first time since at least 1950, personal income is down, meaning a decline in state revenues of $8 billion. We hear about the implications for politics and schools.
Guests:
- Jordan Rau: Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times
- Kevin Gordon: education lobbyist
- Norton Grubb: Director, UC Berkeley's Principal Leadership Institute
Links:
Reporter's Notebook
USC, UCLA and CSUN All Headed to NCAA Tourney ()
UCLA, USC and Cal State University Northridge are all on their way to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Ramona Shelburne covers sports for the LA Daily News.
Guests:
- Ramona Shelburne: Sports Columnist, Los Angeles Daily News, @ramonashelburne
Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.
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