Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and Professor of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Boston
PROFILE
Christian Weller
Guest
FROM Christian Weller
To the Point
Prospects for a Federal Bailout of the Financial System The architects of the Bush Administration's financial bailout got a public grilling today from the Senate Banking Committee. Senators wanted to know why they're getting less than a week to give up $700 billion in taxpayers' money. Would reckless investors get off lightly? Would Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have too much power? What about Congressional oversight? Why couldn't the crisis have been foreseen and prevented, and is there any assurance that the massive bailout will really work? We hear more about the questions and the answers.
To the Point
Our Ever Rising Gas Prices Oil prices are very much on the rise, but gasoline has not yet caught up. When it does, $4 a gallon may sound like the good old days. President Bush says there's no "magic wand" for the government, but the candidates to replace him have other ideas. John McCain and Hillary Clinton want a summer holiday on the federal gasoline tax. Barack Obama calls that a "gimmick" that could make matters worse. We look at their different proposals. Should gasoline taxes actually be higher to encourage conservation, something they all support? Is this the just beginning of "painful adjustments" to new, global realities?
To the Point
New Report Details the Pain Rising Gas Prices Are Inflicting What’s the “tipping point” for gasoline prices—the amount that will cause drivers to really cut back on using the car? A Washington Post-ABC News poll says is $4.38 cents a gallon in most of the country and $5.12 in the west, where prices are higher.
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To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.
To the Point
White House budget proposal slashes and burns President Trump's first budget request is considered dead on arrival in Congress — a familiar development in Capitol Hill. We hear what it reveals about the priorities of the new administration. What's likely to die… and what might survive?
To the Point
Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.