To the Point

Drowning in Debt

For many Americans, a penny earned is a penny spent--and then some--as they buy themselves into debt at rates that would have shocked their more savings-minded grandparents. Last year, the country's personal savings rate was a negative half-percent, a figure seen only twice before and both times during the depression. For the past 20 years, economists have warned that America's spending habits are out of control. Are credit card companies to blame for making it easier to borrow money? Are there both good debt and bad debt? In a country where barely 50% of families had a retirement account last year, who will pay the bills when some $78 million boomers retire? Sara Terry guest hosts.Making News: Showdown with the President on Ports AgreementCongressional Republicans are moving a giant step closer today to a showdown with President Bush over his controversial proposal to allow a Dubai-based firm to manage six American ports. The Appropriations Committee is expected to pass emergency legislation to halt the takeover. Jonathan Weisman covers the Congress for the Washington Post. Reporter's Notebook: Renaissance Man Gordon Parks DiesGordon Parks, the legendary African-American photo-journalist, Hollywood director, memoirist and composer died yesterday at the age of 93. He never forgot that as a child one of his teachers told her black students not to waste their parents' money on college because they would only wind up as porters or maids. Parks would later dedicate one of his many honorary degrees to her. We hear more about his extraordinary life from colleagues Deborah Willis and Arthur Ollman.