To the Point
Putting on the Brakes: Are Government Regulators Doing Their Job?
With its Prius recall and problems with a sticking accelerator pedal, Toyota is front and center in the news. But regulations run far and wide in the life of the American consumer. There are hundreds of state and federal agencies that are supposed to make our lives safer. Guest host Sara Terry asks whether they really do the job. Also, of tea and Sarah Palin. Checking in with the grassroots right.
By Sara Terry • • 50m ListenThis week Toyota is front and center in the news, with its Prius recall and problems with a sticking accelerator pedal. But regulations run far and wide in the life of the American consumer. There are hundreds of state and federal agencies that are supposed to make our lives safer. Do they really do the job? Guest host Sara Terry asks whether regulators have become too friendly with the industries they're supposed to regulate. Also, revolution on the right? What's brewing with the rise of Sarah Palin and Tea Party politics.
Banner image: President of Japan's auto giant Toyota Motor Akio Toyod gestures as he answers questions during a press conference today at the Tokyo head office. Photo: Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images
In this episode
3 storiesToyota Recall Now Includes the Prius
In his second press conference since Friday, the president of Toyota announced today that the company is recalling an additional 437,000 vehicles worldwide. Unlike the racing accelerator pedal , this recall involves Prius and Lexus models and a software problem in the anti-lock braking system.
Read the story7 minPutting on the Brakes: Are Government Regulators Doing Their Job?
Safe food, safe drugs, safe cars, safe airplanes -- honest deals and bank loans. The federal government doesn't rely on people doing the right thing to make sure your world is safe; they regulate that world. Congress is trying to pass new financial regulations, and Wall Street is pushing back.
Read the story35 minGOP, Palin Steep in Tea Party Politics
It was a tea party with a lot of angry people, right-wing true believers who've had it with the current political state of affairs. Sarah Palin helped stoke that anger when she spoke to the recent inaugural Tea Party Convention , but will the anger of newly organized Tea partiers translate into real political change?
Read the story8 min
