To the Point
The Shutdown, the Debt Limit and America’s Role in the World
China says the paralysis in Washington proves the free market has failed. What message are the shutdown and the debt-ceiling crisis sending to the rest of the world?
By Warren Olney • • 51m ListenChina—America’s biggest creditor—says the paralysis in Washington proves the free market has failed. Turkey’s Prime Minister gloats because US government workers aren’t being paid. Countries that depend on the US for protection wonder if it will be there when they need it. We’ll look at the message the shutdown and the debt-ceiling crisis are sending to the rest of the world. Also, Janet Yellen assumes the head of the Federal Reserve, and why the Higgs boson is the subject of the Nobel Prize. Banner image:
In this episode
3 storiesYellen’s Path to Head of Fed
President Obama has decided that Janet Yellen should replace Ben Bernanke as head of the Federal Reserve. She’s the current vice chair and, if she’s confirmed by the Senate, she’ll be the first woman ever to lead the most powerful central bank in the world. Binyamin Appelbaum is Washington Correspondent for the New York Times.
Read the story8 minPolitical Dysfunction in Washington Hurting the Economy and American Credibility
With government offices closed, the Pentagon says it won’t pay death benefits to the families of combat casualties. Billionaire investment guru Warren Buffett compares failure to raise the debt ceiling to “a nuclear bomb.” How long can the US government lead the free world if it can’t keep its doors open or pay its bills?
Read the story37 minThe Higgs Boson Wins Physicists the Nobel Prize
Scottish physicist Peter Higgs says he’s sorry the Higgs boson was ever called the “God Particle.” He’s an atheist. But the term helps the rest of us understand just how important the Higgs boson is to understanding how the universe works the way it does—in fact, how it is that we all exist. The Higgs boson is a particle that was…
Read the story7 min
