American Economy

Pulitzer Prize-winning business columnist Gretchen Morgenson talks about the subprime mortgage crisis and its effects on the markets and on the economy. Morgenson, an assistant business and financial editor for The New York Times, has covered the financial markets for The Times since 1998.

For 18 years, from 1987 to 2006, Alan Greenspan was chair of the Federal Reserve Board — the United States' central banker, in charge of steering the nation's monetary policy. His every word was scrutinized by markets, read like tea leaves by market makers and investors looking for clues to his thoughts on the economy's health.

We love low prices, sure, but we frown at the things companies do to get us good deals — like paying low wages. In his book Supercapitalism, economist Robert Reich looks at the divided mind of the consumer and citizen.

Journalist, conservative pundit, and former Presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan. His new book is "The Great Betrayal: How American Sovereignty and Social Justice Are Being Sacrificed to the Gods of the Global Economy" (Little, Brown and Company).

Author and financial columnist Jane Bryant Quinn. She's revised and updated her 1991 guide to saving money and investing wisely, "Making the Most of Your Money" (Simon and Shuster). The book addresses personal finance issues, retirement funds, saving for college, and the stock market. Jane Bryant Quinn is a column writer for Newsweek, Good Housekeeping, and the New York Daily News. (Interview by Marty Moss-Coane)

Journalist Nicholas Lemann is National Correspondent of The Atlantic Monthly. He's written an essay in the April 28, 1997 issue of Newsweek, "The Limits of Charity." He'll talk with Marty Moss-Coane about the volunteerism touted at the current Presidential Summit.

Producer/writer/director Jeanne Jordan. She and her husband Steve Ascher's documentary "Troublesome Creek" is the story of her family's struggle to save their Iowa farm, which had been in the family for 125 years. The film won the Best Documentary and Audience Awards at Sundance in 1996. The film opens nationally in January

Pacific Northwest Bureau Chief for the New York Times Timothy Egan. His two-part series on urban sprawl in the western United States recently appeared in the Times. Egan writes that cities like Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, and Salt Lake are growing rapidly, with growth going mostly unchecked. In Phoenix, he writes that land is being consumed at the rate of "an acre an hour." But in Portland, Oregon city officials over 20 years ago set up guidelines to control rampant growth.

New York Times writer Jason DeParle. He covers poverty and social welfare issues for the Times. Recently, DeParle has been writing about the disappearance of affordable housing. On top of that, government subsidies for low-income housing have all but disappeared. DeParle's New York Times Magazine cover story about housing appeared on October 20, 1996.

Philadelphia Inquirer investigative reporters Donald Barlett and James Steele. The two talk with Terry Gross about why campaign promises related to taxes should be carefully scrutinized. They say if you want to know how a 15 percent tax cut would help you, you need to look at how it would impact all of the taxes you pay. They say that often the highest tax rates are found at the state or local level.