American Economy

Economics writer Robert Kuttner returns to discuss his new book, "The End of Laissez Faire." In it, he proposes that the United States give up its roles as world policeman and focus on the type of governmental economic planning that has benefited the Japanese and Germans.

Economist Robert Kuttner joins Fresh Air to talk about how the war affects the economy. Though the stock market has soared, the real economy has suffered, the the national debt grows deeper every day.

Contributing editor to Harper's Magazine L.J Davis recently reported on the history and current crisis of the savings and loans system.

Liberal economist Robert Reich. His latest books include "The Next American Frontier" and "The Resurgent Liberal."

Book critic John Leonard reviews economist John Kenneth Galbraith's first novel in 22 years.

MIT professor of political economy Bennett Harrison co-wrote The Great U-Turn with Barry Bluestone. The book explores how and why the United States is creating fewer full-time, well-paying jobs. He points to the deregulation of industry and the financial system as the primary culprit.

Father Ralph Beiting's ministry serves the poor of the Appalachian region, which he says was overlooked by the reforms and social programs of the 1960s. He links poverty to the degradation of family life. Despite the difficulties associated with his work, Beiting has fallen in love with the area and its people.

Journalist John Hoerr's new book, And the Wolf Finally Came, looks at the collapse of the steel industry in the Monongahela River region. He points to the breakdown between union-management relations post-World War II as the central cause for the closing of plants throughout Pennsylvania.

Financial writer Connie Bruck. Her first book, The Predators' Ball: The Junk Bond Raiders and the Man who Staked Them, is a profile of the controversial junk bond financier Michael Milken, and the junk bond department of the investment firm of Drexel Burnham Lambert. Milken's financing schemes, and Drexel Burnham's resources, have been the engine behind many of the hostile takeovers and mergers that have rocked Wall Street over the last six years. Bruck is a reporter for The American Lawyer magazine.

New York Times reporter Martin Tolchin. His new book, Buying Into America: How Foreign Money Is Changing the Face of Our Nation, documents the massive infusion of foreign capital in America, and analyzes its ramifications. Written with his wife, professor Susan Tolchin, the book highlights America's growing dependence on foreign investments.