October 10 – How Washington’s Suicidal Brinkmanship Looks to International Economists; Janet Yellen and the Wall Street Glass Ceiling; The Koch Brothers Distance Themselves from their Tea Party Protégés

Full Program

Part 1

We begin with an analysis of how the reckless and suicidal brinkmanship in Washington looks to a group of the world’s leading economists meeting in the nation’s capitol. Economist Stephany Griffith Jones, who is currently the Financial Markets Program Director at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University joins us to offer her perspective on government by extortion and the new head of the Fed Janet Yellen.

Part 2

Then we speak with another female economist about the new Chairwoman of the Federal Reserve Janet Yellin, the first woman to hold what is considered the second most powerful position in the world. Pavlina Tcherneva, a professor of economics at Bard College who served as the associate director for economic analysis at the Center for Full Employment and Price Stability joins us to discuss the good news at the Fed and the continuing bad news from the capitol where the Republicans are offering a truce until November 22 before they resume their threat to default.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Pulitzer-Prize-winning reporter and columnist for the LA Times Michael Hiltzik about the letter from the billionaire Koch brothers to U.S. Senators where they distanced themselves from the current activities of the Tea Party, apparently alarmed at the prospect of the grave damage the actions of the Congressional caucus they have supported could do to the economy and to their 70 billion dollar fortune. We examine the role of money behind the shutdown and whether money from the business community might now flow to moderate Republicans instead of Tea Party extremists.