Patt Morrison Fri 3/6/09

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, March 6, 2009

1-3 p.m.

 

1:00 - 1:30 

TARP COP:  Elizabeth Warren

It seems so long ago when the Bush administration began handing out hundreds of billions to take care of troubled assets - that didn’t go exactly as planned, did it? - overpaying for assets, money spent on bonuses and private jets. Elizabeth Warren heads the congressional panel assigned to undo some of the damage and ride herd on the tens of billions that remain - how are they being spent? Can they be spent more wisely? Are we getting a big enough bang for our buck? The TARP COP looks both forward and backward on the government response to this broad financial crisis.

 

Guests:

Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel; professor of law at Harvard Law School

SHE CALLS US:

 

 

1:30 -  2:00 

FDIC Chair Scares the Hell Out of Everyone

In era where banks are failing at a remarkably high rate and volume, the guarantee of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is the only thing allowing bank customers to sleep easy at night.  That guarantee looks a little shaky after comments this week by FDIC Chair Sheila Bair who warned that without increased bank fees “the deposit insurance fund could become insolvent this year.”  The fund lost $33.5 billion in 2008 and was further drained by 16 bank failures this year, hence the drive to charge banks more money to replenish the fund.  With more bank failures a certainty this year and into next, is your mattress looking like a good investment?

 

Guests:

Andrew Gray, FDIC director of public affairs

CALL HIM: 

 

 

2:06 – 2:20 

New Metro Head for Los Angeles

MTA's CEO Roger Snoble is retiring. Yesterday the agency announced his replacement, former MTA bus driver and current Orange County Transportation Authority head Art Leahy. Leahy will take over an agency with a $3.4-billion budget and nearly 10,000 employees. He'll also oversee several construction projects, including the Exposition line to the westside of LA, and a future subway extension. What role will the federal stimulus package fill in the agency's transit goals? And how will Leahy navigate the delicate politics that is Los Angeles transportation?

 

Guests:

Art Leahy, current CEO of Orange County Transportation Authority, starts with Metro on April 6

WILL CALL IN                                   

 

 

2:21 – 2:30

Are Other Earth-like Planets Out There?

NASA's Kepler mission is set to lift-off tonight [Friday, March 6] and be on its way to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting stars in habitable zones - regions where liquid water could pool on the surface of the planets.  For three and one-half years, the satellite will stare at more than 100,000 stars in a single, large patch of sky near the Cygnus and Lyra constellations, looking for planets with the potential for life.  Are we alone, or is there a budding earth-twin out there somewhere?  We ask the scientists behind the mission.

 

Guests:  TBD 

 

 

 2:30 –  3:00 

Death by Leisure

Leisure isn't one of the seven deadly sins, but perhaps that should be amended. Chris Ayres' is here with his story of excess, enabled by a once-burgeoning housing bubble. Complete with caviar facials, supped-up cars, and foie gras pina coladas—yes, really—his cautionary tale exemplifies how America's spend-now-pay-later ethos of leisure is partly to blame for our current economic turmoil.

 

Guests:

Chris Ayres, author of Death By Leisure

IN-STUDIO