Patt Morrison for Friday, January 28, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Friday, January 28, 2011

1-3 p.m.

 

CALL-IN @ 866-893-5722, 866-893-KPCC; OR JOIN THE CONVERSATION ONLINE ON THE PATT MORRISON BLOG AT KPCC-DOT-ORG

 

 

1:06 – 1:19

OPEN

 

 

1:21 – 1:39

Final verdict on the American financial crisis is muddled, just like the crisis itself

The bi-partisan Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) appointed by Congress issued its final report yesterday on what it believes lead to the economic meltdown.  After months of examining evidence and hearing testimony from big time players in the financial arena including Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) chairman Sheila Bair, Warren E. Buffett, and executives from Citibank to Goldman Sachs, the commission dispelled the notion held by many on Wall Street and in Washington that the economic crisis that launched this country and parts of the world into a major economic recession was unforeseen and therefore not preventable.  The commission noted “systemic breaches in accountability and ethics at all levels” including the Federal Reserves inability to effectively manage the wave of toxic mortgages. The group found that legislators and regulators didn’t fully understand the economic system they were charged with overseeing and that ignorance coupled with inaction allowed too many financial firms to act “recklessly”.  The commission’s report notes that lending standards were out of control—institutions lent to too many risky borrowers, the prevalence and lack of regulation of over-the-counter derivatives and the failure of credit rating agencies to accurately reflect the value of the products they were reviewing contributed significantly to the crisis. It’s important to note however that the conclusions of the 10-person bipartisan commission weren’t unanimous.  Three conservative members of the commission released a dissenting statement lambasting the majority for presenting narratives that had a “popular appeal” but didn’t necessarily factor in the complicated nature of the global economic market.   

 

Guest:

Phil Angelides, chairman, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

HE CALLS US:

 

 

1:41 – 1:58:30

Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other

It’s 2011 – the age of smart phones, text messaging, Facebook and Twitter. Sure, you can communicate in the blink of an eye with these electronic avenues, but it seems that as communication technology increases, actual physical interaction between human beings decreases. Just a few years ago, talking on the phone was the preferred form of communication, and while it isn’t person to person, at least there’s a real human voice involved. But now even a phone call can be considered to clunky – text messaging, instant messaging, and social media sites take the cake for communication now. So while it’s quicker and easier, is this technology dependence (and for many addiction) really giving us the lives we want to lead? How connected are you really if your main form of communication is over the internet? Sherry Turkle, a clinical psychologist from MIT, is here to talk about this phenomenon and her forecast for the future of human interaction and intimacy.

 

Guest:

Sherry Turkle, professor of social studies of science & technology at MIT and director of the MIT Initiative on Technology & Self

IN STUDIO

 

 

2:06 – 2:58:30

Patt Morrison’s Series on Homelessness—Part Two: from Safer City to Home for Good

With over 40,000 homeless living on its streets, Los Angeles is the homeless capital of the country. Over the past decade, cities like Denver, New York and San Francisco have all dramatically reduced their homeless populations by building permanent housing. But here, homelessness has grown faster than the national rate and not enough housing has been built, in part because of discordant county and city governments. Why is it so difficult for disparate systems to work together in Los Angeles County and how can that stalemate be overcome? Patt asks those questions and more to city and county officials, service providers, residents and homeless in the Skid Row community. Together, they a look at new proposals such as the Home for Good plan, which combines the social service knowledge of nonprofit sector with the private business and aims to end homelessness with permanent housing by 2016. With so many plans proposed and failed, what if anything sets this ambitious model apart from the rest? And why has homelessness proven to be such a singularly intractable issue for Los Angeles while it has motivated so many other regions to act?

 

Guests

Orlando Ward, Vice President of operations, Midnight Mission homeless shelter downtown, where he oversees strategic planning of governmental, public, community and media relations for the Mission

 

Carl Howard, Skid Row resident and director of Homeless Healthcare’s Alumni Drama Club

 

Marcus Cristy, Skid Row resident; Marcus has lived at the Lincoln Apartments in Skid Row for 3 years. Prior to moving into the Lincoln Apartments in 2007, he was homeless off and on in the Skid Row community since the beginning of 2001.

 

Becky Kanis, Director of the 100,000 Homes Campaign, Common Ground, a national nonprofit social services organization advocating for permanent and transitional housing

 

Mark Casanova, Executive Director of Homeless Health Care Los Angeles, a group working to improve the health of homeless people in Los Angeles

 

Zev Yaroslavsky, Los Angeles County Supervisor

 

-         Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky represents the Third Supervisorial District, comprising much of the City of Los Angeles

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-         He initiated Project 50 – getting the 50 most vulnerable and chronically homeless individuals on Skid Row into housing.

 

Jerry Neuman, Home for Good task force co-chair, representing the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce

 

-         Home for Good aims to end chronic and veteran homelessness in Los Angeles County by January 2016 by reallocating and coordinating our current resources

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-         Home for Good is unique in that it involves the private business community to fill the gaps where the city and county of Los Angeles fail to communicate/cooperate

 

Mike Alvidrez, Executive Director of the Los Angeles Skid Row Housing Trust, which develops, manages and operates homes for the homeless of Los Angeles. The Trust’s permanent supportive housing also provides a complete range of support services to move beyond poverty, illness and addiction.

 

- The Skid Row Housing Trust was among 227 LA City and county homeless program beneficiaries of nearly $72 million in renewed federal funding for housing announced Wednesday 1/19

 

 

 

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
89.3 KPCC-FM | 89.1 KUOR-FM | 90.3 KPCV-FM
626.583.5171, office
415.497.2131, mobile
jserviss@kpcc.org / jserviss@scpr.org
www.scpr.org