Patt Morrison for Wednesday, May 4, 2011

PATT MORRISON SCHEDULE

Wednesday, May 4, 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

1:21:30 - 1:39

What happens if the Fed stops paying its bills?
Last year, Congress set a spending limit of $14.3 billion and it is now coming very close to exceeding that limit. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has warned that if the U.S. does not raise the debt ceiling, fiscal calamity will spread globally. Republicans are holding steadfast to promises made to conservative voters to cut and cap government spending at all costs. One conservative leader, former Congressional Budget Office director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, has broken ranks. Holtz-Eakin agrees with his conservative colleagues about the need to cut spending, but he argues that defaulting on U.S. debt will send the wrong message to foreign investors. At a time when the country needs international borrowing more than ever, Holtz-Eakin argues that the U.S. needs to protect its credit rating. Patt sits down with Holtz-Eakin to find out how he envisions raising a debt ceiling while also cutting government spending. Should investors be worried about the U.S. credit rating? After compromise between Republicans and Democrats has proven nearly impossible, will leaders on both sides of the isle be able to come together to avoid exceeding the limit they themselves set?

Guests:

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum; former director of the Congressional Budget Office & former chief economic policy adviser to John McCain's presidential campaign

HE CALLS US

1:41:30 - 1:58:30

OPEN

2:06 - 2:19

OPEN

2:21:30 - 2:39

What's the truth about hunger?
Patt talks with economist Esther Duflo about her new theory debunking the conventional wisdom about hunger and poverty. After collecting data from rural villages and urban slums around the world, speaking with poor people from Morocco to Kenya, Indonesia to India about what they eat and what else they buy, she and colleague Abhijit V. Banerjee have uncovered a current and far more complex picture of world hunger. It's a picture of a world, as they put it, "where those without enough to eat may save up to buy a TV instead, where more money doesn't necessarily translate into more food, and where making rice cheaper can sometimes even lead people to buy less rice." What implications could their research have for international policy, foreign aid and farming? Duflo joins Patt to talk about how her research might aid policy makers in avoiding sweeping, ideological solutions to problems that defy one-size-fits-all answers.

Guest:

Esther Duflo, professor of economics at MIT and co-director with Abhijit Banerjee of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab. Professors Duflo and Banerjee are also the co-authors of the forthcoming book Poor economics: A radical rethinking of the way to fight global poverty

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2:41:30 - 2:58:30

John Waters brings one-man show to KPCC
John Waters--that outlandish character with an affinity for the weird, extreme and shocking--joins Patt in studio to talk about his recent one-man vaudeville act, This Filthy World Goes Hollywood, "a send up of show business, the art world and his own lunatic career in a rapid-fire performance."

Guest:
John Waters, film director of numerous cult classics, such as Hairspray (1988) and Pink Flamingos (1972), author, actor and fixture in pop culture. Waters resides in Baltimore, MD. His latest book is Role Models

IN STUDIO

Jonathan Serviss
Senior Producer, Patt Morrison
Southern California Public Radio
NPR Affiliate for Los Angeles
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415.497.2131, mobile
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www.scpr.org <http://www.scpr.org/>