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Author Archives: Laura Hertzfeld
Quick takes
Sometimes all you have is a few minutes to devote to understanding business news. It’s a challenge for some experts to explain things with hours to spare, but a bit of humor and poetry tossed in makes it easier:
Be funny. Most economists are not exactly the stand-up comedian type. But NewsHour’s Paul Solman has found a few that make money funny.
Make it rhyme. The business news of the day in 60 seconds? Not possible!
Marketplace Minute 10/16/09 from Marketplace on Vimeo.
Keep it focused. For a view of the economy from Europe, this podcast from PRI gives the lowdown on what’s going on in four Western European countries in a short feature.
And closer to home, the news from Capitol Hill is condensed into the two minute Power Breakfast podcast each morning by Capitol News Connection. Today, Elizabeth Wynne Johnson looks at job uncertainty at a nuclear plan in Ohio.
The jobs dilemma
How bad is bad? When it comes to jobless benefits, some states are upset because things aren’t bad enough to qualify for Congress’ recent extension to states with unemployment over 8.5%, as Manuel Quinones reports at Capitol News Connection.
“A new compromise in the Senate aims to solve the dispute by extending Federal unemployment benefits nationwide. Meanwhile, states with high unemployment would get a more generous package. Kratovil says Congress has to draw the line somewhere,” CNC reports.
Looking at the latest stimulus numbers for NPR’s The Two-Way blog today, Mark Memmott found that over 30,000 new jobs have been created (or saved, depending on how you measure it). It’s a big boost, but there’s a long way to go before job creation catches up with the recovery overall.
Did you know that even the description “unemployment” only started in the 1880s? In “Looking for Work, a History of Unemployment,” The History Guys explore what job loss has meant in American history.
Check out more PRX economy playlists here.
Advice from all over
When it comes to the economy, everyone’s got an opinion on how to fix it, how to survive it, and how it all happened.
There are the experts, like Nobel-winning economist Paul Krugman, who told Nightly Business Report’s Susie Gahrib that extending jobless benefits won’t solve the economic crisis but will help get things moving. “If it was up to me, I’d have a new WPA,” Krugman says in this video.
Then there are a few young, budding experts, who give Marketplace’s Scott Jagow some irreverent investment advice. Should you buy stock in turntables, now that the 80s are back in style?
And there’s the Craigslist-posting public, who have come up with a zillion ways to save and cope. As PRX’s EconomyBeat.org reports, there are people offering to do everything from wear silly costumes for a fee, to auction off misbehaving politicians, to salvage roadkill deer for dinner. When the going gets tough, the tough start posting to Craigslist.
Winter’s coming, is your house ready?
Solar panels/ Credit: Flickr user needfire
Here in Southern California we’re getting the few drops of rain that constitute the first winter storm of the year. But across the country, baseball games have already been postponed due to snow, and cold temperatures are forcing people to turn on the heat a little early this year. Finding new ways to conserve energy this winter is a smart way to save money.
Every year, the National Mall hosts the finish line of the Solar Decathelon, a competition where students build solar powered cars and race them across the country. But this time around, cars weren’t the focus– the teams were given $100,000 by the Department of Energy to create solar-powered, energy efficient homes instead.
Marketplace reported this morning on the Decathelon ideas that range from using alternative materials like bamboo, to products you can already find at Ikea and Home Depot to better insulate your home.
Alternative energy ideas still face an uphill battle in much of the country. Michigan Public Radio reported on support for restarting a coal-fired plant in the Detroit area, and how a wind turbine plan was scrapped.
But in Ohio there’s a wind turbine in the works. Texas is focusing on natural gas and getting information out about weather-proofing your homes.
Energy is a popular topic on the Ask Your Lawmaker program. Recently, listener Kelly Kidwell asked about energy consumption and Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Texas) responded with his viewpoint. Add your questions about energy policy for Congress.
How are you planning to conserve energy this winter?