Is there something you always wanted to know about how the Federal Reserve works, but were afraid to ask? After two days of testimony this week on the economy and the stimulus package, Federal Reserve chair Ben Bernanke will sit down with the NewsHour’s Jim Lehrer to answer your questions on July 26. Submit your questions now!
Will a publicly-financed health care system be a further burden on the economy, or can President Obama get a bill passed that doesn’t increase the federal deficit?
President Obama discusses his health care reform initiative, bipartisanship and deadlines in an exclusive interview with NewsHour’s Jim Lehrer.
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The MediaBistro blog FishbowlDC reported that Lehrer was also doing his part to make a child feel better — by inviting a 17-year-old leukemia patient to a NewsHour taping.
At WNYC, a different Lehrer — Brian Lehrer of The Brian Lehrer Show — also focuses on health care reform and spoke with New York Congressman Charlie Rangel about whether he thinks a health care bill will be passed before Congress’ August recess.
But lobbyists are still at the center of the game. Marketplace looks at how any public plan could affect private insurers and drug companies, along with the people who pitch for them.
The buzz surrounding the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission is a bit of fun news, taking a little of the focus off all the gloomy economic indicators this week. In troubled times, watching stories of earlier generations’ accomplishments can be uplifting and inspiring.
A clip of Buzz Aldrin on Sesame Street (which also celebrates a 40th anniversary this year), sums up the childlike spirit of exploration.
Do you do your banking online? What about using sites like Mint.com to keep your family’s finances in order? Have you been shopping around for bigger savings online rather than running around to local stores ?
If there was any question about the growing relationship between money and the Web, a new report from The Pew Internet & American Life project shows without question that more and more, people are relying on the web to handle their money – and help cope with the effects of the recession.
One interesting side note: The report found that 69% of Americans are using the Web to get information about the recession.
But not everyone has the access to broadband that allows them to use the web at a speed that’s useful for managing money and / for financial news and information. Patchwork Nation’s Dante Chinni writes that this may allow newspapers in more remote areas to survive.
“Less-connected places may allow newspapers to stick around longer, since more people in these places prefer to get their news on paper rather than wait for slow Web connections.”
Conventional wisdom says the income divide prevents connectedness, but Chinni says the Patchwork Nation research suggests the digital divide is largely geographic:
“Maybe most interesting, these numbers suggest a different kind of digital divide in the US – one based less on economic issues than on ones of physical place. This kind of digital divide mirrors America’s urban-rural split.”
Perhaps this divide will be lessened by the $7 billion broadband stimulus package, meant to build infrastructure in rural areas. The USDA maps the areas in rural America that are eligible for the Broadband Initiatives Program, which is distributing those stimulus
It can be a challenge to see where stimulus money is going – and how the the government is using the web to track it. ProPublica examined the accuracy of the federal government site Recovery.gov and found that tracking those funds is “a job worthy of Sherlock Holmes.”
This morning, Wall Street was buzzing after President Obama’s pick to lead the auto industry out of turmoil resigned. With the automakers still under siege, how are transportation initiatives faring? This NewsHour timeline traces the troubles of the big three automakers.
Looking across the pond at public transport, Paul Solman figures out the London Tube’s logic behind charging more for single-ride tickets than the refillable “Oyster” cards. Can their profit-generating plan be implemented in other cities?
Here in the U.S., greater concerns about health care and the economy are putting transportation infrastructure initiatives on hold, Tom McNamara writes on PBS’s Blueprint America blog.
How should Congress prioritize transportation? Share your questions at Ask Your Lawmaker.