More Financial Woes for California?; Saving Detroit; Duck and Cover; Understanding Prop 8's Passage; Andrew Jackson In The White House
More Financial Woes for California?
Two financial stories are breaking and neither bodes well for the state's money picture. Goldman Sachs, the giant investment firm tapped to help California sell bonds, has also urged its clients to place investment bets against California bonds. This may be artificially raising interest rates the state pays to borrow money. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration put through new tax breaks for banks that are taking over failing banks--and this could end up costing California some $2 billion in tax revenues. Larry goes over this latest salt in California's financial wounds.
Saving Detroit
First it was Wall Street, now it's Detroit. American auto manufacturers are hemorrhaging cash in today's credit-strapped markets and are heading for bankruptcy. Top lawmakers, along with the incoming Obama Administration, are talking about a $25 billion program of low-coast loans to help salvage the Big Three. Another possibility is for congress to amend the financial rescue fund to aid car companies. Larry talks to an industry journalist about the car companies' precarious position and asks KPCC's listeners what they think the government should do.
Duck and Cover
At 10 a.m. on November 13, over 5 million people throughout Southern California will participate in The Great Southern California ShakeOut Drill, the largest earthquake preparedness activity in U.S. history. ShakeOut is concurrent with Golden Guardian 2008, the nation's largest state sponsored emergency response exercise, involving 5,000 participants from dozens of state, local, and federal agencies. The Great Southern California ShakeOut is based on a potential magnitude 7.8 earthquake on the southern San Andreas Fault, approximately 5,000 times larger than the magnitude 5.4 earthquake that shook southern California on July 29. Larry and his guest will preview the ShakeOut and the preparedness activities taking place throughout the Southland during this exercise.
Understanding Prop 8's Passage
A poll of likely California voters done shortly before the election showed Proposition 8 trailing, yet the initiative passed by roughly 5 percentage points. Some believe high turnout among African American and Latino voters, who tend to oppose gay marriage, pushed the initiative over the edge. Others say that heavy last minute campaigning in churches by Prop 8 supporters brought extra Christian conservatives to the polls. Who voted for Proposition 8, and why? Larry Mantle talks with Fernando Guerra, Director of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at Loyola Marymount University and David McCuan, Associate Professor of Political Science at Sonoma State University.
Andrew Jackson In The White House
Compared with other presidents who played a pivotal role in American history, not much has been written about Andrew Jackson. Now, in a new book, "American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House" (Random House), best-selling author and Newsweek Editor, Jon Meacham brings to life the founder of the Democratic Party and his many contradictions. Larry speaks with Meacham about Jackson's life and politics, and why he was seen as a president of the people despite his shortcomings.