California's Economic Crunch; Prop 5 - The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act; U.S. Treasury To Buy Stake in American Banks; New Media, Al Jazeera, and Modern War
California's Economic Crunch
The budget crisis was finally solved, right? Not exactly. The budget depended on borrowing and, with the worldwide financial crisis, credit markets are now frozen. That leaves the California with a $3 billion hole. To make matters worse, the Feds are trying to force the state to spend some $300 million for inmate medical care. What's the state going to do? Larry talks with HD Palmer, Deputy Director of External Affairs, California State Department of Finance, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, and Assemblyman Chuck Devore.
Prop 5 - The Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act
Proposition 5, slated to be on California's November ballot, would increase funding and oversight for drug treatment and rehab programs. Supporters say the measure offers "common sense" solutions to prison overcrowding and would provide help for young first-time offenders to bounce back from drug addiction. Opponents say the initiative is too expensive for California and is really a "get-out-of-jail-free" card for hard-core criminals. Larry talks with Dave Fratello, Yes on 5 Campaign Manager, and John Spillane, Chief Deputy District Attorney Los Angeles County, representing No on 5.
U.S. Treasury To Buy Stake in American Banks
In 1992, Sweden was in almost exactly the same situation as the US is now: its banks were saddled with bad paper and the whole system was slowly imploding. But rather than "bail out" their banks, the Swedish treasury came up with an alternate solution - invest in the banks. The treasury ended up buying shares of the banks to the tune of 4 percent of its gross domestic product. The good news: they saved the banks and eventually earned most of the money back. Now the British are planning the same solution and even the US treasury may go this route. But this has free-market capitalists crying "socialism!" Is the US going down the wrong route in the long term, or is this a practical solution that may save the taxpayers billions? Larry talks with Albert "Pete" Kyle, professor of Finance at the University of Maryland, and Dan Mitchell, senior fellow at the CATO Institute.
New Media, Al Jazeera, and Modern War
During the Vietnam War, Americans first saw graphic images of battle beamed into their homes. It had an immediate impact on public opinion and changed the way future wars were fought. Today, with satellite communications, 24-hour news channels, and the Internet, media is again altering the fight for public opinion. Al Jazeera, the 24-hour Arab news channel, is having a huge impact on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And al Qaeda is using the Internet to communicate with its cells and recruit more members. In "The Al Jazeera Effect: How the New Global Media are Reshaping World Politics" (Potomac Books, Inc) author Philip Seib takes a look at the role of new media in Middle Eastern conflicts and American foreign policy.