American News Project Videos

Fallout on Main Street: Mailman Speaks His Mind

mfritz — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:32:16 -0700

Patrick Carroll has been a mailman for 23 years and works in Quakertown, Pennsylvania. He spoke with the American News Project and McClatchy Newspapers about how the nation's financial crisis has impacted his own life.

Free Marketeers Rally on Capitol Hill

hhanbury — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:17:24 -0700

On October 10^th, 2008, a day when the Washington Post asked if we face the "end of American capitalism," hundreds rallied at the U.S. Capitol to support free markets and deregulation. The Bush administration may be considering nationalizing banks, but members Americans for Prosperity, the group that organized the rally, cheered the slogan, "Free markets work every time, all the time."

Cutting back in Quakertown, PA

mfritz — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 09:56:38 -0700

All over the country Americans are spending less because of the sputtering economy. McClatchy Newspapers and the American News Project talked with locals at a diner in Quakertown, hoping to see how this eastern Pennsylvanian town is coping with the ongoing credit crisis.

Flogging of AIG Execs

lsebert — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:49:16 -0700

In the wake of the $700 billion bailout, the public is finally getting a look at the faces behind the financial crisis. On October 7, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform grilled former AIG CEOs Robert Willumstad and Martin Sullivan. During the five-hour hearing the executives tried to dodge blame as congress members harshly criticized their management of AIG and questioned their compensation.

Fallout on Main Street: Shops Feeling the Pinch

dmurdock — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:43:50 -0700

In Greenwich, Connecticut, those who depend on financial market clientele are already seeing a drop in sales, and they are hoping the bad times won't get worse.

Dow Still Shaky on First Day of Trading After Bailout

mfritz — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:57:27 -0700

The Dow Jones closed 369 points down on the first day since Congress approved a $700 billion bailout. It marked the first time the Dow has fallen below the 10,000 mark in four years, spiking further fears that a recession maybe looming.

We've been Fuld: Congress grills Lehman CEO on compensation

sgreenstreet — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:19:00 -0700

On October 6, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing to hear the testimony of Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld. The major focus of the discussion was CEO compensation, which many claimed to be lavish and unfair.

Fallout on Main Street, Part One: Greenwich, CT

dmurdock — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 20:56:21 -0700

People all across the country are suffering the fallout from Wall Street's financial H-Bomb. ANP producer David Murdock and McClatchy Newspaper journalist Tony Pugh hit the road to see how the nation is coping.

Last Minute Fight Against Bailout Pork

lsebert — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 08:29:06 -0700

Republican congressman Steven LaTourette proposed an amendment to the bailout package on Thursday, October 2, that would strip the pork out of the senate's bailout bill and limit the immediate bailout to $250 billion. LaTourette and more than a dozen colleagues who originally opposed the bill promised to vote for the bailout if the amendment was accepted. It was not.

VP Debate: Dispatch from Palin Land

dhutchins — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 06:41:59 -0700

At the vice presidential debate in St. Louis, the McCain campaign rented out a stadium to re-energize the conservative base in light of Sarah Palin's recent gaffes. Despite the revival feel, zeal for Palin isn't translating in the polls. While some would argue Palin exceeded expectations, unregistered voters seem unimpressed.

Smoke and CO2: How to Spin Global Warming

divory — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:28:00 -0700

Recently, it was reported that the rate of carbon dioxide emission during the last seven years exceeded even the IPCC's worst-case scenario. Both Barack Obama and John McCain have offered their support to global warming legislation in the past, but climate legislation continues to stall, as it has for more than a decade. Why? In large part, because of an expensive, prolonged propaganda campaign waged by producers of big oil. And what did they look to for inspiration? Big tobacco.

This story is aired in conjunction with the publication of the Center for Public Integrity's report, Global Warming: Heated Denials, The Organized Effort to Cast Doubt on Climate Change.

Palin's Apocalypse

hhanbury — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 15:31:00 -0700

Does Sarah Palin believe in the Anti-Christ? Does she believe true Christians will be whisked up to heaven sometime in the near future? Does she expect Jesus to come back to earth in our lifetimes and battle the armies of Satan? Would biblical prophecies about Armageddon influence her foreign policy positions on Israel and Russia? These are urgent questions the media have failed to ask. According to Chip Berlet, a leading expert on the Christian right, mainstream reporters tend to view apocalyptic fundamentalists as a "silly little side show" in American political life, when, in fact, one of their own may soon be a heartbeat away from the most powerful office in the world.

Viewpoint: Economist Dean Baker on the Bailout Panic

sgreenstreet — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:03:14 -0700

Economist Dean Baker shares his thoughts on the bailout panic during a public panel held at the Institute for Policy Studies on September 30, 2008. Dr. Baker is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC, and a columnist for The Washington Post and Atlantic Monthly.

Byron Dorgan’s Crystal Ball

lsebert — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 08:56:10 -0700

Many experts point to the 1999 Financial Modernization Act as a cause of our current financial crisis. Senator Byron Dorgan opposed the act then and predicted our current crisis. More recently he has questioned the $700 billion bailout plan.

House Rejects Bailout Despite Pressure

lsebert — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:16:08 -0700

The $700 billion bailout plan came to a vote in the House of Representatives after a week of intense debate. Though both Democratic and Republican leadership called on their colleagues to support the bill, it failed by 23 votes. The debate gave those in opposition a chance to voice their opposition to this historic bill, and called for renewed negotiations on the same day the stock market plunged.

Bailout Anger in the Streets

sgreenstreet — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 11:01:56 -0700

While government leaders worked behind closed doors to solve the bailout crisis, groups of concerned citizens took to the streets to express their anger and frustration. While some felt their voices would be heard, others felt helpless and lost.

The End Of Free-Market Fundamentalism?

npenniman — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:46:03 -0700

Amid the chaos and chatter about this week's financial bailout, one clear theme emerged in some quarters: The era of free-market fundamentalism is over. But is it, really?

Bailout Campaign Day 3: Paulson and Bernanke in the House

dmurdock — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:01:37 -0700

By Wednesday of Financial Meltdown Week much of the real business of the Wall Street Bailout was being conducted behind closed doors. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr. and Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke made another public appearance on the Hill but the tone and tenor of this hearing varied greatly from the previous day's tense Senate grilling.

Pain on Main Street

gmclaurin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:34:57 -0700

While lawmakers negotiate on Capitol Hill over the $700 billion-taxpayer bailout for banks and lenders on Wall Street, the foreclosure machine continues to crush homeowners caught in the mortgage crisis. Beyond the politics of Washington, one thing seems clear to many homeowners on the verge of foreclosure, there is no significant relief in sight from the government or Wall Street.

A Market-Based Mindset

divory — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 06:43:27 -0700

Recently, the Bush administration proposed what could be the largest government bailout of private industry in the history of the United States. The architects of the proposal, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, are set to testify before Congress. ANP caught up with Charlie Cray, Director and Policy Analyst at the Center for Corporate Policy, who spoke about the philosophical underpinnings of the current economic meltdown.