robert johnson
GRITtv: Remaking the Economy or Geithner's Image?
A spate of profiles of Timothy Geithner hit the news recently, from Vogue to the Atlantic and several places in between. Most of them seem to sound an optimistic note on the Treasury Secretary and former chief of the New York Federal Reserve, but we ask a couple of experts what's really going on with the economy--and if Geithner deserves any of that praise.
Robert Johnson is the director of economic policy at the Roosevelt Institute and the former chief economist for the Senate Banking Committee. Les Leopold is the author of The Looting of America. They both have some words for the Democrats on what happens if don't wise up.
Email this pageGRITtv: Is the Economic Storm Over?
David Cay Johnston, author of "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense," Robert Johnson, Director of Economic Policy at the Roosevelt Institute, and Newsweek staff writer Barrett Sheridan discuss the financial crisis one year later.
GRITtv: September 16, 2009
One year on from the sinking of Lehman, and the conventional wisdom seems to be that we’ve moved away from the precipice. But not everyone is so sure. If anything has been preserved, if not enlarged, it is the deep inequalities of American capitalism. Not only that, but are the necessary regulations in place to prevent a second storm? Discussion with David Cay Johnston, author of "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense."
GRITtv: Goldman's Coup
"They frankly own the place," Dick Durbin said back in April, referring to the power that banks hold over policy decisions in Washington. If they own the place, presumably they can make the rules. But as Goldman Sachs brings in record profits and prepares to dole out handsome bonuses to employees and executives, many are lauding the company's willingness to take risks. So is Goldman Sachs, dubbed by many 'Government Sachs,' a risk taker or a coup maker? And what will it take to confront what may be the most powerful lobby in American history? Matt Taibbi, contributing editor at Rolling Stone and author of The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion, Robert Johnson, former chief economist of the Senate Banking Committee, and Michael Lux, co-director of Progressive Strategies and author of The Progressive Revolution: How the Best in America Came to Be on why the banks are benefiting and the American worker isn't. You can read Taibbi's recent article in Rolling Stone on how Goldman Sachs blew up the economy here.
