American Morning
Fast Forward
The stories that will be making news later today:
This morning, some people are saying he should either resign or be fired, but Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner still has the full support of President Obama. At 12:30pm Eastern, CNN's Ali Velshi will sit down for an exclusive one-on-one interview with the Treasury Secretary.
At 12:30 Eastern Vice-President Joe Biden attends a town hall meeting at a bus company plant in Saint Cloud, Minnesota. He'll talk about the administration's effort to strengthen the middle class. Biden will be joined by Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other Cabinet members.
President Obama, will push his economic plan again today in California. At 4:30 pm Eastern President Obama will hold a town-hall meeting in Los Angeles with the mayor. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will also be there. Then he'll appear on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". The President will be sharing the stage with country music legend, Garth Brooks.
A federal appeals court will hear arguments later today to decide whether Bernard Madoff will see a lot more daylight between now and his sentencing on June 16th. He's supposed to remain in a Manhattan jail until then, when he faces up to 150 years behind bars. Madoff was the sole person charged in what is the largest investment scheme in U.S. History.
What's on Tap – Thursday March 19, 2009
Marching along the Road to Rescue… It’s day four of CNN’s special coverage.
The responses have been great and overwhelming. You’re helping us help you. And the verdict is in: You don’t like AIG!
Here’s the lineup of guests helping us make sense of the meltdown today:
- Bill Adair, Founder of Politifact.com. Some AIG fact or fiction today. Does Congress keep bailing out AIG because it’s insured by AIG?? We find out if there's any truth to that internet rumor.
- Former Federal Prosecutor Paul Callan on the latest face of greed and corruption – Bernie Madoff’s alleged “rubber stamp boy.”
- Our own Candy Crowley is dropping by. No one knows the beltway better. With some of the AIG outrage being redirected at Congress and the White House, does the president have the political capital to pass a three-trillion dollar budget and even MORE bank bailouts?
- Plus – the “Fed” is doing something major. It’s throwing another $1,000,000,000,000 right at the heart of the problem. It could make your home payments more sustainable, even more affordable, but are we mortgaging the future for that?
We Listen!
Here’s your daily recap of the best feedback we got from YOU on the blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Email.
And new today: your voice comments! Call 1-877-MY-AM-FIX to leave us a comment/question. We will play some of them on-air and post others right here!
Continue the conversation below. And remember, keep it brief, and keep it clean. Thanks!
American Morning viewers were on the war path for AIG executives’ heads. Questions continued from viewers who remained perplexed by the idea that the company is too big to fail:
Voicemail
Emails
- Michael – I find it hard to believe we don't know who these 70 plus people are. I can understand not finding Bin Laden, one person, but 70 + people???? Come on... this is not acceptable. If it's that hard, contact "Dog, The Bounty Hunter", I'll bet he could. What's being done to get their names besides having these hearings and asking these greedy, unpatriotic AIG Execs? Yea, unpatriotic, self-centered, scum. FIND These People and plaster their faces all over the news let the American people stand outside their home(s) and harass the hell out of them. Greedy bastards.
- Jean – Maybe it's just my stupidity, but someone needs to explain to me why the banks failed or are failing, if AIG who insures the mortgage backed securities, has not been allowed to fail. I thought that it was the mortgage backed securities that caused the banks downturn, but now I find out that these are insured – by AIG. AIG has not been allowed to fail, so I don't understand how the problem escalates if the Government has covered them.
Kiran: Wednesday Roundup
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/03/18/nypost.292.320.jpg caption="NYPost.com"]
Hello Everyone.
Gotta love the subtlety of today's New York Post Headline. NOT SO FAST YOU GREEDY BASTARDS it blared this morning regarding AIG bonuses. Perhaps harsh, but the sentiment certainly in line with what many of our American Morning viewers had to say about AIG and the bank bailouts.
You guys again weighed in in record numbers on our show hotline 1-877-MYAMFIX, our blog cnn.com/amfix and Twitter about AIG and the bank bailouts.
But it wasn't only AIG that had people fired up.
The other big question we tried to answer for our viewers this morning - "Was our government also asleep at the switch in this situation?"
I questioned Congressman Barney Frank and John did the same with Senator Charles Grassley about Congress's role in approving bailout money without strings attached in terms of limiting bonuses and compensation for companies who would go belly up without our tax dollars. Watch if you missed it.
But it wasn't all gloomy on the economic front. As part of our special Road to Rescue coverage we also featured people finding creative ways to help themselves survive job losses and other setbacks.
We spoke with two former college roommates who created thecanned.com as a site to help themselves and others navigate the ins and outs of unemployment and job interviewing.
And we also spoke with Mark Heuer, who used his savings to rent a billboard with his face and email address. He said it led to several promising job offers.
In these tough times it's nice to know that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. hopefully we can all draw a little inspiration from these stories.
Cheers!
Kiran
What everyone is afraid to talk about: Retirement
From Gerri Willis – CNN Personal Finance Editor
Say the word “retirement” and you either get a lot of eye-rolling or looks of pained fear. But whether or not most of us can afford to retire is an open question these days. The median 401k balance is just $15,000, according to Congressional testimony from John Bogle, the mutual fund pioneer who started Vanguard mutual funds. Consider that the typical 401k saver is in their early 40s, the number is especially troubling. With a couple of decades until retirement, that $15,000 will grow to just $100,000 to $150,000 – not enough by most experts’ estimates to sustain them over the two decades or so they are likely to spend in retirement.
Experts who study 401ks say the time for reform of the retirement system is now. Among their suggestions: Curbing excessive fees that many savers don’t even know they are paying.
What is shovel ready?
States are quickly assembling their construction wish lists. But it takes time to advertise for contractors, collect bids, check the numbers, pick a winner and get work underway.
A typical paving project - easy roadwork - takes close to three months from the time the money is approved to the arrival of work boots on the ground, according to the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials.
"It is not an instant process," says a spokesman.
President Obama and Vice President Biden know their unprecedented $787 billion emergency spending package has to put hard hats on America's streets soon - or their administration risks losing credibility.
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