Business & Economy

Professor of Political Science John Schwarz of the University of Arizona has just co-written a new book called "The Forgotten Americans: Thirty Million Working Poor in the Land of Opportunity." The authors challenge conventional wisdom: they found that the working poor are neither uneducated nor unskilled, that they encompass all age, ethnic, and racial groups in the U.S.; and that the situation can't necessarily be blamed on declines in domestic manufacturing or decreases in industrial productivity.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan reviews "Motor City" by Bill Morris. It's his first book, and deals with the auto industry and a whole host of cultural figures from the 1950s.

Architect Joe Spear. He was the principal designer of the Baltimore Orioles new ballpark. He's also worked on many other football and baseball stadiums.

Economist Lester Thurow (say it like "Thoreau"), author of "The Coming Economic Battle Between America, Europe, and Japan." THUROW will discuss how Euorpe and Japan are playing by a new set of business rules and that it's time to update our own.

Writer David Osborne. He's co-author of a new book, "Reinventing Government: How the Entrepreneurial Spirit is Transforming the Public Sector." The book argues that government bureaucracies are outdated and inefficient, and comes up with proposals to decentralize city and state governments, and promote competition. Osborne has been a consultant to Bill Clinton, among other politicians. (Addison-Wesley Publishing Co).

Money Trader Andrew Krieger. He resigned in 1988 from his position at Bankers Trust where he specialized in trading currency-options, and in taking long-term riskier positions for the bank. The bank so believed in his strategies that they entrusted him with $700 million of bank funds, whereas other individual traders usually worked with $50 million. He's co-authored a new book, "The Money Bazaar: Inside the Trillion-Dollar World of Currency Trading." (published by Random House.)

Documentary filmmaker Barbara Kopple. Her documentary, "American Dream," chronicles one of the most bitter strikes in recent labor history, the 1984 strike against the Hormel meat packing plant in Austin Minnesota. The film won the 1991 Oscar for best documentary feature. Kopple also won an Oscar in 1977 for "Harlan County, UsA," her documentary of a coal mine strike in Kentucky.

Journalist Douglas Frantz of The Los Angeles Times. He has reported extensively on the BCCI scandal and has co-written a book about it, "A Full Service Bank: How BCCI Stole Billions Around the World." (published by Pocket Books, co-written with James Ring Adams).

Economist Robert Heilbroner (rhymes with "runner"). He'll discuss the current recession, and our long-standing obsession with the deficit. He'll also give some suggestions about how to end the recession, and he'll tell us why sometimes a deficit isn't a bad thing.

Television critic David Bianculli takes us on a tour of the world of infomercials.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews, Vice President of the World Resources Institute, which she helped to found, discusses global environmental issues. Many environmental issues, like the greenhouse effect and air and water pollution, cross national borders and their solutions depend on international cooperation. Mathews is also a columnist for The Washington Post and was on the staff of the National Security Council during the Carter Administration.

Investigative reporter Wayne Barrett. His new book, "Trump: The Deals and the Downfall," is a fresh look at America's most famous wheeler-dealer. In his book, Barrett deflates what he calls the myth that Trump is a financial genius. (It's published by Harper-Collins).

Financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn discusses what the new lower interest rates mean to the economy, and the average consumer. Quinn's finance columns appear in "Newsweek," and "Woman's Day," and she's written a new guide to personal finance, "Making the Most of Your Money: Smart Ways to Create Wealth and Plan Your Finances in the '90s." (published by Simon & Schuster.)

Television critic David Bianculli looks back at the television year 1991.

Robert Greenstein ("stine" not "steen"), executive director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. His group has just released a new study that shows how many state's budget cuts have had meant a disproportionate cut in programs for the poor.

Financial reporter John Rothchild. Rothchild's new book, "Going For Broke," is the story of Canadian financier Robert Campeau ("camp-o" with a long "o"). In the space of a few years, Campeau became one of the most powerful retailers in the world, having bought Brooks Brothers, Ann Taylor, Bonwit Teller, Jordan Marsh, Bloomingdales, and Filene's. He acquired his empire with seven billion dollars in loans and junk bonds, and when his empire collapsed, 50,000 creditors were after him and 8,000 workers lost their jobs.

Business consultant and professor Graef (rhymes with "waif") Crystal. Crystal spent many years telling CEOs of major corporations how to get bigger salaries. Now he's taking the exact opposite tack, speaking out against the astronomical salaries many executives receive, whether or not their companies do well. That's the subject of his new book, "In Search of Excess."

Journalist Ted Conover. His new book is "Whiteout: Lost in Aspen" about the two years he spent immersed in the culture of Aspen, Colorado, a mecca of sorts for the rich and famous. Conover's other books are "Rolling Nowhere," about riding the rails with America's hoboes, and "Coyotes," about illegal aliens, which was named a notable book of the year by "The New York Times." (His new book is published by Random House).

Denver Post financial reporter Seven Wilmsen. Wilmsen was the reporter who discovered the ties between the President's son, Neil Bush, and the collapse of Colorado's Silverado Banking Savings and Loan. That's the subject of his new book, "Silverado," (published by National Press Books).

Philadelphia Inquirer reporters Donald Barlett and James Steele. For the past 9 days, the Inquirer has run a series of scathing front page articles by Barlett and Steele titled "America: What Went Wrong?" In it, they examine how government policies as diverse as changes in the bankruptcy laws and the sanctioning of political action committees have worked to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.