Our Uncertain Economy

Guest:

Joining us from Washington is Simon Johnson, professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. Former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, he’s now a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He co-founded the widely read blog The Baseline Scenario, where you can read his latest commentary. His forthcoming book is "13 Bankers."

More links:
Some pieces that got us thinking about this segment include:
The BusinessWeek cover story, "Not So Radical Reform"; Chrystia Freeland's column in The Financial Times, "Global super-rich no longer look so benign"; Bob Herbert's New York Times column, "An Uneasy Feeling"; and Simon Johnson's own piece at the Times' "Economix" blog, "Lessons Learned But Not Applied."  It's also worth looking back at Johnson's bracing essay in The Atlantic last spring, "The Quiet Coup," in which he argued that "recovery will fail unless we break the financial oligarchy that is blocking essential reform." We spoke to him when that piece was just out.
Johnson opposes the re-confirmation of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. The LA Times editorial board disagrees -- they want Bernanke reappointed. Of course,  Time magazine named him "Person of the Year."