Brian Gongol
When the state government overspends like there's no tomorrow, the Federal Reserve starts begging banks to be nice to people with mortgage foreclosures, and the government admits the long-term fiscal outlook is "bleak," that's enough to give a reasonable person some serious concern...especially when we realize that average household credit-card debt is around $10,000. Tom Coates from Consumer Credit of Des Moines had some comments on the big picture -- and what individuals can do.
Mike Woody tells us that Carly Schroeder really carries the movie "Gracie". And that we should go rent "Breach".
Also today: A talk with John Lott, author of "Freedomnomics: Why the Free Market Works and Other Half-Baked Theories Don't". John and I share some common views on why government shouldn't always step in to "fix" the free market.
Online bonus: We didn't have enough time to discuss Operation Bot Roast on the show today, but the FBI claims it's cracking down on a huge number of networks of computers that have been hijacked by crooks. What should you do about it? Protect your own computer by running it on a limited-access account, and if you do fall victim to identity theft, act quickly according to some of the FTC's recommendations.
Keywords in this show:
banks •
credit-card debt •
crime •
debt •
economics •
FBI •
Federal Reserve •
Federal spending •
foreclosures •
government •
government overreach •
identity theft •
limited-access accounts •
mortgages •
movie reviews