Oct 27/10 - Pt 3: Auto Bailout Autopsy

Auto Bailout Autopsy

We started this segment with a clip from U.S. President Barack Obama speaking in March of 2009 and doling out some harsh medicine for the auto industry. At the time, the global economy was facing the worst downturn since the Great Depression. Financial institutions were failing. Global credit was frozen. And two of the big three North American automakers -- Chrysler and GM -- were asking for more government bailout money to stay afloat.

But President Obama wasn't impressed by their plans to restructure the companies. So he sent them back to the drawing board. In the end, Chrysler and GM did sign on to a plan ... one that involved both companies filing for bankruptcy and drastically reorganizing.

Many now credit that plan, and the accompanying bailout money, for saving the North American auto industry. Steve Rattner was President Obama's point person on the issue. And he has written a new book about how it all came together and what it means today. It's called Overhaul: An Insider's Account of the Obama Administration's Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry. Steve Rattner was in New York City. And Jim Stanford was part of the talks that led to the bailout too. He is an economist with the Canadian Auto Workers Union. And he was in Toronto.

Last Word - Motherhood Letters

Last week on the program, we looked at new reproductive technologies and the fact that more women are choosing to wait until later in their lives to have children. It struck a chord with many of you. And we've been flooded with comments about it every since. So we're going to revisit the subject on tomorrow's program. And we ended the program today with some of the comments from our listeners that inspired us to do that.