Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Radio appearance on WNYC, All Things Considered

It appears that I'll be discussing the Bowles-Simpson debt commission live on radio for a few minutes this afternoon, on NPR's "All Things Considered," shortly after 4:30 pm EST.

In addition to discussing what I think of the plan (and the phrase "compared to what" is crucial in answering this), I imagine the word "chicken game" may come up in terms of why I don't expect anything significant to come of the commission's work. I may also, if I get a chance in the limited time, assess why the Obama Administration seems eager to push this along, although frankly I've seen better-run campaigns for 6th grade homeroom class president (indeed, I say this from personal experience).

Again, the show time is 4:30 pm today (Tuesday, November 30). It will be on WNYC, 93.9 FM / 820 AM, but I would presume also on other NPR stations around the country that broadcast All Things Considered on weekday afternoons.

UPDATE: A reasonably brisk three minutes. As seems to be my way these days, I closed with a disparaging comment about the Obama Administration's negotiating strategy.

It will be on again in NYC at 7:40 pm tonight.

FURTHER UPDATE: I just heard the playback. Not enormously cheerful; there's a bit of chat about going off a cliff, hard versus soft landings, and the like. At the end, when the interviewer asked me if I think the federal pay freeze idea will help break the logjam, I answered that Obama makes a concession, then another one, then another one, because that's his negotiating style, but that he isn't going to get anything back.

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