Watching Book TV

When I moved to Texas four years ago I bought a 42-inch flat-screen television. It is like having my own movie theater in my living room. Especially on these cold winter mornings, I am grateful not to have to go out for entertainment. I am addicted to Turner Classic Movies.

In addition to that, like most Americans, I also depend on television to tell me what is going on outside the door of my apartment. I watch “Breaking News” on CNN, and also CSPAN’s live broadcasts from Congress. On CSPAN 2, during the Senate on health care, I saw Democrats and Republicans ramble on hour after hour with rows of empty desks behind them. I wondered if the absent senators considered the many sides of these debates as carefully as I did.

On Saturday and Sunday afternoons I sit in my recliner, sipping tea, still watching CSPAN 2, which on weekends becomes Book TV, where authors talk about their non-fiction books. All kinds of non-fiction, some on tape and some coming live from bookstores, libraries, and lecture halls around the country. I hear about new biographies of long-dead men. I also learn about today’s politics from guests at a store called “Politics and Prose” in Washington, D.C. Pundits of both right and left like to push their books in Washington.

This week I heard about two books which sparked my interest. Carmen Reinhart, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland, talked about factors which lead to recessions. Her book, "This Time Is Different,” is sub-titled “Eight Centuries of Folly.” She pointed out that risk is necessary for economic growth, encouraging employment and raising real estate values. Risk also involves increasing debt, until the debt reaches the point where the bubble bursts, resulting in unemployment and a decline in real estate. After studying the statistics on 800 years of recessions, Dr. Reinhart says the cycle is inevitable.

Dr. Reinhart also emphasized the role government must play in getting us out of the recession. From her analysis of recent histories, she pointed to Japan as a prolonged recession because of restrictions on lending which slowed recovery, while when Mexico faced bankruptcy, the World Bank loaned capital and recovery was rapid. She said the most important thing for our country now was to get the banks to write off their bad debts and start lending again.

The other author who impressed me talked about the early history of the U.S. I misplaced my notes on that one. When I find them, I will write another blog. Until then, this is that old lady curmudgeon, Ilene, signing off.