Politics

How Will The Budget Deal Affect The U.S. Economy?

As the new year started, the Senate adopted a bipartisan agreement that, while temporary, may help ease concerns about America's economic stability. The House considers the deal today. Host Neal Conan talks with NPR senior business correspondent Marilyn Geewax, and then with Yale economics professor Robert Shiller about how the crisis has affected the housing market.

What Stalled Congress On The Fiscal Cliff?

For perspective on why Democrats and Republicans in Washington have not been able to work together to avoid a countdown to the fiscal cliff, All Things Considered host Robert Siegel talks with Norm Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Ornstein says a big part of the problem is how Republicans in Congress have behaved like a parliamentary minority.