Hour 1
To make up what he says is an $11 million dollar deficit, New Jersey’s new Republican Governor, Chris Christie, has proposed a state budget that would slash spending on social welfare programs and raise revenue from higher fees on mass transit and slashing the Earned Income Tax Credit. Christie says the austerity budget is necessary for New Jersey to dig itself out of financial hole that was far deeper than his Democratic predecessor, Jon Corzine, let on before he left office in January. But his critics say Christie is not asking New Jersey’s richest residents to shoulder their share of the state’s bill, as he’s not renewing a tax on those earning $400,000 or more. The budget is the biggest battle of a multi-front political war in New Jersey, and joining Marty on today's "Radio Times" to discuss the Garden State's politics are TOM MORAN, editorial page editor of the Newark Star-Ledger, and Montclair State political scientist BRIGID HARRISON.

Filed under: economy, politics |

Hour 2
Two years after the financial meltdown and one year after President Obama’s Wall Street bailout, details on how and why America’s banking system came so close to collapsing are still emerging. In "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine," bestselling author and financial journalist Michael Lewis turns the tables and asks the question: Who got it right? Lewis traces the fights of the loners who bet against subprime mortgages and, in time, had their suspicions of Wall Street’s investment practices proved right. He joins us today to talk about the evolution of his latest book and the financial crisis.

Filed under: author, economy, politics |