NPR

Ellen Seidman, a fellow at the New America Foundation, says Congress is unlikely to force Treasury to adopt the FDIC proposal before President-elect Barack Obama takes office. But that doesn't mean the FDIC proposal is dead.

"This is also out here so that in a different Congress and a different administration, there's something ready to roll," Seidman says. LINK to audio

The Republican losses on Tuesday have led to a lot of self-examination in the GOP. Reihan Salam, co-author of Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream, offers his insight into the future of the Republican Party. LINK to audio

Both campaigns "defer a lot of costs in this area," said David Gray, director of the Workplace and Family Program for the New America Foundation, a think tank in Washington, D.C. "It's much more difficult to compare the cost-benefit" than with, say, health care.

Gray, who said it was "significant that you have a Republican doing anything in this area," noted that McCain's proposed commission would cost little to establish, and "if you don't implement any recommendations, there's no cost."

In contrast, he says, "Obama has very… more

Regardless of who wins the election, the question will remain: What's next for conservatives? And who should lead the charge? Host Scott Simon talks with NPR News Analyst Juan Williams and Forbes.com columnist Reihan Salam about conservatives' views of the presidential campaigns, Sarah Palin, and the future of the GOP. LINK to audio

Terry Gross: You know, it's hard to see how we're ever going to pay down the debt from the war and the bailout. But in a recent column, you said increasing government spending is just what the doctor ordered, and concern about the budget deficit should be put on hold. And along those same lines, the president of the bipartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget said right now would not be the time to balance the budget. So… more

Bair has a reputation as a consumer advocate who hasn't always won the praise of the lending industry. Two years ago, when the economy and housing were booming, she warned lenders that they needed to rework subprime loans -- or risk damaging the economy.

It wasn't a popular position at the time, said Ellen Seidman, a former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision and now a fellow at the New America Foundation.

"To some extent, she was getting the 'Hey lady, you're not supposed to be talking about… more

A key element of John McCain's health plan, would allow people to buy insurance from other states -- that's currently prohibited. The GOP presidential hopeful says it would open markets and bring prices down. But critics say it has the potential to drive up prices dramatically for sick people and deprive patients of important consumer protections. Len Nichols of New America Foundation is featured. LINK to audio

Flynt Leverett, who was on President Bush's national security staff, hopes for an entirely new approach toward Iran -- what he calls a "grand bargain."

"The next president of the United States, whoever he is, needs to reorient American policy toward the Islamic Republic of Iran as fundamentally as President Nixon reoriented American policy toward the People's Republic of China in the early 1970s," Leverett says.

Speaking at the New America Foundation this week, Leverett said he thinks U.S. diplomats are trying to keep options open for the next president.… more

Ellen Seidman, financial services policy director for the New America Foundation think-tank, said the FDIC should not take on that risk without also passing on the cost.

"They've got to take into account the additional risk that they're taking on in setting the premiums," she said. "I've seen some talk of saying, 'Well, we're going to increase the deposit limit but we're not going to increase the premiums.' I don't think that makes any sense." LINK to audio

How to improve under-achieving schools in America’s poorest communities has vexed policy makers for generations. President Bush’s No Child Left Behind law insists on accountability. But critics charge it encourages teaching to the test at the expense of real learning.

The law still sparks a loud argument -- but as one of our guests today writes in the current issue of Harper’s magazine, there’s debate that test-prep companies such as Kaplan are profiting handsomely from the federal mandate to test, and test, and test again.

Featured Guests:

Jeremy Miller,… more