On The Line: The Alabama Economy

| September 29, 2008 

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2008/09/Birmingham_panorama.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:1200;s:6:"height";i:494;s:4:"file";s:31:"2008/09/Birmingham_panorama.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:12:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-336x138.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:138;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-771x317.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:317;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-768x316.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:316;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:29:"Birmingham_panorama-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-800x450.jpg";s:5:"width";i:800;s:6:"height";i:450;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-600x494.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:494;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-755x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:755;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-470x193.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:193;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-600x494.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:494;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:31:"Birmingham_panorama-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:1:"0";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_edit_lock] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1436808877:9
        )

    [_imagify_optimization_level] => Array
        (
            [0] => 1
        )

    [_imagify_data] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:2:{s:5:"stats";a:3:{s:13:"original_size";i:281309;s:14:"optimized_size";i:177988;s:7:"percent";d:36.729999999999997;}s:5:"sizes";a:10:{s:4:"full";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:59:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2008/09/Birmingham_panorama.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:277523;s:14:"optimized_size";i:174288;s:7:"percent";d:37.200000000000003;}s:9:"thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:6:"medium";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:5:"large";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:5:{s:7:"success";b:1;s:8:"file_url";s:65:"https://news.wbhm.org/media/2008/09/Birmingham_panorama-80x80.jpg";s:13:"original_size";i:3786;s:14:"optimized_size";i:3700;s:7:"percent";d:2.27;}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:2:{s:7:"success";b:0;s:5:"error";s:77:"WELL DONE. This image is already compressed, no further compression required.";}}}
        )

    [_imagify_status] => Array
        (
            [0] => success
        )

)
1665275465 
1222646400

The economy again dominates news headlines this week. Nationally, Congress will vote on a massive bailout plan, and locally the Jefferson County Commission grapples with missing another bond payment deadline and filing for possible bankruptcy. The strain trickles down to a very personal level with high gas and food prices hitting everyone in the wallet and the mortgage meltdown leaving some people homeless. Tonight at 6:30 on WBHM we discuss all this and more during On The Line: The Alabama Economy.

Join the conversation by calling 1-800-444-9246 during the program or emailing your comment or question to news@wbhm.org.

Kai Ryssdal took the reins as host of Marketplace in August 2005. He previously hosted the Marketplace Morning Report and served as a reporter/host for The California Report. After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, Ryssdal spent eight years in the United States Navy, first flying from the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt, and then as a Pentagon staff officer. Before his career in public radio, Kai was a member of the United States Foreign Service and served in Ottawa, Canada, and Beijing, China.

Elaine S. Jackson is President and CEO of the Birmingham Urban League, an affiliate of the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African-Americans and other underserved individuals. Jackson holds a B.S. degree from Alabama A & M University and a Masters of Public and Private Management from Birmingham Southern College, where her concentration was Public Sector Management. In addition to her work with the Urban League, Jackson serves on the board of the American Cancer Society, the Alabama Workforce Investment Board and as a leadership team co-chair of Yes We Can! Birmingham.

 

Los Angeles: Spaghetti Cumbia, a band born from cultural fusion

Photographers and storytellers Karla Gachet and Ivan Kashinsky document cumbia music in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Argentina and the United States.

What are your holiday shopping plans? NPR wants to hear from you

Is this the season of cutbacks or splurges? As we prepare to cover holiday shopping and deals, NPR wants to hear from you, whatever your plans may be.

Why gold is having its best year since 1979

The price of gold hit $4,000 per ounce for the first time ever. It's a bad sign for the U.S. economy

1 in 5 high schoolers has had a romantic AI relationship, or knows someone who has

A national survey of students, teachers and parents shines a light on how the AI revolution is playing out in schools – including when it comes to bullying and a community's trust in schools.

RFK Jr.’s new dietary guidelines could be controversial. Here’s what to watch for

The Health Secretary's affinity for saturated fat and his ire over ultra-processed foods could influence federal food guidelines, expected out this fall.

A MacArthur ‘genius’ gleans surprising lessons from ancient bones, shards and trash

Kristina Douglass wanted to find out the truth about how past communities adapted to environmental change. Her revelatory work has earned her a MacArthur award.

More Economy Coverage