Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy. Dean Baker will be here to discuss his book, Plunder and Blunder. Hosted by Bruce Bartlett.

In his new book, Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy (PoliPointPress, January 2009), Dean Baker chronicles the growth and collapse of the stock and housing bubbles and explains how policy changes since 1980 laid the groundwork for catastrophic-but completely predictable-market meltdowns. Baker argues not only that competent economists should have recognized the developing housing bubble, but also that policymakers and the media cheerfully neglected those economists who did predict danger.

Baker isn’t just a Monday-morning quarterback; he was one of the few economists to predict the housing crash. In his book, Baker documents the early warning signs of the current crises and offers concrete policy suggestions for avoiding similar crises.

Dean Baker is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington DC. He is a frequent guest on National Public Radio, CNN, CNBC, and other news programs. His articles have appeared in the Washington Post, the Atlantic Monthly, the Financial Times, and the Guardian. He writes a column for the Guardian, the American Prospect, and Truthout.org. He is the author of several books, including The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer and The United States since 1980. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Michigan. — from Bev’s listing

It will be a great discussion, be there! 5 pm ET.