burden on our society, so it is actually an important investment for us. part of the problem with many of the bad loans were many of the people were told, don't worry. house prices are going to go up and up and up. the banks believed that the prices would never go down. they were supposed to be the risk experts. if somebody tells you, i have so much confidence that prices are going to go up that i'll give you this big loan and don't worry. in five years times you can refinance it because the price is going to be twice as high. who is the financial expert the bank or the person that this is the first time he's ever borrowed money. of course the bank is the. -- well, let's -- the bangs and the real estate companies were not really interested in

managing risk. they were really maximizeing the fees they could get out of these unwary borrowers. in the future, i think, though people will be more careful, but the real responsibility for that is on our line for republicans, bud. good morning. caller: good morning. it seems to me the basis often our economic problem is that the government has bought into this idea that what's good for gm is good for america. that may have been true when american corporations manufacturing was concentrated in the united states. but once they started outsourcing manufacturing to the third world, we lost the ability to regulate lashe practices and that connection was broken. host: mr. stiglitz? guest: i think you're absolutely right. but where we've gone now is one step further. we've been acting like what's

good for citigroup and goldman sachs and "g.m.a.." and we been tchining for quite a while. we pushed countrys to liberalize their capital markets and open up their market for drifftives. those were things that were not actually good for those countries and not good for but they may be going in opposite directions. the problem is that -- goes back to our political structure. our political structure provides too much room for campaign contributions and the influence of lobbyists. if you look at the lobbyists, for example, for instance, from the financial industries, there's about fife for each congressman. huge amount of money being spent for the financial industry to get bills through that are in their interest. they may not have been able to invest their money in real

investments, make good judgments, but they have made good political investments, and now they've been getting a return. so in the end it's the political system that -- in the united states that we're going to have to have reform if we're not going to have a reoccurrence of what has happened, this type of disaster. and if we're going to be a model for other countries around the world. host: we're going to have to leave it there. joseph stiglitz, you can read it in the july issue of vanity. thank you, very much, sir for being on the program. >> thank you. host: we're going to take a short break and when we come back we're going to talk about efforts to keep student learning going throughout the summer with ron fair child. we'll be right back.

>> this week saw the release of more than 150 hours of secret audio recordings from the nixon white house from early 1973 on agreement to end the vietnam war. >> we are not to have any advance information, the message is not to be for me, i'll fair to the whole state department. >> more tapes released this afternoon on c-span radio. this weekend book tv features

books on the economy. tips today how to deal with the economic crisis from pat robertson, and cnbc commentator barry on whose to plame for the recession and why president regulate rn believed destroying nuclear weapons would bring an end to the soviet union and talking about his two years in pakistan, he sits down with ralph peters. that's nicolas smith. the entire book tv schedule is online with great new features including streaming video and easy-to-search archives. book tv.org. >> "washington journal" continues. host: ron fairchild is the executive director for the national center for summer learning. tell us how much information do children lose over the summer by not being in school, not going to the library and not keeping up with their studies?

>> they lose quite a bit. guest: in fact research shows young people experience serious setbacks in academic performance during the summer when they take a long break. for lo-income kids they lose big in summer reading. they accumulate and contribute significantly to the achievement gap. it's not just an issue for low-income kids in fact for all kids they experience setbacks in skills like math come putation and spelling. so what the research shows very clearly and on this particular issue is that young people face significant setbacks and risks during summer months. host: tell us a little more about the national center for summer learning and what your grouch is trying to do to close this gap. guest: sure, we work with summer providers to make sure youngsters have enriching and

memorable summers. a lot of us have this outlook that summer is a time for kids to be kids but for millions it's a time for setbacks and risks so we make sure schools and communitys have places where kids can learn over the summer and make sure all young people really have the promise and opportunity to attend a well-structured quality program. host: we're talking about improving summer learning with ron fairchild with the national center for summer learning and if you want to get involved in the conversation, by all means, give us a call. the numbers are believe. are below. you can send us an email at c-span journal.com or you can tweet us. you wrote an article in the

baltimore sun where you write the summer the city of baltimore plans to spend $8 million on summer-based programs enincluding title i funds intended to improve the opportunity of the disadvantaged. tell us what are title i funds and where is this money going? >> title i dollars are dedicated to improve educational opportunities for kids in low-income muents and so title i dollars are dedicated to provide equity in education, really help close these gaps, so it's very encouraging to they're department of education encouraging more school districts to use title i dollars and really focus on this time of year. when young people don't have enough choices or opportunities. and then the city of baltimore.

it's a great example of a school district that's thinking differently and it's not just an issue for school districts but for community-based organizations and parks and recreation and a time when we need to max mize currently whatever resources and we also need to make the case for an additional federal, state and local dollars to target a time of year that's historically been elected. host: specifically what are they using this money for in baltimore? keeping the schools open or special sflams tell us about that. guest: sure. what they are doing is structuring full-day comprehensive programs for kids. many of them take place in public schools but also in and

in the recreation centers in the afternoon so they are offer indeed collaboration and non-profit organizations and offers kids choices taintsd and instead of mandating calendar change and these solutions for everyone, we see a tremendous amount of penalty. they are coming out in droves. the kids are really interested and i mean, it's not your traditional model of summer school that kids would dread but simply there aren't enough opportunities for this. host: from shawnee, oklahoma, raj on our line for democrats, go ahead. caller: hello. i was wondering why couldn't we just take -- couldn't we just decrease the days that the kids go to school during the year to

four days a week and then maybe take a month off during the summer? >> that's a great question, raj. i think there are a lot of solutions to this issue of time and the fact that kids need more time for learning. talking about the need for schools to think creatively. so we need a lot of innovation and experimentation with how much time kids are engaged in learning, but we also need to look at more broad lyrics reform in education and ways to turn around low-performing schools, and summer offer a great opportunity to do both of those things. so we would advocate to more school districts the dedicating the army and giveing going to brock.

host: bob on our line for republicans, welcome to "washington journal." caller: good morning. love the program. he kind of answered the question but didn't answer it. you want to know what they taught in these summer schools, and the the most important disability we have today in the united states is dislexya. the right and left brain. and you, none of the education is addressing this, and i'd rather have this monday spent sending kids to ranches in the sum they are in montana and nevada and new mexico and than sending them back to left-brain thinking institutes. and the government is a left-brain-thinking institute. host: bob, thank you. what do you do out there in montana? caller: what do i do? well, i meet brian lamb when he comes out here. i love that man. but i sell cigars and deal in

real estate. host: so as a realts real estate cigar fish nodo and entrepreneur, what do you think it could offer a kid versus being in a classroom in baltimore? caller: that's a good question. 80% of all children born are right-brained and our government teaches them to be left-brained and they hate school and when they get up in the morning it's like don imus' ranch out there. they teach home the rope animals and keep their brain right. and this left-brain stuff has got to go. kids are being killed with it. host: i think there's certainly a place for high-quality, outdoor camp experiences. guest: and in fact many of the highest quality summer programs we've seen and done research on

do exactly what you're trying to describe. it's strikeing the right balance between getting kids outdoors and engaged, making sure kids have that ideal summer experience where they have opportunities to get outside. to experience things that are hands-on and have summer become a time when they can really discover themselves and really be engaged in these types of activities. so i don't think it's necessarily a choice between being in a classroom and being outdoors in fact the best of programs we found combine both those elements. host: mike on our line for ipts. caller: hello, mr. fairchild, i would like your comments if there's any area in the country taking your suggestions, maybe a city with a good administrator or any sectors of the country that have taken your suggestions and measured

the result. i'll hang up and let you answer. guest: we have seen important and powerful trends across the country, so there are cities in indianapolis, indiana would be a great example where private agencys are coming together to strength at any quality of summer programs there and we're working intensively in gilmore, fres know and oakland. and there are reasons that despite the economic downturn and the real crisis in terms of the fiscal environment in california right now, they are coming together as communities to be extend turns for learning and fun and outdoors and nutrition for kids, so we definitely have communities we can point so. we can point to. in fact in monica crowley county the superintendent there recently announced they are dedicating additional money they got from the recovery and reinvestment act to actually expand their summer learning

programs, so we see some pockets of innovation, programs that are being offered to kids that are really encouraging and rewarding, but there just aren't enough. we need more superintendents, school boards, districts, community-based organizations that are going to work together to make sure the kids that deb on our line for democrats. >> go ahead. >> mr. fairchild i had a couple questions, first of all, anybody who works knows you need a break. so i'm wondering when kids are in school, they are working and working hard so they still need some time off. how does your program deal with that, and also coming from a real estate, a lot of our kids out here. even fairly young kids help out at home. they are involved in other

activities through -- 4-h, that's what they do, that's their summer activities. and i'm wondering how those things fit in your plan. i'll take your answer off the air. guest: i'm certainly a proponent of kids needing a break and needing something different. certainly summers are a great opportunity for some time off and down time, but the programs typically that we work with in duration that still leaves time for family vagus and work. we work extensively in rural communities. thrice great model of a program in west virginia that's statewide called energy express that provides terrific opportunities for young people, and they manage to still strike that right balance between having a break, having a time for something different. but also having opportunities for enrichment. i think regardless of where

kids are, they need to be engaged in learning. so i it may not be the case in every community or context where you need a structured program that looks and feels a particular way. and clearly there will be bigger differences between rural and other communities. our community resources, parks are open for -- we make sure parents know there's chances for opportunity in their community and wherever kids are that they are learning. host: and if you want more information about the national center for summer learning, you can go to their website, summerlearning.org. you'll find thra there summer learning tips for parents which include take free or low-cost trips to museums and nature centers and practice math daily or yard daly temperatures. add and subtract at the grocery

store and learn lessons while cooking. hello randy? caller: am i online? host: go ahead. caller: ok. here's what i want to say, i could teach calculus with a piece of plywood on a piece of grass. so i don't care whether it's summer school or whether it's winter school, you can teach somebody anywhere. and then the other thing is, i mean, i learned at the library. i used to go to the library as a kid. you know? read national ji graphics? it's all there. i mean, -- host: thanks for your call, randy. guest: thanks, i learned at the library a lot as a kid, too. i well remember carrying out stacks of books. and i have two young boys who visit the library regularly. we need to have those kinds of opportunities available for

kids. host: next up on our republican line, good morning. caller: i'm a republican. i'm conservative. and the whole concept of central planning and everything coming out of washington or some central agency always, you know, they don't run anything well. and i believe until competition. we invest a whole lot of time investing in your kids until we get fathers back involved with their families, we've got 70% of inner city families with no dads. so you couldn't bull our pull our billions and trillions into it. i'm not saying we shouldn't spend some moneys, but we need find a way to bring in male role models. we have too much feminine exposure on our males.

we need male leadership. so i would be for those types of programs. host: michael, as a home schooler, do you sort of define a school year or are you in some sort of an academic program year round with your kids at home? >> well, we define a school year but scale down in the summer and skill get in math and reading. but with home schooling, when you go on vacation everything becomes a learning experience. when we go to a trip somewhere, we look up the historical it's a perfect. it's the way our country grew up. the kids would work with the dads and learn things as they went. host: thanks for your call, michael. guest: i would say parents obviously play a big role in all this. in the programs we work with

across the oftentimes you heard parents and kids aren't going turn out for programs like this. you make this opportunity available and many people will think parents and kids aren't going to choose to take advantage of this and what we've seen is consistently, high quality programs are overruled they want what's best for their kids and when they find out there's opportunities like this on where kids can have fun and where they can learn, read, have that positive interaction with adults in and additional mentors in their lives and families and children take advantage of this opportunity. host: the national center for summer learning is sponsoring an event the week of july 6. programs around the country are going to be holding events to

raise awareness. tell us more about that. >> sure. happening on july 9, this thursday. and what the day is designed to do is focus attention on this issue. make sure more people know kids are at-risk during the summer and more importantly, that there are positive examples of programs out there that are making a difference. so we have currently right now as of yesterday right -- we had 244 programs registered to host events in your communities in 44 states, so we're really excited about the attention and focus of this and going to be honoring some leaders and champions who are really supportive of this issue and have really >> and more information about that on the website? host: absolutely. back to the phones, patrick on our line for democrats as we look at the website for the national officer for summer

learning. go ahead. caller: thank you, so much for c-span and mr. fairchild for your work. i was just thinking a little bit about thinking creatively about how young people have fun as one of the callers mentioned earlier, and also that gentleman who seemed to get a little emotional about left brain and right brain. i do think outside of school young people need to be engaged because they also get board quickly and we're not talking too much about vol untierism, and that's also a very -- and the work development are all benefitting from this type of thing. i had an wonder if you maybe can mention, and i will mention one as i end youth conferences and gatherings where youth can network amongst themselves and talk about it, at the united

nations this summer we're bringing in 800 youth leaders for something called the youth assembly august 5-7 and it enables young people to discuss the success of the millennium development goals and gets them thinking about how to give to society as part of their own development, perhaps doing well by doing good in the future. and i wonder if you had any thoughts on that host: patrick, is it a free event? >> yes. caller: it's called faf.org and you'll be able to find it there and perhaps that and other kinds of youth gatherings might also be youthful ways for kids to get away and still be involved in their own development. guest: patrick, i think it's a fantastic opportunity that you just provided -- that you just described. we certainly need to do more

than just more of the same during the summer. i think that's a point you hilt on pretty powerful when we start talking about resources outside of the school, accountant get in the -- guest: again, the most successful models we've seen often involve partnerships between schools and non-profit organizations, other public agencies. and really make sure that kids get something different this summer. get something distinctive, and that in some ways can help fuel broader opportunities so summer can be that place for innovation. where teachers have an opportunity to teach something new and partners come into school buildings and work with teachers and students in a way they have not before and in a way that can help drive broader

changes in how, when and where kids are going to -- we are funded primarily through private foundations so we have significant public -- private foundation support. we also do professional development work with school districts around the country and make sure program providers have the resources and tools they need to be successful. host: next up is st. joseph's indiana. mike on for republicans. caller: i do appreciate it. a few suggestions maybe. let's go to an 11-month school year and have all children wear uniforms. let's remove all extracurricular. don't have them to play basketball and soccer and tennis and lacrosse and any sports, and if you do that and you get back to the abc's when i went to catholic school i remember coming home and telling my mother sister can a medicala punished me and

smacked my hands and she did the same thing. money isn't the answer. where it comes from is your mom and your dad and single parents trying to do the best they can, teachers are the most underappreciated, underpaid people, but let's go to a military system, everybody wear a uniform and go 10-11 months a year and raise our standards and just demand the best from our kids. i really don't think it's money. you don't lure kids in by saying if you do well you're going to get an ipod. you say if you don't you're going to get a butt whipping. the youth is the future but we should go back to old school and kick out all of the extra sports and get back to reading, writing and arith ma tick. guest: well, there are some elements of old school we don't need to go back to but we need to have certainly more rigorous

and intensive focus on education and learning opportunities for the -- i think it's possible to have that rigor but also make it fun. that's where we're going to attract young people and make sure kids take advantage of this. and their passion comes from inside because they really want to participate in programs like this. i think extracurricular activities are critical. they are important. we don't have enough of those things. we don't have enough of those things that hook and motivate interest in kids and if summer can provide those kinds of opportunities that get kids excited about learning. summer is to have been time of year when kids discover a passion, talent, potential career. i talked to many young adults who had those experiences and some participated in a science camp and got them interested in engineering and interested in a potential career or hobb