. >> james galbraith is the author of the predators state along with seven other books including some textbooks. he is the lloyd bentsen share of government and business relations and professor of government here at the university of texas. at boston former is a character actor of the joint economic committee for the u.s. congress to read some of his books include created on equal the crisis in american pay and unbearable cost greenspan and the economics of empire. as a public policy example what do you think about how the obama administration interactive with a car companies with gm and chrysler to bail them out as we say in the colloquial? >> they help preserve the company's and transform them and go through the bankruptcy process and i think the was appropriate. but we now have a same approach should of been taken to the large banks. certain ones should have been taken over under the authority that the government has under the insurance corporation's authority basically and restructured and downsized. that sector is too big and it is not serving any useful purpose now which is a pa

. >> up next, james galbraith was interviewed. this discussion is part of booktv's college series. >> the predator state is the name of the book an economist and professor of government in public affairs of the university of texas is the author. professor galbraith what do you mean by the predator states? who are the predators? >> the predators are attempting to take advantage of the programs that were created for the benefit of the middle class, the programs that, in fact, made the middle class in america, social security, medicare, the housing finance programs and to essentially divert part of the revenue stream from those programs to private benefit. >> so who would be the predators? >> well, in the case of the -- of the housing finance sector, one could talk about the banks that took advantage and mortgage originators that took advantage of the political desupervision of that sector over the last 15 years to write massive amounts of essentially fraudulent mortgages and peddle them to the world investment community. that was a

dialogue that's what i mean by that you know there are many economists for example talk with james k. galbraith two weeks ago on this program who was interviewed in your new book who are prince has some mystic about the economic future of this country because the fundamentals economic fundamentals haven't shifted back to where they were before the reagan revolution if you agree with that thesis to what extent do you think that the media has played a role in turning politics into sports and keeping the public on. that politics has become a support is because a lot of the only lookers food media like to be entertained and amuse they like the blood and gore as the romans did the mcauliffe see him and know they're. it's very little serious alternative economic information in the mainstream media you know we have lost seven million jobs since two thousand and eight since the great collapse of two thousand and eight and james galbraith talks about this very vividly and in the new book as you said seven million jobs what is washington debating right now what's the mainstream you're what mirah is the m