The Writing on the Wall

Mon, 22 Sep 2008 05:00:00

The Writing on the Wall

Henry Ehrlich

With major financial firms in unprecedented crisis, the government is struggling to find the right words to calm the public. Henry Ehrlich knows about the soothing power of words in times of economic turmoil. He was the speechwriter for the chief American negotiator during the foreign debt crisis of the 1980s. It was a time when one wrong word could have sparked a catastrophe.

Henry talks with Dick Gordon about his role in averting widespread panic two decades ago, and the challenge facing America's leaders today.

Check out Henry's book, The Wiley Book of Business Quotations

LessonS from '29

Mary Jane Young

Mary Jane Young still has vivid memories of the 1929 crash. Her father had been a successful real estate builder in New York and had also bought stocks. He eventually lost everything.

Mary Jane talks to Dick about watching their belongings, including her playhouse, auctioned off on their front lawn - just hours before her family became homeless.

Mary Jane then - more >>

Mary Jane says it was a lullaby her mother sang that helped her through their move from a park bench to an abandoned house.

See photos of Mary Jane from the 20s and 30s

The Story from American Public Media - The Writing on the Wall

The Writing on the Wall

The Writing on the Wall

LessonS from '29