NOW with Bill Moyers

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NOW:
* America's families on the economic edge-you may be surprised by how many hardworking families are a paycheck away from financial disaster. Bill Moyers talks to bankruptcy expert and Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren about what she's learned.
* Food, music, and famous guest speakers may be coming to a town near you. NOW checks out the Rolling Thunder Democracy Tour.
* Political candidates are hardly seen in person these days, but more often get out their message via television commercials. But, who's profiting from these expensive ads? And are we getting the knowledge we need to vote smartly?
* Unique perspectives from the election frontline. David Brancaccio travels to Greenville, MI, a town of 8,000 about to lose 2,700 jobs to a closing factory. How will their frustration be reflected in Saturday's Democratic caucus?
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ELIZABETH WARREN
When bankruptcy expert Elizabeth Warren set out to write a book about overspending by America's two-income families, she discovered something that defied conventional wisdom. "I thought this...book is gonna be about too many trips to the mall, too many Game Boys," Warren says. But what she found was that, "Expenses have more than eaten up all of mom's income...and eroded what dad earned.... They actually have less money to spend than their one-income parents had a generation ago." Bill Moyers goes in-depth with Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren who reveals some surprising facts about the plight of America's two-income families.
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ROLLING THUNDER
On the surface it may seem like an ordinary county fair - food stands, live music and guest speakers - but here people have gathered to ignite voters by putting the party back into politics. Inspired by the 19th century Chautauquas - the traveling education, lecture, and arts movement - the Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour is a series of one-day festivals aimed at bringing together people in a sort of citizenship fair. And, many prominent political-minded folks joined their tour, including filmmaker Michael Moore, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. and columnist Molly Ivins. "Politics ought to be a part of your life. It's not something that is just in the last 30 days of an election," says tour organizer Jim Hightower, "The whole idea of a Rolling Thunder is to be festive... and to think 'Hey, this isn't bad. I could do this. If this is what politics is, I might participate."
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BUYING TIME
Since the early days of the political television ad in the 1950s, the days of shaking hands and kissing babies seem to be over. Political candidates - and not just presidential contenders - are relying on high-cost advertising to reach voters, even as the costs to air these ads have grown significantly. But who's profiting from these increasingly expensive campaigns? And, is the public getting the information they need from these ads to vote wisely? Featured on the program, nine-term New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter discusses the burden of political advertising and laments the days of grassroots outreach and meeting her constituents face-to-face. It's so sterile just to sit in a room and film something or have a picture of you walking down the street with strangers - doesn't really say anything about you."
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THE POLITICS OF PAIN
With the Michigan Democratic presidential caucus meeting on Saturday to choose their candidate, some of the pressures on working families are on display in a small town in Michigan. David Brancaccio travels to Greenville outside of Grand Rapids, where just a few weeks ago, the refrigerator manufacturing Electrolux factory announced that it was closing next year. The move will cost 2,700 jobs in a town of just 8,000. Will their frustration be reflected in the ballot box at this Saturday's caucus? � NOW goes to the Great Lake state to see what's on the minds of some of its citizens.
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NOW WITH BILL MOYERS continues online at PBS.org (www.pbs.org/now). Log on to the site for 10 surprising facts about the middle-class; for a look at who makes up the middle-class and where they stand today; for resources to find out how the presidential candidates are addressing middle-class issues; for income disparity and state-by-state resource map on jobs; for the history and the evolution of campaign advertising; for more on Rolling Thunder and Chautauqua; for NOW's election 2004 hub including facts and figures, online tools and debates on important issues; and more.
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It has come to our attention that there is a rumor circulating in cyberspace that NOW is under threat of cancellation because of pressure from our critics. It's not true and we have no idea how the rumor began to circulate. PBS has funded NOW through 2004 and we are steaming forward with production.