This week, Global Currents host Sarwar Kashmeri speaks with the CEO of King Arthur Flour, Steve Voigt. King Arthur Flour, founded in 1790 in Boston, now located in Vermont.

Voigt discusses his company’s ability to succeed in tough economic times, noting that the “carb scare” initiated by the Atkins diet helped King Arthur learn how to weather new challenges. Voigt says a new social contract needs to be established between businesses and consumers, and the playing field leveled in a number of ways to help small businesses.

“Our employees have a stake in what we do,” said Voigt, “and it shows in every bag of flour.”

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EXTRA: Listen to Global Currents host Sarwar Kashmeri speak about the series on Vermont Public Radio.

This week, Global Currents host Sarwar Kashmeri continues his in-depth conversations on the impact of the global economic downturn on American businesses. Dr. Dennis Logue is Chairman of the Ledyard Financial Group, the Steven Roth Professor Emeritus at Dartmouth’s Tuck School, a director of public, private and not-for profit organizations.

Dr. Logue discusses the rescue of so-called “too big to fail” banks, when the government should and should not intervene on Wall Street, and the merits and weaknesses of the big entities currently receiving tax payer funds. “Free markets allow for failures,” he says. “If you don’t have failures, you don’t have free markets.”

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EXTRA: Listen to Global Currents host Sarwar Kashmeri speak about the series on Vermont Public Radio.

This week, host Sarwar Kashmeri speaks with Karla Aaron, president of Hialeah Metal Spinning, Inc., a metal forming and manufacturing company based in South Florida. Aaron says her customers businesses could be impacted by recent calls for protectionist measures. “I believe the best thing we can do is open trade equally to make sure trade agreements are fair, back and forth.”

She also spoke on the biggest challenges facing her company during the economic crisis, despite gains of 20 percent in 2008. “The biggest issue is how you manage through this,” she said. Listen to the full interview below.

Listen

EXTRA: Listen to Global Currents host Sarwar Kashmeri speak about the series on Vermont Public Radio.