Debating the Debt Debates at Atlantic Economy Summit
President Bill Clinton's winning catchphrase "It's the economy, stupid!" still resonates in consequential political debates today -- with both sides of the political aisle and the many factions of economic policy interest groups slugging it out over what a healthy economy needs.
This year's "Economy Summit" organized by The Atlantic features a very diverse cast of perspectives and will focus on debt and strategies for sustainable economic growth. Some will focus on economic debates -- and others will focus on paralyzed leadership.
I'll post the entire program at the end of this post -- but I should note that readers are invited to attend or to watch online. If you want to be there in person, be sure to RSVP at the link below. The entire conference will stream live here on my site as well, which means you can watch it from as far as Tazmania or Sanaa if you have a good broadband connection.
One of the interesting issues that my collaborator and former "affinity credit card" entrepreneur Richard Vague are highlighting are the problems of a massive "private sector debt" problem that continues to lurk in the US economic equation. For those interested, Vague and I outlined some of the problems here and spoke about this in a short YouTube clip as well as on WHYY's Radio Times, a popularly NPR-affiliated program in Philadelphia.
The line-up for this year has a lot of headliners -- in fact, they are all headliners -- but those who will make a lot of the sizzle are former Federal Reserve Governor Paul Volcker, former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, anti-tax pledge activist and President of the Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist, Fix the Debt founder Maya MacGuineas, Financial Times Chief US Commentator Edward Luce, and National Journal Chief Correspondent Michael Hirsh.
The list continues with American Prospect Founding Editor Robert Kuttner, Naked Capitalism publisher Yves Smith, former FDIC chief Sheila Bair, former Federal Reserve Board Deputy Chair Alice Rivlin, Senator and former West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin, Senator and former North Dakota Governor John Hoeven, Bloomberg political columnist Margaret Carlson, former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Financial Services Roundtable CEO and former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, National Journal editorial director Ron Fournier, former George W. Bush National Economic Adviser Lawrence Lindsey and others.
Here follows the schedule:
The Atlantic's ECONOMY SUMMIT 2013
Debating America's Debt Challenges & Recovery Options
#EconSummit
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
10:00 am - 5:30 pm
Capital Hilton, 16th & K Streets NW, Washington DC
RSVP here
For those outside of Washington or unable to attend, this event will stream live on line and can be watched over the internet HERE or just tune in to The Washington Note home page.
9:00 am
REGISTRATION & COFFEE
9:30 am
WELCOMING REMARKS
ELIZABETH BAKER KEFFER
President, AtlanticLIVE & QuartzLIVE
A Preview of the April 2013 "Money Issue" of The Atlantic
SCOTT HAVENS
President, The Atlantic
JAMES BENNET
Editor in Chief, The Atlantic
9:45 am
DEBATING AMERICA'S ADDICTION TO DEBT & DEBT DEBATES:
WHAT MATTERS AND WHAT MATTERS MORE?
CRAIG ALEXANDER
Chief Economist, TD Bank
MAYA MacGUINEAS
Founder, Fix the Debt
President, Coalition for a Responsible Federal Budget
PAUL McCULLEY
Former Managing Director, PIMCO
Chairman, Global Society of Fellows, Global Interdependence Center
YVES SMITH (aka Susan Webber)
Publisher, Naked Capitalism
ROBERT KUTTNER
Co-Founder and Editor, The American Prospect
Author, Debtors' Prison: The Politics of Austerity versus Possibility
moderator
EDWARD LUCE
Economics & Political Columnist, Financial Times
Author, Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent
10:45 am
GOOD DEBT, BAD DEBT, AND REAL OPTIONS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH
AMIDST THE POLITICS OF AUSTERITY
MONICA MEHTA
Columnist, Bloomberg/BusinessWeek
Author, The Entrepreneurial Instinct
STEVE KEEN
Professor of Economics & Finance, University of West Sydney
Publisher of Debunking Economics and Debtwatch
WILLIAM GREIDER
National Affairs Correspondent, The Nation
SHERLE R. SCHWENNINGER
Director, Economic Growth Program, New America Foundation
MICHAEL HUDSON
Research Professor of Economics, University of Missouri
Research Associate, Levy Institute, Bard College
President, Institute for the Study of Long Term Economic Trends
moderator
DEREK THOMPSON
Senior Editor, Business, The Atlantic
11:45 am
THE GREAT RECESSION AND PROBLEMS UNRESOLVED
THE HON. SHEILA BAIR
Former Chair, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Senior Advisor, Pew Charitable Trusts
interviewer
MICHAEL HIRSH
Chief Correspondent, National Journal
12:30 pm
KEYNOTE PRE-LUNCHEON INTERVIEW
THE HON. ALICE RIVLIN
Former Deputy Chairman, Federal Reserve Board
moderator
STEVE CLEMONS
Washington Editor at Large, The Atlantic
1:15 pm
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION & INTERVIEW
THE HON. PAUL VOLCKER
Former Chairman, Federal Reserve Board
moderator
JAMES BENNET
Editor in Chief, The Atlantic
2:15 pm
CAN WASHINGTON SEE THE BIG PICTURE?
THE MAKINGS OF A VIBRANT US ECONOMY MAY BE HERE
THE HON. ROBERT RUBIN
Former Secretary of the Treasury
Co-Chairman, Council on Foreign Relations
DAVID WESSEL
Economics Editor & Columnist, Wall Street Journal
Author, Red Ink: Inside the High Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget
2:45 pm
A NO FILTERS VIEW OF THE AMERICAN ECONOMY'S PROSPECTS AND CHALLENGES
THE HON. LAWRENCE LINDSEY
Former National Economic Advisor to President George W. Bush
Former Governor, Federal Reserve System
President & CEO, The Lindsey Group
interviewer
EDWARD LUCE
Chief US Correspondent, Financial Times
Author, Time to Start Thinking: America in the Age of Descent
3:15 pm
REALLY FIXING THE US ECONOMY: WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
THE HON. EDWARD G. RENDELL
Former Governor of Pennsylvania
interviewer
MARGARET CARLSON
Columnist, Bloomberg
3:45 pm
OUT OF THE CLOSET:
DEALING WITH AMERICA'S PRIVATE SECTOR DEBT CHALLENGE
RICHARD VAGUE
Former CEO, First USA Bank
STEVE CLEMONS
Washington Editor at Large, The Atlantic
Founder & Senior Fellow, American Strategy Program, New America Foundation
4:15 pm
DEBT DRAMAS HAPPEN EVERY DAY IN STATES: HOW GOVERNORS DEAL
THE HON. JOE MANCHIN (D-WV)
United States Senator
Former Governor, State of West Virginia
THE HON. JOHN HOEVEN (R-ND)
United States Senator
Former Governor, State of North Dakota
interviewer
STEVE CLEMONS
Washington Editor at Large, The Atlantic
4:45 pm
POLICY & PROMISES: PONDERING LEADERSHIP AND A HEALTHIER ECONOMY
GROVER NORQUIST
President, Americans for Tax Reform
Author, Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government's Hands Off our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives
interviewer
STEVE CLEMONS
Washington Editor at Large, The Atlantic
Editor at Large, Quartz
5:15 pm
DEBT & GROWTH IN AN AGE OF POLITICAL BANKRUPTCY
THE HON. TIM PAWLENTY
President & CEO, Financial Services Roundtable
Former Governor of Minnesota
interviewer
RON FOURNIER
Editorial Director, National Journal
5:45 pm
FESTIVE RECEPTION
This event can be watched live streaming here.
With special thanks to Supporting Underwriter, the Center for Audit Quality; Presenting Underwriter, TD Bank; and Knowledge Underwriter, The Governor's Woods Foundation for their generous support of this year's Economy Summit.
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