Opening Remarks and Panel One<br>Beyond Idealogy: A Discussion about Deficits, Jobs, Innovation, and Offshoring

Opening Remarks

Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director, Congressional Budget Officeput forth that U.S. economic success has been historically based on a high reliance on private markets, relatively low government involvement in the economy, and a relatively efficient tax system. Our future economic planning must deal with the challenges of changing demography, revolutionizing technology, and soaring entitlement obligations. Our policies must be geared towards boosting national savings and controlling health care costs, while maintaining the flexible regulatory framework that has provided for America's growth so far.

Senate Minority Whip Richard Durban (D-IL)stressed the need for an economic policy that prioritizes common wealth rather than personal wealth, discussed the risks associated with a global economy through the story of the National Lock Company of Rockford, IL. Sen. Durbin proposed policies that would reform the tax code to discourage off-shoring, emphasize science and technology education, boost national research and development, control health care costs, and reduce the federal budget deficit."

Panel One

Ted Alden introduced forum by posing the question of what America will do to manage the consequences of globalization.

Ed Rendell Argued that rising health care costs, reduced competitiveness advantage, and cheap cost of outsourcing are disadvantaging the American worker. And yet, we are turning our attention away from trade. Instead, we should be using our power to implement free trade in a way that raises worker standards around the world, while protecting American workers and the American economy.

Paul Magnusson Laid out pessimistic vision for America's business prospects; said this will not be the American century, but the Asian century. We don't save enough, we have too much debt, our intellectual property is being stolen, and we have an expanding class of poor, uneducated immigrants with no health insurance.

Sherle Schwenninger Voiced that current economic growth is skewed by the housing market. Our international financial agreements are eroding long-term American competitiveness, and a global surplus of labor, savings, and capacity has us on the verge of entering a dangerous spiral. He proposed 3-part solution of shifting from private consumption to public investment, pushing hard for china and others to raise domestic wages and consumption dramatically, and to securitize private investment projects to reach their investment potential.