Next Social Contract: Publications, Events and More

Charity Is an Insult to Small Business

Kate Schuler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:12:00 -0500

Goldman Sachs, the most profitable firm on Wall Street, announced last week that it will set aside $500 million for "10,000 Small Businesses," a charity co-sponsored by famed investor Warren Buffett and devoted to helping small American businesses survive the economic crisis.

While Goldman may see this as a generous move, its charity is an offense to struggling entrepreneurs and a symbol of failed government policy.

Short-time Work May Be Too Short-Term for U.S.

Economic Growth — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:22:00 -0500

Since President Obama announced the December job summit this month, the policy world has scrambled to put forth their ideas on how to best stimulate job creation in our jobless recovery. Some have noticed the surprisingly low German unemployment rate in the face of the Great Recession; Germany has been one of the worst-hit European economies, but their unemployment rate ticked down from 8.6 percent in March to 7.7 percent in October of this year. Commentators have credited Germany's ability to retain jobs to a 5 billion Euro government policy directly aimed at

A Better Way to Regulate Financial Markets

Economic Growth — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:14:00 -0500

There is widespread recognition that the financial crisis which triggered the Great Recession was significantly due to financial excess, particularly related to real estate. Now, policymakers are looking to reform financial systems in hope of avoiding future crises. But like the drunk who looks for his lost keys under the lamppost because that is where the light is, policymakers remain fixated on capital standards because that is what is already in place.

All Power to the Choice Architects

Next Social Contract — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:43:00 -0500

If we go by election results, and no better guide to our national mood exists, the years of conservative hegemony in the United States are over, at least for the foreseeable future. Not only has the country elected a Democratic president and Congress, but conservative ideas, which once had seemed so innovative, are increasingly stale or non-existent. Meanwhile, the Republican Party seems both directionless and leaderless.

Buffet Bets Big on Trains | The Takeaway

Cecille Isidro — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:29:00 -0500

Joining us is Phillip Longman, Senior Research Fellow at the New America Foundation and author of “The Next Progressive Era: A Blueprint for Broad ...

What Will Replace The American Consumer?

Economic Growth — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:02:00 -0400

What will take the place of the American consumer is the biggest question hanging over the world economy.
For the past decade and a half, U.S. consumption has been the principal driver of world economic growth, supplying demand for the fast-growing export economies of Asia, whose growth in turn increased demand for capital goods from Europe and Asia and for oil and commodities from Latin America, Africa, and the Persian Gulf. From 1997 to 2008, personal consumption as a percentage of GDP in the United States increased from 67 percent to over 70 percent.

The Jobs Deficit

Economic Growth — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:06:00 -0400

The economy has lost 8 million jobs since the beginning of the recession. But because the population is growing, we need to create over 9.6 million jobs. Due to severe job loss and steady population growth, the unemployment rate has soared to 9.8%, nearly as high as during the early 1980s.

To read more, click on the slideshow below.

Jared Bernstein: The Jobs Deficit

Economic Growth — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:00:00 -0400

BERNARD L. SCHWARTZ ECONOMIC SYMPOSIUM

THE JOBS DEFICIT
The Challenge Of Putting America Back To Work

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2009 12:00 P.M.
THE MAYFLOWER HOTEL WASHINGTON, D.C.

KEYNOTE SPEECH
JARED BERNSTEIN
Chief Economist And Economic Policy Advisor To The Vice President

TO DOWNLOAD THE POWERPOINT SLIDES FOR THIS SPEECH, CLICK HERE.

INTRODUCTION:

POLICY ROUNDTABLE: The Challenge of Job Creation

Next Social Contract — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:30:00 -0400

What the Government Can Do to Better Promote Job Creation
by Timothy J. Bartik

Jobs: What Can We Do?
by James K. Galbraith

The Time Has Come for Direct Job Creation
by L. Randall Wray

Risky Business

Kirsten Gilbert — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
10/15/2009 - 8:00am

On October 15, 2009, Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota discussed the requirements for financial sector reform at a conference co-hosted with the Washington Monthly. In a 1994 Washington Monthly cover story,

Transportation Plan Looks at Rail Investment | Roanoke Times

Erin Drankoski — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:50:00 -0400

Those were themes revisited by several speakers Monday, including Phillip Longman, a senior research fellow for the New America Foundation, which describes itself as "a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy institute." ... Original Article

It's Not Socialized World After All

Erin Drankoski — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:02:00 -0400

During last year's Republican presidential primary season, candidate Rudy Giuliani succinctly captured what millions of Americans think about health care abroad. "These countries that say they provide universal coverage -- they pay a price for it, you know," Giuliani told his audience. "They do it by rationing care, by long waiting lines, and by limiting, or I should say eliminating a patient's choice."

Saving Capitalism

Kirsten Gilbert — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:45:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/21/2009 - 12:15pm

On September 21, 2009, author and economist Pat Choate discussed his new book, Saving Capitalism: Keeping America Strong, at the New America Foundation. In a conversation with Michael Lind, Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at New America, Choate offered his perspective on the ongoing economic crisis and outlined his book's comprehensive policy prescription for recovery and sustainable growth.

Duggar Economics: The Costs of 19 Kids | Wall Street Journal

Cecille Isidro — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:04:00 -0400

As demographer Phillip Longman observes, young white men since the 1970s have seen a 40% decline in income relative to their fathers--for young black men the ... and more »

America's Debt Overhang

Kate Schuler — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 17:00:00 -0400

The bursting of the housing and credit bubble has left the United States with a large debt overhang. America’s total debt is at a historical high of 373% of GDP and has more than doubled since 1980, when it stood at 161%. Household and financial sector debt has accounted for the lion’s share of the increase.

To read more, click on the slideshow below.

The Fiscal Austerity Trap

Economic Growth — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:32:00 -0400

Fiscal conservatives are opportunistically looking to use the recession induced spike in the budget deficit to revive their crusade for fiscal austerity. The case for fiscal austerity is based on flawed economic analysis and it is not supported by thoughtful budget analysis. It was the wrong agenda before the crisis and it is even more wrong now.

Dealing with America's Debt Overhang

Stephanie Gunter — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:00:00 -0400

A New America Event
09/15/2009 - 8:30am

Second Bernard L. Schwartz Economic Symposium

The bursting of the housing and credit bubbles has left the United States with a huge debt overhang. As a result of the buildup of private sector debt and the economic crisis, households and firms are finding it difficult to service debt and lay a foundation for a sustainable recovery.

New America Foundation's Economic Growth Program hosted leading economists and public intellectuals to discuss the following questions:

Overcoming America's Debt Overhang: The Case for Inflation

Next Social Contract — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:18:00 -0400

It might be called the "World's Scariest Chart." It is a snapshot of the fragile foundations of the American economy and the epic boulder it now finds itself trapped beneath. The graph shows total debt outstanding in the United States, both secured and unsecured, as a percentage of GDP. In 1981 it was a manageable 168 percent, in 1996 253 percent, and by the first quarter of 2009 with the collapse of the housing and credit bubbles it had reached a staggering 373 percent of GDP.

Who Will Care for the Newly Insured? | New York Times

Cecille Isidro — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 11:11:00 -0400

... staffed by government employed doctors and health care providers, see Phillip Longman's book Best Care Anywhere, Why VA Health Care Is Better Than Yours ... and more »

A(nother) public option | Tulsa World

Cecille Isidro — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 01:35:00 -0400

Phillip Longman, the author of "The Best Care Anywhere: Why VA Health Care is Better Than Yours," recounts in a 2005 Washington Monthly article the horrific ... and more »