Facing the Future The Concord Coalition

This week on Facing the Future, Bob Bixby was joined on the show by Dr. Michael T. Osterholm, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. He also served as one of thirteen COVID-19 advisors on President-elect Biden’s pandemic advisory board in 2020. Osterholm provided insights into where we currently stand with COVID-19 and what lessons we can learn to better prepare for the next pandemic. Concord Coalition Chief Economist Steve Robinson and National Field Director Phil Smith joined the conversation.

This week on Facing the Future we’ll examine developments on the national security front with Michael O’Hanlon of the Brookings Institution. Topics include the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza as well as competition with China.

This week on Facing the Future Bob was joined by George Mason University Professor Sita Slavov to discuss her recent essay Making Tough Fiscal Choices to Protect Future Generations and the relevance of long term sustainability to younger generations. Slavov has previously worked with the White House Council of Economic Advisors and was a member of the 2019 Social Security Technical Panel on Assumptions and Methods. Concord Coalition National Field Director Phil Smith joined the conversation.

This week on Facing the Future we'll talk with Jason Furman, a former top economic advisor to Presidents Clinton and Obama. He now teaches economics at Harvard University. We discussed the prospects of a "soft landing" for the economy and the crucial role of interest rates in projecting future debt.

This week on Facing the Future, we'll hear first from two UNH professors, Dr Carolyn Arcand and NH State Senator Dan Innis, about the relevance of fiscal policy to their students' future.
Then we'll take another look at GAO's new estimate of government-wide fraud with Rebecca Shea, co-author of the report.

This week on Facing the Future we took a close look at Social Security and Medicare, the two largest programs in the federal budget. Between them they cost nearly $2.2 trillion dollars in 2023, roughly 36 percent of total federal spending. They also affect the retirement income and healthcare of millions of Americans. 
 
On Monday, May 6, the Social Security and Medicare trustees issued their 2024 report, which again indicated that both programs have serious challenges ahead, and those challenges are not too far off.