California, the Crisis and the Next Social Contract: Staying Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

The ongoing recession has shaken economies around the world. But nowhere has the damage been greater, or the effects potentially most enduring, than in the states –– with California, as always, at the epicenter. As their projected budget shortfalls mount to more than $100 billion, the states’ vital role in meeting the needs and aspirations of their citizens has never been at greater risk or subject to more uncertainty.

On February 9, 2009, the New America Foundation will host a daylong conference at San Francisco’s Commonwealth Club to bring together state and national leaders in the areas of healthcare, economic growth and infrastructure, and higher education to discuss how the current crisis is challenging states and threatening the economic opportunity and security that is essential to an attainable American Dream. Sponsored by New America’s Next Social Contract Initiative and the California Program, the conference will explore how the states and the federal government can use this moment of crisis to strengthen the social contract for the future.

Does the fiscal stimulus package taking shape in Washington provide the right type and scale of help for the states? How should budgetary and policy responsibilities in areas like health care and student access to higher education be shared between the state and federal governments? What reforms are needed in state revenue and budgeting to reduce their vulnerability to economic slumps and assure that Americans do not face large geographic differences in opportunity? Where should today’s emergency dollars be invested to promote sustainable economic growth for the future? These and other questions will shape this timely and exciting discussion.

THIS IS A FREE EVENT