Sydney, Australia Correspondent — The budgets moved and the question is whether they survive a mild winter and an election cycle. Germany announced a hundred billion in February and has committed a fraction of it. Their 2022 defense spending came in below two percent despite the announcement, and the first large order — aircraft — … Continue reading Will the war in Ukraine produce a lasting realignment of European defense spending and strategic dependence on the United States?
Annual Symposium
How should Western nations balance energy security with climate objectives after the disruption of Russian supplies, and should the United States expand domestic production more aggressively?
Clermont, Florida Correspondent — Security had to take priority this winter and Europe proved it can be done at a cost. They filled storage to nearly full by autumn, bought liquefied gas at prices that would have been unthinkable two years ago, and got a mild December. That's a reprieve rather than a solution, because … Continue reading How should Western nations balance energy security with climate objectives after the disruption of Russian supplies, and should the United States expand domestic production more aggressively?
Is the current rate of inflation primarily the result of supply shocks, excess demand from fiscal and monetary stimulus, or a combination that requires different policy responses?
Owatonna, MN Correspondent — A combination, and the useful thing about answering in December rather than in June is that the shape has become visible. Goods inflation has come down sharply. Used cars are falling, freight rates have collapsed back toward pre-pandemic levels, and the supply side is healing on its own. Services inflation has … Continue reading Is the current rate of inflation primarily the result of supply shocks, excess demand from fiscal and monetary stimulus, or a combination that requires different policy responses?
Is the current system of public-health emergency declarations still appropriate given the evolving nature of the pandemic?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent — Emergency declarations are built for acute, time-limited conditions. Two years is neither. The federal public health emergency has now been renewed something like eight times in ninety-day increments, and the renewals have become administrative rather than deliberative. Nobody votes. A signature continues it. That's the structural objection independent of anyone's … Continue reading Is the current system of public-health emergency declarations still appropriate given the evolving nature of the pandemic?
Is the current regulatory approach to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology adequate, or is a more anticipatory framework required?
Prescott Valley, Arizona Correspondent — The present approach is reactive — rules written after harm appears or after deployment is already widespread. For these two the speed and the scale make pure reaction too slow. An anticipatory framework would identify high-risk applications early, require transparency about capability and limitation, and set baseline safety standards before … Continue reading Is the current regulatory approach to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and biotechnology adequate, or is a more anticipatory framework required?
Should Congress reassert clearer limits on the use of emergency and national-security authorities by the executive branch?
Wheeling, West Virginia Correspondent — These authorities expanded through repeated use and broad interpretation, and Congress has the constitutional position to redraw them. Tighter definitions, shorter time limits, faster review. Leaving them vague invites continued expansion and reduces the legislature to a commentator. I'd say the obvious thing about why it doesn't happen. A member … Continue reading Should Congress reassert clearer limits on the use of emergency and national-security authorities by the executive branch?
How can cities reverse the post-pandemic decline in urban commercial activity without simply increasing public subsidies?
Orange County, California Correspondent — Subsidies mask decline and rarely reverse it. The number to start from is that office attendance across major markets is running around forty percent of pre-pandemic, and it's been stuck there since autumn. Omicron has pushed the return dates out again. Make the district functional — safety, transit that runs, … Continue reading How can cities reverse the post-pandemic decline in urban commercial activity without simply increasing public subsidies?
Should the United States maintain its current level of commitment to global public-health institutions, or recalibrate after the pandemic experience?
Sydney, Australia Correspondent — Recalibrate, and I'd say that as somebody whose government asked the question that started this argument. Australia called for an independent inquiry into the origins in April 2020 and was answered with trade retaliation that is still in place. That episode is the whole case in miniature. An institution that cannot … Continue reading Should the United States maintain its current level of commitment to global public-health institutions, or recalibrate after the pandemic experience?
Is the increasing use of environmental, social, and governance criteria by large institutional investors improving corporate behavior or introducing new political biases into capital allocation?
Wheeling, West Virginia Correspondent — Some of these metrics track genuine long-term risk that any serious investor should price. Others are reputational screens that move capital according to institutional preference. When a handful of asset managers apply those screens across trillions in assets, they move corporate behavior in ways ordinary shareholders can't check, and the … Continue reading Is the increasing use of environmental, social, and governance criteria by large institutional investors improving corporate behavior or introducing new political biases into capital allocation?
How should policymakers respond to the growing evidence of learning loss among students after prolonged school disruptions?
Clermont, Florida Correspondent — The losses are measurable now and unevenly distributed, which is the important half. The assessment data from this autumn shows the gap widened most for the students who were furthest behind to begin with, and widened most in mathematics. Fund what has evidence behind it. High-dosage tutoring — meaning several sessions … Continue reading How should policymakers respond to the growing evidence of learning loss among students after prolonged school disruptions?
