Wheeling, West Virginia Correspondent — In my part of the country a lot of families borrowed heavily for degrees that never produced the jobs or the earnings they were promised. I know men who worked thirty years in a mill, got out with nothing, and then cosigned for a child who's now carrying forty thousand … Continue reading Is the current model of college education sustainable given rising student debt and questions about the actual value of many degrees?
Symposium Q&A 2018
Thinking Outside the Boxe — 2018 Annual Summit, December 31, 2018 in Orlando, Florida. Each correspondent is allotted up to five minutes. Only initial comments are recorded; subsequent discussion is not part of the record.
How should the United States address the long-term fiscal consequences of repeated short-term continuing resolutions and debt-ceiling crises?
Dayton, Ohio Correspondent — You can't run a serious manufacturing operation on three-month continuing resolutions, and you can't run a government that way either. We've had two shutdowns this year and we're sitting in a third as I speak. The brinkmanship raises uncertainty for everyone who depends on federal funding and distracts from the actual … Continue reading How should the United States address the long-term fiscal consequences of repeated short-term continuing resolutions and debt-ceiling crises?
Will the increasing concentration of economic and political power in a small number of technology companies eventually require structural remedies similar to earlier antitrust actions?
Clermont, Florida Correspondent — Most people don't wake up wanting to break up large technology companies. They want the services to work and they don't want to feel manipulated, and I'd say this spring did more to move the second half of that sentence than a decade of antitrust commentary did. My concern is narrower … Continue reading Will the increasing concentration of economic and political power in a small number of technology companies eventually require structural remedies similar to earlier antitrust actions?
Should members of Congress who used taxpayer funds to settle sexual misconduct claims be required to repay those funds, resign, or face prosecution?
Wheeling, West Virginia Correspondent — We've watched powerful people protect each other for a long time in this country, and I spent thirty years on the union side of that arrangement, so I'm not new to it. When the settlement money comes out of public funds, it stops being a private personnel matter. Ordinary workers … Continue reading Should members of Congress who used taxpayer funds to settle sexual misconduct claims be required to repay those funds, resign, or face prosecution?
Is the growing use of tariffs as a primary tool of trade policy more likely to strengthen or weaken long-term U.S. manufacturing competitiveness?
Dayton, Ohio Correspondent — I've spent most of my working life in manufacturing, first in quality and later in process engineering. Tariffs can serve a purpose when you're dealing with clear subsidy or dumping. They can keep a line running long enough for a company to retool or renegotiate supplier contracts. I watched that happen … Continue reading Is the growing use of tariffs as a primary tool of trade policy more likely to strengthen or weaken long-term U.S. manufacturing competitiveness?
