Executive Director Ida Rademacher represented FSP at the Aspen Ideas Festival. Featured in three sessions, Rademacher helped move the conversation on what needs to happen in our country – socially, culturally and politically – to enable households across the income distribution to attain real financial security. Stay tuned for videos from the festival and more.
The Choice 2016
How the Deck Is Stacked: Jobs, the Economy, and the Election
7:30 pm – 12:00 am MDT on Monday, June 27, 2016
As the 2016 presidential election approaches, the economy is a tale of two realities. On one hand, employment numbers, housing prices, and corporate profits have rebounded substantially since President Obama took office nearly eight years ago at the height of the financial crisis. At the same time, the nature of work is shifting, leaving many behind, long term unemployment persists, and the gap between the wealthy and everyone else continues to grow. Join Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal and a panel of experts for a look at the macroeconomy and how it’s driving the choices Americans make on the eve of the 2016 election.
Featuring: Kai Ryssdal, James Fallows, Stanley Greenberg, Marc Morial, Ida Rademacher
Deep Dive: Why “Inclusive Capitalism” is Critical to Our Economic Success
REIMAGINING CAPITALISM
1:15 pm – 2:45 PM MDT on Thursday, June 30, 201
A healthy America requires a broad prosperity that goes beyond GDP statistics and stock-market valuations. More Americans need to hold jobs with growth in wages and the opportunity to build wealth; and more Americans need confidence that opportunity exists. But some argue that capitalism is broken for the vast majority of American workers. What are the facts? Why are we in this position? And what prescriptions—from policy to education to investment—will create a more robust, inclusive economy for our citizens?
Featuring: Jay Coen Gilbert, Andy Stern, Melissa Kearney, Mark Warner, Arthur Brook, Martin Eakes, Robert Rubin, Steven Rattner, Ida Rademacher, Rana Foroohar, David Leonhardt
Aspen Policy Series: How Can We Bridge the Growing Work-Wealth Divide?
8:00 am – 8:50 am MDT on Friday, July 1, 2016
The central tenet of the American dream is the idea that if you work hard, you can succeed. Success is
usually measured by financial stability, the ability to support a family, perhaps own some property, save for retirement, invest in the future opportunities of your children, and maybe afford to take a vacation once in a while. Middle-class America thrived for many years because hard work created a degree of wealth that allowed people to achieve these relatively modest goals. But in today’s economy, more and more firms are cutting ties to employees—in the form of moving jobs overseas, subcontracting, and the “gig economy.” Wages and benefits—the foundation of wealth for working people—are being replaced with lower and less stable earnings, unpredictable self-employment income, anemic benefits (if any), and a frayed social safety net. If work can no longer lead to wealth, then Americans will lose a fundamental element of our national character. What public policies, business practices, and charitable investments can reconnect work and wealth?
Featuring: Ida Rademacher, Xavier de Souza Briggs, Maureen Conway, Martin Eakes, Lata Reddy
