Milken Institute
Showing 1426–1440 of 1442 transcripts.
- 1h 2m
Lunch Panel - Global Overview: Shifting Fortunes
Eike Batista, Xi-Qing Gao, Scott Minerd, Barry Sternlicht, Chris Viehbacher, Michael Klowden
Leading global financiers and industrialists, including Eike Batista, Gao Xixing, Scott Minard, Barry Sternlicht, and Chris Wiebacher, convened to analyze divergent monetary policies and the structural transition of emerging markets away from export dependence. The panelists debated the risks of U.S. and European debt cycles while highlighting Brazil's expanding middle class and China's strategic shift toward domestic consumption and currency flexibility. Ultimately, the discussion concluded that sustainable future growth requires a pivot from resource extraction to innovation and that global economic stability depends on coordinated leadership to prevent a systemic financial rupture.
- 59 min
Dinner Panel - The Defining Issues Facing America
Evan Bayh, Bob Casey, Bob Corker, Mitch Daniels, Jessica Yellin
Prominent policymakers including Senators Bob Corker, Evan Bayh, and Bob Casey, alongside Governor Mitch Daniels, convened to address the looming $1.2 trillion sequestration and the urgent need for a structural "grand bargain" involving tax reform and entitlement changes. The panelists identified extreme political polarization and the upcoming Supreme Court decision on the Affordable Care Act as primary barriers to fiscal stability, while simultaneously analyzing the negative impact of Super PACs on the current election cycle. Despite skepticism regarding immediate legislative success in the "lame duck" session, the group agreed that sustained economic pressure and public frustration will likely compel a bipartisan solution within the next two years.
- 1h 1m
Lunch Panel - What's Happened to the American Dream?
Harold Ford, Jr., Neil Ferguson, Jeff Green, Charles Murray, Steve Ratner
Moderated by Harold Ford, Jr., a panel of four experts including Charles Murray, Steve Ratner, Neil Ferguson, and Jeff Green examined the erosion of the American Dream through distinct lenses of cultural decay, fiscal unsustainability, historical divergence, and globalization. While the panelists agreed on the urgency of addressing a structural deficit and a collapsing middle class, they diverged on solutions, with Murray and Ferguson advocating for civil society and cultural reform over government intervention, whereas Ratner and Green called for shifting from a transfer state to an investment state via infrastructure and education. Ultimately, the group warned that without a "Simpson-Bowles" style compromise to fix entitlements and stabilize the tax code, the United States risks European-style economic stagnation and significant social unrest.
- 55 min
Lunch Panel - Europe at a Crossroads
Jason Cummins, Raymond McDaniel Jr., Nouriel Roubini, Josef Stadler, Christopher Ailman, Chris Ailman
Moderated by CalSTRS CIO Chris Ailman, a panel of global economists and financial leaders analyzed the Eurozone's structural fractures, identifying a high probability of a "slow-motion train wreck" driven by unsustainable debt, banking-sovereign loops, and a widening core-periphery divide. Dr. Nouriel Roubini projected Greece's exit by late next year as a precursor to a potential 2-to-4-year period of debt restructurings, while experts highlighted Spain and France as immediate solvency risks that could force the European Central Bank beyond its current inflation-focused mandate. In response to these geopolitical pressures, investors are shifting capital from financial to tangible real assets to hedge against currency devaluation, even as political fragmentation in Berlin and Paris prevents a unified fiscal solution or orderly disintegration.
- 1h 15m
India: In the Eye of the Tiger Economy
Andrew Morse, Sanjay Patel, Raghuram Rajan, Ryan Pinto, Gaurav, Eddy Moretti, John McCutchan, David Levinson, Rodney, Amit Singhal
Experts including Sanjay Patel and Raghuram Rajan warn that India's economic growth has stalled between 5% and 7% due to government complacency, infrastructure deficits, and institutional gaps that prevent the realization of its demographic dividend. While the Reserve Bank of India has cut rates and valuations have fallen to 8x EBITDA following a credit downgrade, high inflation and a severe skills gap continue to constrain the labor market and deter private capital investment. Despite geopolitical tensions and high corporate leverage, the long-term outlook remains positive, prompting investors to adopt a patient strategy focused on domestic demand and reforms in sectors like retail, aviation, and the Goods and Services Tax.
- 1h 6m
Milken Institute/Google -- Innovation
Aneesh Chopra, Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Tony Fratto, Pablo Chavez, Brad Belk, Tony Prado, Shalina, Alayna Nolan, Tim Jarbo
Google and the Milken Institute co-hosted the maiden restart of "DC Talks," featuring a panel of experts including former U.S. CTO Anish Chopra and journalist Vijay Vaitheeswaran to dissect the role of government in fostering an innovation-driven economy. The discussion highlighted policy strategies such as open data initiatives, technology-neutral prizes, and infrastructure investment that have successfully accelerated adoption in sectors like health IT and renewable energy while emphasizing a shift from invention to value-creating fresh thinking. Looking forward, the speakers advocated for tolerance of failure, lifelong learning systems, and new accounting standards to recognize intangible assets as essential drivers for solving complex global challenges in the 21st century.
- 1h 23m
California's Stem Cell Initiative: Mapping the New Frontier of Medicine
Scheduled for April 27–29 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, the upcoming global conference will feature strategic updates from CIRM leadership, including discussions on $632.5 million in awarded grants and a new billion-dollar commitment to Disease Teams. The meeting also addresses critical logistical changes, such as a 10% attendance reduction to improve quality, alongside presentations on overcoming funding gaps caused by California's budget impasse. With key figures like Chris Ailman participating in related February events, the agenda emphasizes accelerating translational breakthroughs in stem cell therapies for conditions like spinal cord injury and diabetes while navigating complex regulatory landscapes.
- 1h 20m
Taking Liberties: The War on Terror and the Erosion of Democracy
In a Milken Institute panel, ACLU President Susan Herman and Chapman Law School's John Eastman debated the post-9/11 expansion of state surveillance powers under the USA Patriot Act and the shifting legal frameworks of the Fourth Amendment. While Eastman defended expanded tools like roving wiretaps and enhanced interrogations as essential wartime necessities that successfully led to Osama bin Laden's death, Herman countered that these measures constitute ineffective "security theater" and have eroded civil liberties without proportional security benefits. The discussion ultimately highlighted deep partisan divides regarding the balance between national security and constitutional due process, particularly concerning the targeted killing of citizens and the indefinite detention of alleged combatants.
- 1h 15m
The Comeback: How Innovation Will Restore the American Dream
Gary Shapiro contends that innovation must serve as the primary national strategy to resolve the U.S. fiscal crisis, arguing that traditional spending cuts and tax hikes are insufficient to address the unsustainable trajectories of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He advocates for specific reforms including strategic immigration of high-value STEM talent, the reduction of aggressive antitrust litigation that stifles companies like Boeing and Google, and the reallocation of capital from low-return stimulus projects to a dynamic economy driven by creative destruction. Shapiro challenges the government to leverage American heterogeneity and risk tolerance by joining the "Innovation Movement" to pressure leaders into prioritizing long-term growth over political convenience.
- 7 min
The Global Biomedical Industry: Preserving U.S. Leadership
The Milken Institute's latest report highlights the critical role of the U.S. biomedical sector, which supports over 5 million jobs but faces declining competitiveness due to outdated tax structures and shrinking domestic STEM enrollment. With the era of blockbuster drugs ending and rivals like China rapidly advancing in nanotechnology, the study argues that immediate policy reforms are essential to restore American leadership. Key recommendations include permanently enhancing the R&D tax credit by 25%, reducing the federal corporate tax rate to the advanced economy average of 23%, and increasing funding for the FDA and NIH to better accommodate personalized medicine frameworks.
- 1h 21m
Milken Institute Forum: Todd Buchholz
Todd Buchholz, Skip, Debbie, Dick Fredericks, Henny Youngman, E.F. Schumacher, Jimmy Carter, Robert Redford, Shirley Temple, Julia Child, Jackie Robinson, George Washington, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Stalin, Daniel Gilbert, Richard Frank, Mandela, Steve Jobs, Dalai Lama, Mother Teresa, Fidel, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Mark Twain, Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Jonas Salk, Watson, Crick, Harry, Lucille Ball, Ethel, Kiyosaki, Tom Cruise, Ozzie, Harriet, Beaver, Theodore Roosevelt, Milton Berle, Joe Biden, Yao Ming, John Taylor, Al Gore, John Mackey
Todd Buchholz argues that human rushing, biological stress, and economic competition are essential drivers of happiness, freedom, and historical progress, refuting narratives that advocate for retreat into simplicity. He supports this thesis with neuroscientific evidence showing that risk-taking stimulates cognitive function, historical data proving capitalism's role in extending life expectancy, and corporate case studies like General Motors illustrating the inefficiency of suppressed competition. Buchholz concludes that removing competitive pressure leads to stagnation and tyranny, while maintaining that freedom and merit-based incentives are necessary to sustain the ongoing rise in human prosperity and longevity.
- 10 min
Ross DeVol interviews Paul Kusserow of Humana
Ross DeVol, Paul Kusserow, Ross Duvall, Paul Coussereau
Humana completed an $800 million acquisition of Concentra to integrate occupational health services and shift care to alternative sites, aiming to reduce costly hospitalizations amid a looming global physician shortage. To address demographic pressures and a projected 130,000-physician gap by 2020, the company is leveraging a hybrid model that combines technology like sensor monitoring and telemedicine with expanded roles for nurse practitioners and "health extenders." This strategy seeks to mitigate rising costs for the 15% of members driving the majority of expenses while managing the care needs of an aging population through integrated wellness programs and algorithmic data analysis.
- 6 min
Shraga Biran
Shraga Beran, an Israeli attorney and author of *Opportunism*, proposes a fundamental restructuring of intellectual property laws to recognize ideas as primary economic assets rather than outdated relics. His framework challenges current employment norms by advocating for shared ownership of inventions between creators and employers, arguing that human capital should generate direct wealth for individuals. To facilitate this shift, Beran envisions a global public market where compensation is distributed via engagement metrics, effectively creating a universal system for monetizing private goods like artistic and literary works.
- 7 min
Raghuram Rajan on the U.S. Economy and Financial Regulation
Raghuram Rajan, Jennifer Manfre
Economic recovery since mid-2009 has been characterized by sluggish job creation and a "boring" trajectory, prompting calls for policy shifts toward long-term competitiveness through education and infrastructure reforms. While the U.S. fiscal position remains distinct from Greece, growing political polarization and unfunded liabilities significantly constrain the ability to enact necessary debt or tax measures. Furthermore, experts argue that isolated financial regulations fail to address the fundamental macroeconomic fault lines identified in the book *Fault Lines*, necessitating a broader structural approach to prevent future crises.
- 8 min
Israel Graduates to MSCI Developed Market Index, Glenn Yago on the issues
On May 26, Israel will officially transition from the MSCI Emerging Market Index to the Developed Market Index, a shift projected to reduce its index weighting from over 3% to roughly 0.3% and trigger potential capital outflows of $1.7 billion to $2.5 billion. To secure future investment, the Milken Institute report urges diversification beyond the Information Communication Technology sector and addresses structural hurdles such as the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's low free float and excessive concentration of foreign capital. Although market liquidity remains skewed toward top corporations, Israel's resilient macroeconomic fundamentals, including unemployment rates significantly below crisis-hit peers, continue to position the nation as a relative safe harbor amidst global volatility.