Latest Interviews
Showing 421–435 of 1,758 transcripts.
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China’s Investment Outlook: Optimism or Caution? | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
Susan Li, Shenglin Ben, Goodwin Gaw, Fred Hu, Weijian Shan, Lu Zhang, Kevin Rudd
A panel of experts characterizes the current U.S.-China relationship as toxic and downward-spiraling, with Biden and Trump administrations jointly enforcing a hawkish stance that risks global recession if a Taiwan Strait conflict materializes. Despite these geopolitical tensions, investors are capitalizing on China's undervalued stock market and property sector corrections, leveraging the country's significant monetary policy space to support private sector confidence rather than direct stimulus. The discussion concludes that while a "China Plus One" strategy will persist for decades, the most effective path forward involves U.S. policymakers avoiding zero-sum thinking and recognizing that global technological advancement requires engagement with Chinese counterparts in sectors like AI and climate tech.
- Milken Institute1h 48m
Silver Linings Playbook: New Momentum for Outcomes-Driven Government
Matt Horton, Ben McAdams, Jennifer Park, Nancy Augustine, William Glasgall, Michael Grossman, Michael Hammett, Grace Simrall, Ryan Smith, Jen Tolentino
The National Academy of Public Administration launched its Center for Intergovernmental Partnerships in September 2024 to address systemic fragmentation across federal, state, and local agencies amid an $800 billion annual transfer landscape facing a potential fiscal cliff. This initiative spearheads three strategic projects targeting pandemic compliance, workforce shortages, and "No Wrong Door" service models while promoting outcomes-based financing and data-driven municipal innovations like Louisville's broadband expansion and Durham's driver's license reform. Panelists emphasize normalizing innovation failure to replicate these successful solutions and leveraging American Rescue Plan funds to build long-term evidence capacity rather than relying on temporary revenue replacement.
- Milken Institute1h 6m
Creating Community Wealth and New Revenue: Public Assets Workshop
Matt Horton, Ben McAdams, Dina Blaes, Jason Foster, Shayne Kavanagh, Joe Minicozzi, Dan Tangherlini, Natalie Cohen
The Milken Institute Center for Regional Economics convened a public finance forum where panelists including former Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams and Urban Planner Joe Minicozzi argued for "Urban Wealth Funds" to transform underutilized public assets into revenue generators that reduce reliance on regressive tax bases. While the session highlighted a Salt Lake County study revealing $12 billion in potential transit-corridor value, speakers like Dina Blaze and Dan Tangerlini emphasized that equitable implementation requires overcoming political barriers and establishing community equity endowments to prevent resident displacement. Experts concluded that local governments must adopt proactive asset valuation and flexible governance structures to legally function as corporate-like entities that capture public wealth for direct community reinvestment.
- Milken Institute1h 9m
Deep Dive: Deployment of High Demand Community Infrastructure Projects
Dan Carol, Bryan Borlik, Rachel Halfaker, Donnel Baird, Rob Day, Bill Lee, Patrick Meyers, Michelle Moore, Matt Petersen, David Guilford, Adam Fried, Robbie Jones
The Economic Development Administration awarded a grant to the Milken Institute and RCAP to launch a pre-development training accelerator designed to equip rural and underserved communities with the technical capacity to make infrastructure projects shovel-ready. A diverse panel of experts including representatives from the Trust for Public Lands, Groundswell, and Spring Lane Capital highlighted the critical need for zero-percent match requirements, community-paid participation stipends, and granular data targeting to overcome traditional grant-writing barriers. These initiatives aim to transform one-time federal funding into sustainable local wealth by pairing financial capital with technical assistance to scale projects ranging from broadband and green infrastructure to urban decarbonization.
- Milken Institute36 min
Permanent Disruption: Navigating the Road Ahead
Dan Carol, Michael Piwowar, Tammie Arnold, Elaine Buckberg, Maurice Jones, Mike Pivovar
The Milken Institute's 2022 Public Finance Forum convened virtual cross-sector innovators to address the $4 trillion public finance sector through infrastructure deployment, ESG integration, and adaptive public-private partnerships. General Motors Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg outlined a resilient U.S. economic outlook marked by 3.9% growth and easing inflation, while OneTen's Maurice Jones highlighted a critical need to dismantle credential barriers to advance Black employment and close the racial wealth gap. Complementing these social and economic themes, the event featured commitments from major automakers toward electrification and Alpha Ledger's introduction of blockchain technology to modernize municipal bond markets for greater efficiency and equity.
- Milken Institute30 min
Managing Through Change: Mayors Weigh In
Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, Michael Hancock, Quinton Lucas
Accelerator for America President Mary Ellen Reeder-Wohl facilitated a public finance forum with Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Kansas City Mayor Quentin Lucas to discuss leveraging federal funds for systemic urban transformation. The mayors detailed strategies for redesigning major infrastructure corridors, such as Denver's Colfax Avenue and Kansas City's I-70, to prioritize equitable housing, transit, and business opportunities while preventing community displacement. By framing local projects as regional assets, both leaders emphasized a shared commitment to moving beyond reactive budget maintenance toward proactive solutions for inequality and economic resilience.
- Milken Institute31 min
Show Time for Infrastructure: Accelerating Shovel Worthy Infrastructure Projects
Stacy Swann, Christine Harada, Nathaniel Keohane, Collin O'Mara, Jim Pass
Under the Paris Agreement, the U.S. aims to cut economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 50–52% below 2005 levels by 2030 while addressing a projected $10 trillion infrastructure gap through coordinated federal and private sector investment. Recent multi-agency announcements have accelerated clean energy deployment targets, including 30 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2030 and grid modernization initiatives, alongside efforts to unify financial standards and streamline permitting to unlock necessary capital. This strategy relies on bipartisan support for natural climate solutions and the passage of comprehensive legislation like the Build Back Better Act to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 while creating an estimated 1.5 million jobs annually.
- Milken Institute36 min
Equity and ESG for Munis: Risks, Disclosure, and Adoption
Caitlin MacLean, Olivia Albrecht, Lourdes Germán, Gary Hall, Mark Kim, Zoila Jennings
The municipal ESG bond market currently lacks a consistent pricing premium despite $43 billion in outstanding labels, driven by challenges in quantifying social metrics and a reliance on self-verification by 61% of issuers. To address these data gaps and standardization issues, the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board is launching the Emma Labs analytics platform while seeking enhanced disclosures, and a new $4 million consortium is developing unified racial equity frameworks for municipal financing. Consequently, market participants are being urged to align with international standards and demand greater transparency from asset managers to harmonize taxonomies and improve access for smaller communities.
- Milken Institute30 min
City CFOs Report from the Frontlines of Public Finance
Lois Scott, Brendan Hanlon, Jennie Huang Bennett, Elizabeth Reich, Jenny Bennett
Chicago, Dallas, and Denver successfully navigated post-pandemic fiscal crises by balancing structural deficits with strategic recovery plans, though each city faced distinct challenges regarding pension funding, sales tax volatility, and personnel costs. While Chicago directed $1.2 billion toward community safety and tech-sector growth, Dallas expanded its general fund reserves to 74 days of operations, and Denver prioritized mental health investments to address downtown vacancy rates that peaked at 30%. All three municipalities also adopted proactive cybersecurity frameworks and leveraged federal infrastructure funds to mitigate long-term risks without permanently compromising service levels.
- Milken Institute15 min
Climate Resilient Infrastructure: A Conversation with Senator Ed Markey
Senator Markey frames the current legislative landscape as a historic opportunity to advance the Civilian Climate Corps, a proposed 300,000-person workforce initiative designed to build resilient infrastructure while providing living wages and training for underserved communities. To catalyze these efforts, he advocates for the LIFT Act and a National Climate Bank to fund pre-development projects and leverage private investment, specifically targeting environmental justice regions to achieve a 50% reduction in economy-wide emissions by 2030. Simultaneously, the Senator is maneuvering to secure the final climate provisions within the Build Back Better bill by prioritizing their passage before the State of the Union address, despite facing procedural hurdles and a lack of bipartisan consensus.
- Milken Institute58 min
Antibiotic Resistance and Chronic Disease: Understanding the Challenges and Some Possible Solutions
Amanda Jezek, Jonathan Daniels, David Greenberg, Thomas Heyman, Kathy Talkington, Mark Williams, Tom Heyman
Hosted by Faster Cures in partnership with the Infectious Disease Society of America and other key organizations, this webinar examined the critical market failure hindering new antibiotic development and highlighted its severe impact on cancer, cystic fibrosis, and transplant patients. Panelists presented data showing thousands of annual deaths from antimicrobial resistance while advocating for the "Pasteur Act," a policy designed to de-link financial rewards from sales volume to incentivize the creation of novel drugs for critical pathogens. The event concluded by urging stakeholders to share personal stories and sign a letter to Congress to drive legislative action and secure funding for both antibiotic stewardship and research.
- Milken Institute1h 31m
The Post-COVID Recovery: California's Lagging Employment Rate
Grace Gedye, Julian Cañete, Reign Free, Manuel Pastor, Somjita Mitra, David Lesher, Matt Horton
California's Department of Finance, labor experts, and business leaders analyze the state's persistent 7.3% unemployment rate and structural labor shortages driven by childcare gaps, early retirements, and workforce migration to inland regions. Panelists project a 3.9% to 4% employment growth rate for the coming year, contingent on federal investments in the care economy and housing affordability while addressing risks from inflation and potential political shifts. The discussion highlights a fundamental recalibration of work where demand is shifting toward non-automatable sectors like elder care and cooperative business models rather than returning to pre-pandemic norms.
- Milken Institute1h 26m
Equity in Infrastructure Development: The Digital Divide
Jackie Botts, Michael P. Anderson, Carolyn McIntyre, Sunne McPeak, Alexandra Rosen, David Lesher, Matt Horton
Co-hosted by CalMatters and the Milken Institute, a recent forum examined the critical role of high-speed broadband in addressing California's digital divide and promoting workforce equity. The discussion highlighted that while the state approved a $6 billion investment package to fund middle-mile infrastructure and last-mile expansion, significant barriers including high costs, digital literacy gaps, and inefficient permitting processes continue to hinder access for 2 million disadvantaged households. Experts emphasized that achieving true connectivity requires a hybrid approach combining fiber and wireless solutions, alongside public-private partnerships and targeted outreach to communities skeptical of traditional internet service providers.
- Milken Institute1h 32m
Accelerating Securitization in Africa to Finance the SDGs
Alison Harwood, Lade Araba, Samuel Chasia, Juan Pablo de Mollein, John Schellhaus, Sam Chasia
The Milken Institute has launched the African Securitization Alliance, bringing together regulatory bodies from Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Côte d'Ivoire to mobilize private capital for Sustainable Development Goals. Participants will utilize a framework of internal and external credit enhancement mechanisms, such as tranching and third-party guarantees from entities like GARANTCo, to mitigate risk and improve market access. Upcoming activities include a specialized workshop in Ghana and a strategic shift toward replicable structures in renewable energy and affordable housing to overcome data gaps and legal barriers.
- Milken Institute1h 31m
Small Business Community: What Happened to Mom and Pop?
Nigel Duara, Lenore Estrada, Isabella Casillas Guzman, Eugene Cornelius, Jr., Carolina Martinez, Mark J. Robertson, Sr., David Lesher
Co-hosted by CalMatters and the Milken Institute, this strategic discussion examined the critical recovery challenges facing California's four million small businesses with special attention to the stark disparities affecting communities of color and women-owned enterprises. Featuring newly appointed SBA Director Isabella Casillas Guzman, the event analyzed how the agency's portfolio expansion to over $1 trillion was initially skewed by banking biases, prompting a pivot toward a "Five C's" framework that prioritizes coaching, diverse capital, and community navigation to address exclusion. Looking forward, the SBA is repositioning to connect small businesses with the $500 billion federal infrastructure marketplace while implementing a $100 million Community Navigator pilot to streamline access for underserved entrepreneurs.