Vision 2020: Evidence for a Stronger Economy

What was it?

Vision 2020 brought together leading voices from the policymaking, academic, and advocacy communities to highlight the most pressing economic issues facing Americans today. The daylong conference explored recent transformative shifts in economic thinking that demonstrate how inequality obstructs, subverts, and distorts broadly shared economic growth and what we can do to fix it. The past four decades of economic policy delivered slow growth, record-high income and wealth inequality, and social immobility. At Vision 2020, you heard from some of the most cutting-edge thinkers, researchers, and, dare we say, visionaries on how to reverse these trends and instead advance strong, stable, and broad-based economic growth.

Who attended?

Federal, state, and local policymakers and their staff; leaders from think tanks and advocacy organizations; journalists who cover economic issues.

What was on the agenda?

From panel discussions, fireside chats, keynotes, and storytelling sessions, Vision 2020 focused on what research and history can tell us about how to make the U.S. economy work for everyone, not just those at the top.

9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Breakfast and Registration

9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Introduction
Casey Schoeneberger, Washington Center for Equitable Growth
Opening Remarks
Heather Boushey, Washington Center for Equitable Growth

10:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Panel: Toward a New Economy
Heather Boushey, Washington Center for Equitable Growth
Dania Francis, University of Massachusetts Boston
Sarah Bloom Raskin, Duke University
Moderator: Jeanna Smialek, The New York Times

Toward a New Economy (Part I)

Toward a New Economy (Part II)

10:45 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
Economy in Focus: Building Worker Power
Carmen Rojas, The Workers Lab

Building Worker Power

11:00 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.
Break and Refreshments

11:15 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Economy in Focus: Lessons from the New Deal for Enacting a Green New Deal Today
Lizabeth Cohen, Harvard University

Lessons from the New Deal for Enacting a Green New Deal Today

11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.
Panel: The Front Line of Structural Change
Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Global Policy Solutions
Bradley Hardy, American University
Cecilia Muñoz, New America
Tom Perriello, Open Society Foundations
Moderator: Anmol Chaddha, Institute for the Future

The Front Line of Structural Change (Part I)

The Front Line of Structural Change (Part II)

12:15 p.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Economy in Focus: The Story of Sadie Alexander
Nina Banks, Bucknell University

The Story of Sadie Alexander

12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Lunch

1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Introduction
David Mitchell, Washington Center for Equitable Growth
Featured speaker: Mary Kay Henry, Service Employees International Union
Fighting Power with Power: Unions for All

David Mitchell introduces Mary Kay Henry of the Service Employees International Union

Fighting Power with Power: Unions for All (Part I)

Fighting Power with Power: Unions for All (Part II)

1:30 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Panel: A Conversation about Structural Racism in the Economy
Byron Auguste, Opportunity@Work
Camille Busette, The Brookings Institution
Mónica García-Pérez, St. Cloud State University
Moderator: Gillian White, The Atlantic

A Conversation about Structural Racism in the Economy (Part I)

A Conversation about Structural Racism in the Economy (Part II)

2:15 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Fireside Chat: Trust Busting in the 21st Century
The Honorable Rohit Chopra, Federal Trade Commission
Moderator: Brian Fung, CNN

Trust Busting in the 21st Century

2:45 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Break and Refreshments

3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Fireside Chat: The Rise of Monopsony Power in the Labor Market
Arindrajit Dube, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Alexander Hertel-Fernandez, Columbia University
Moderator: Kate Bahn, Washington Center for Equitable Growth

The Rise of Monopsony Power in the Labor Market

3:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Panel: Macroeconomic Implications of Inequality
Karen Dynan, Harvard University
Claudia Sahm, Federal Reserve
Moderator: Ylan Mui, CNBC

Macroeconomic Implications of Inequality (Part I)

Macroeconomic Implications of Inequality (Part II)

4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Closing Remarks
Greg Leiserson, Washington Center for Equitable Growth

4:30 p.m.
Reception

Who spoke?