COVID has made it clear that our economy doesn’t work for everyone. In this pandemic recession, financial devastation stalks historically precarious populations — people of color, women, front line workers, and even the small business owner — who don’t have the advantages of long-term savings, access to capital, and other levers of economic empowerment. On the macro-level, addressing climate change and reestablishing the U.S. as a global economic leader loom large.
The job of building an equitable economy is enormous, but the world is awash with great ideas. At Aspen Ideas: RE$ET, we elevate the thinking of policy makers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and citizens as they forge ahead reimagining a bold new definition of a healthy economy — and start creating it now.
Aspen Ideas: RE$ET will include a variety of programming, including three 1-hour plenaries and a wide selection of interactive breakouts across February 22 and 23.
By registering for Aspen Ideas: RE$ET, you have access to all content. No further registration required.
Click the button below to see a detailed schedule and links to access all programming.
One positive thing about COVID-19 is that it has forced us to reckon with significant structural weaknesses across our economy that touch most Americans. Small businesses — many run by people of color — are shutting down because access to capital is so fragmented. A financial system that doesn’t reach individuals, businesses, and communities where investment is in desperately short supply. A digital infrastructure so incomplete that large pockets of urban and rural areas have limited to no access to the internet — now the key to the information superstructure that supports commerce, education, and basic information flows. An unmet demand for caregiving at every level — from children to the elderly — so significant that women have left the workforce by the millions. How do we address these structural and underfunded challenges? This is our moment to take stock of what we must reset to establish an equitable economy that serves every citizen.
Featuring:
• Brian Argrett, First Bank of DC
• Bill Bynum, Hope Enterprise Corporation
• Jim Clyburn, 6th Congressional District, South Carolina (D)
• Scarlet Fu, Bloomberg News
• Reed Hastings, Netflix
• Brandee McHale, Citi Foundation
• Martin Muoto, SoLa Impact
• Lananh Nguyen, Bloomberg News
• Aisha Nyandoro, Springboard to Opportunities
• Naomi Nix, Bloomberg News
• Ida Rademacher, The Aspen Institute
• Amanda Renteria, Code for America
• Catarina Saraiva, Bloomberg News
• Robert Smith, Vista Equity Partners
• Joanna Smith-Ramani, The Aspen Institute
The pandemic has laid bare the dire consequences of the patchwork system of benefits for working Americans. When millions have to choose between caring for their families and getting a paycheck, the economy and everyday people suffer. This session will leave you with a deeper understanding of a pathway toward financial resiliency, including a permanent solution to address America’s paid family leave crisis. How can the government and business collaborate to create consistency throughout the system? What are the employee benefits that employers should not ignore, and what is the business case for offering them? Featuring Jamie Kalamarides and Karan Chopra in conversation with Lananh Nguyen. Presented by Prudential.
Bigger than transportation, agriculture, and tourism, the arts and culture industry contributes $878 billion to our national economy, represents 4.5% of our GDP, and employs over 5 million people. Yet its economic impact, jobs creation potential, and essential role in American society are often overlooked. One of the first to shut down and possibly the last to fully reopen, the creative industry has been imperiled by COVID-19. How can we ensure its economic stability going forward? Featuring New York Times Art Critic Jason Farago, Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Artistic Director Nataki Garrett, playwright Jeremy O. Harris, and Principal of Cultural Assets Management at Bloomberg Associates Kate Levin in conversation with Anna Deavere Smith.
The sobering impacts of the pandemic, and the need for a rapid transition to a clean energy economy compel us to consider opportunities that lie at the intersection of the two. President Biden wants to invest $1.7 trillion toward the mid-century goal of a net-zero America, creating ten million new, high-quality jobs, his administration predicts. Recent announcements from major auto companies coupled with enormous commitments from financial institutions lend the new administration strong tailwinds. What are the implications of a reinvigorated climate agenda for everyday Americans, and how will it be deployed across the nation? Which technologies should be adopted ASAP to actually get our grid to net zero? And how could a new era of stakeholder capitalism firmly uphold our climate goals for which failure isn’t an option?
Featuring:
• Donnel Baird, BlocPower
• Nat Bullard, BloombergNEF
• Jim Coulter, TPG
• Ed Hammond, Bloomberg News
• Scarlet Fu, Bloomberg News
• Leslie Kaufman, Bloomberg Green
• Gina McCarthy, Biden White House
• Sophie Purdom, Climate Tech VC
• Akshat Rathi, Bloomberg News
• Aaron Rutkoff, Bloomberg News
• Tina Smith, United States Senator for Minnesota (D)
• Joanna Smith-Ramani, The Aspen Institute
• Steph Speirs, Solstice
From renewables to carbon pricing, electric cars to planting trees, what will actually keep our world from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius? You might be surprised. In this workshop, Andrew Jones of Climate Interactive deploys his firm’s smart simulator to explore in real time system-wide solutions to climate change. Developed by CI in collaboration with MIT Sloan School of Management, EN-Roads is a game-like simulator that’s been used by Congress, Fortune 500 executives, and the UN secretary general's climate team.
Across her research and writing, UCL Professor Mariana Mazzucato offers searing criticisms of capitalism, providing a rare lens onto the enormous role that the public sector has played in launching innovative enterprises (for example, the iPhone and electric vehicles), which few in the entrepreneurial private sector tend to acknowledge. Government, she argues, owns a critical place in our collective economic well-being, it can be—when well structured— a true value creator not just market fixer. And only by restructuring capitalism in a way that ensures that government, corporations, and society connect across very real problems can we address the biggest challenges we face—and build stakeholder capitalism. These challenges are gnarly at best, framed by climate change, the digital divide, public health, and social well-being. In Mazzucato’s new book Mission Economy: a moonshot guide to changing capitalism she sees the possibility for a new “mission oriented” approach to embrace inclusivity, sustainability, and innovation that partners government and the private sector to the profit of all. She speaks with Stephanie Flanders, head of Bloomberg Economics.
The pendulum of American foreign engagement has swung between isolationism and internationalism before. But with four years of “America First” brought to a halt by the election of Joe Biden, never has it swung back so quickly. On top of that, a global pandemic has forced the world to recognize our interconnectedness: What starts in one corner of the world spreads quickly. How can America mend its domestic fractures while also rebuilding its global goodwill? As issues abound, from the concerning rise of China to frayed relations with allies to growing global income equality, the United States has much to tackle on an international scale. What will it take to reset our place in the world?
Featuring:
• John Banovetz, 3M
• Nicholas Burns, Harvard Kennedy School of Government
• Scarlet Fu, Bloomberg News
• John Micklethwait, Bloomberg News
• Tom Orlik, Bloomberg Economics
• Meghan O’Sullivan, Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
• Dan Porterfield, The Aspen Institute
• Dave Rank, The Cohen Group
• Rajiv Shah, The Rockefeller Foundation
• Neena Shenai, American Enterprise Institute
• Chang Shu, Bloomberg News
• Joanna Smith-Ramani, The Aspen Institute
We are told that the fundamentals of the US economy are strong. After all, our resilient system of capitalism has survived the Great Depression and more. So why are so many individuals and communities left behind? Former White House economic advisor Adrienne Harris, Grameen America CEO Andrea Jung, and Mastercard Vice Chairman Mike Froman will be in conversation with Bloomberg's Stephanie Flanders to make the case for why this is an all-hands-on-deck moment for cross-sector collaboration. Attendees can ask questions while the experts explore how the digitization of our financial systems might translate to an equitable economy for those who have yet to realize the benefits of its growth. Presented by Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.
In December 2020, the US economy shed 140,000 net jobs. All were jobs held by women. Another 275,000 women left the workforce in January. The disproportionate impact of COVID on working women’s lives is striking — both for the sheer numbers of women involved and for the emotional stresses that compound the economic issues of not having a job. Work, for most women, is not just eight hours a day in an office, restaurant, or hotel. Work begins and ends each day at home, as women fulfill roles as mothers and/or caregivers. But there are solutions to alleviate these stresses. Several are addressed in a proposed “Marshall Plan for Moms”: affordable child care, paid family leave, pay equity. Supporting the economic lives of women is not a women’s rights issue — it has huge implications for the nation’s economic health, well-being, and growth. Featuring Reshma Saujani and Betsey Stevenson in conversation with Peggy Collins.
Amidst an overnight transition to digital commerce in 2020, small businesses that lacked the resources to pivot quickly began falling through the cracks. What has this taught us about the state of our economy — from Manhattan to Missoula? Smart ideas abound for building an inclusive recovery that prevents Main Street shops from shutting their doors. Jean Case of the Case Impact Network and PayPal Executive Vice President Peggy Alford know a few of them. How has business changed to meet our changing needs in the COVID era? And how can we ensure that businesses of all sizes are able to leverage this next iteration of the digital evolution? Featuring Jean Case and Peggy Alford in conversation with Jenny Surane. Presented by PayPal.