This Year's New America Events

Please join the New America Foundation for a conversation with Ad Melkert, Special Representative for the United Nations Secretary General in Iraq.

"This is going to be a different recovery than the past, because Americans are going to have to save more." -Tim Geithner, US Secretary of the Treasury Saving is a key to economic mobility as well as economic recovery. Despite the critical importance of savings, most Americans, especially those with low incomes, are not saving enough. Federal policy encourages saving for the wealthy, but for low-income Americans saving is often discouraged and the path to self-sufficiency is made more difficult.

On November 19, 2009, Native Public Media and the New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative will release New Media, Technology and Internet Use in Indian Country: Quantitative and Qualitative Analyses, one of the most extensive studies of on the ground technology use, access, and adoption in Native American lands. Demonstrating the great need to include Native Americans in the discourse around the National Broadband Plan, the report combines both a survey of Native American technology

The current state of the "shadow banking system," rising unemployment rates, the sinking value of the dollar, and the lasting mortgage crisis demonstrate the need for long-view reform. The Next Stage will consider the larger implications of the new administration's economic policy on the economy and the international financial and monetary system.  Featured speakers include James K. Galbraith, Stephany Griffith-Jones, Jan Kregel, Robert Johnson, and others. 

Thousands of small towns in rural America are being depopulated, or hollowed out. The brightest and most ambitious young people in many communities abandon the heartland for greater challenges and rewards in cities. This is a major policy problem that has largely escaped media and political attention. What are the implications of this exodus? What trends of "smallness" can help counter it? What policies should Washington be pursuing to support small communities? Come join the… more

Join the New America Foundation for a special screening of a powerful new documentary film directed by filmmaker Polly Nash and journalist Andy Worthington called "Outside the Law: Stories from Guantánamo," which follows the stories of three current or former detainees from Guantanamo Bay and tells the story of Guantanamo, including segments on extraordinary renditions and secret prisons. With just over two months until President Obama's deadline for the closure of Guantánamo, and with the administration set to

On November 6, US Budget Watch, a joint project of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and The Pew Charitable Trusts, hosted an event on the current health care reform debate, called "Will Health Care Reform Heal the Federal Budget?" The event focused on the fiscal implications of reform, specifically looking at costs, offsets, and the extent to which health care reform can "bend the cost curve." New Health Dialogue twittered the entire

Just last year, tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose 6.5 percent. Unfortunately, this continues a decades-long trend of rising college costs, even during periods of economic unease and low inflation. Escalating prices have also coincided with stagnation in need-based financial aid availability, the result of which has been mounting levels of student debt for low and middle-income families. In this context, there has been greater reliance on savings, particularly through 529 college savings plans, in order to increase college affordability and

After introductory remarks by American Strategy Program Director Steve Clemons, James R. Locher III -- President & CEO of the Project on National Security Reform, and lead author of Turning Ideas into Action -- laid out the many issues handicapping the national security bureaucracy. Describing the Departments as strong and the integrating mechanisms chronically weak, Locher portrayed the National Security Adviser as the head of an enormous force with almost no independent power, lacking even

The New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative is hosting The Washington DC Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery Fall Lecture series.

On October 30, panelists Tia Nelson, Nigel Purvis, and Steve Schwartzman discussed the new market mechanism, REDD -- Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation -- that aims to allow residents of tropical forest properties to earn more money from standing forests than from their removal. Tropical deforestation accounts for 20 percent of all carbon emissions into the atmosphere, more than the combined emissions of every car, truck, ship, plane and train on the planet. The panelists

On October 29, Daniel Yergin, Pullitzer Prize-winning author of The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power, released an updated edition of The Prize with  Steve Clemons, director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation.

As California struggles to close persistent achievement gaps, it is increasingly apparent that these gaps exist at school entry and that efforts to improve the early education systems (PreK-3rd) are warranted.   Please join us in the release of "On the Cusp in California: How PreK-3rd Strategies Could Improve Education in the Golden State," a policy paper from New America's Early Education Initiative that highlights key strategies for creating a more seamless system for early learning in California.

Please join the New America Foundation and the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy in a conference about Afghanistan.

The New America Foundation, National Foreign Trade Council, The Center for Democracy in the Americas & USA*Engage cordially invite you to remarks and a reception.

This event has been postponed until further notice.  We apologize for any inconvenience. 

On October 26, Michael Cohen, a Senior Research Fellow of the New America Foundation examined U.S. strategic interests in Afghanistan with experts Christine Fair, Alexander Thier, and Jonathan Landay.  

On behalf of the Pew Charitable Trusts, New America Foundation, and the Center for Financial Services Innovation, it is our pleasure to invite you to attend a jointly sponsored symposium on new avenues to credit for consumers and small businesses. This event, set for October 23, 2009 at the Capitol, will focus on expanding access to small dollar loans for the underserved and on innovative models for building credit and financing domestic micro-enterprise. Leaders in Congress, the administration, and industry… more

Please join New America in a conversation between Kati Marton and Steve Coll about her new book Enemies of the People. In her book, journalist Kati Marton trolls the archives of the Hungarian secret police to piece together her parents' imprisonment in and flight from Hungary in the mid-1950s. The files revealed terrifying truths: secret love affairs, betrayals inside the family circle, torture and brutalities alongside acts of stunning courage - and, above all, deep family love.

This conference examined the civilian dimensions of counterterrorism, and took place on October 21, 2009, at the Mayflower Hotel. A full program agenda is below, as are video recordings from the webcasts of each discussion.

Higher resolution video and an MP3 audio recording will be added here as they become available.

More than one in six working Americans is now unemployed or underemployed, with more job losses yet to come. At this Oct. 20 event, some of America's leading policymakers and economic thinkers gathered to discuss how public policy should respond to this unprecedented unemployment crisis.

Please join New America in a conversation between Zachary Karabell and Steve Coll about the book, Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World's Prosperity Depends on It.

Can savings-led programs ensure poverty reduction? Policymakers, researchers and development practitioners around the world are examining new products and methods for saving in order to build assets at the bottom of the pyramid. The experience with Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) and other matched savings programs, from the US to Uganda, have successfully benefitted the poor and brought them into the formal financial system.

Long before the complete meltdown of the financial industry last fall, Senator Byron Dorgan warned us about the risks posed by one of the key ingredients in that catastrophe: the complex financial packages known as derivatives. In a Washington Monthly cover story, "Very Risky Business" (October 1994), the North Dakota Democrat predicted with uncanny precision what actually happened in September 2008 -- the

After an introduction by Patrick Doherty, the Deputy Director of the American Strategy Program and Director of the U.S.-Cuba 21st Century Policy Initiative at New America, Anne Louise Bardach discussed the her recently published book Without Fidel: A Death Foretold in Miami, Havana, and Washington.  Bardach described how an article primarily focused on the Cubana Airlines attack and exiled Cuban militants, including Luis Posada Carriles, transformed into a three-part book covering Fidel Castro's long death, the Castro fascination, and

The California Asset Building program hosted a policy roundtable discussion Wednesday October 14 in the State Capitol on updating the antiquated and misleading way we measure poverty. New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Director of Poverty Research, Mark Levitan, led Assembly and Senate staff in the in-depth discussion (view his presentation here). Last year, New York City enacted an updated and improved poverty measure based on recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences.

On October 13, John Ging, the director of operations in Gaza for the United Nations Relief and Works, had a public discussion with Amjad Atallah, co-director of the New America Foundation's Middle East Task Force. This year UNRWA commemorates six decades of service to the Palestinian refugees, and Mr. Ging spoke about the current and prospective challenges facing UNRWA and Gaza as a whole.

On October 13, 2009, Adrian Blundell-Wignall discussed the origins of the financial crisis and requirements for reform at the New America Foundation, as part of the OECD Breakfast Series.  Blundell-Wignall, Deputy Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs at the OECD and author of a recent paper in the Journal of Asian Economics, delivered technical yet impassioned remarks from an international perspective, linking the explosion of complex derivatives to lax regulation, international tax arbitrage, and the persistent "equity culture" on

Amidst speculation in some circles that the nation may be entering a new Progressive era, the New York experience offers a fascinating and cautionary lesson on the state of political reform.  New York is home to the most generous campaign finance program in the country - and some of the least competitive elections.  What do the experiences of New York and other cities teach us?  What does a robust reform agenda look like in the 21st century? Come… more

The New America Foundation's Open Technology Initiative is hosting The Washington DC Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery Fall Lecture series.

David Loyn, developing world correspondent for the BBC and author of In Afghanistan: Two Hundred Years of British, Russian, and American Occupation, expounded upon 200 years of Afghan history as being useful in understanding the problems the U.S. and NATO currently face there. After declaring that clear thinking is needed on Afghanistan, and apparently not currently forthcoming from the Obama Administration, Loyn described his own ten points the U.S. must consider when planning its next move in the country. The two primary

Only five years ago, programs like "ER," "The West Wing," and "The Wire" were exploring the major policy issues of our times:  access to health care; the war in Iraq; and the battle over drug abuse in the inner city.   Television in the past has played a vibrant role in dramatizing the complexities of policy debate, but are shows today continuing that legacy?  Do dramatic programs capture and reflect social policy issues and dilemmas?  In light of the demise of… more

On October 1, former Mexican Foreign Minister Jorge Castañeda outlined the challenges and opportunities currently faced by Latin America. In conversation with Andres Martinez, the Director of New America's Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program, Mr. Castañeda discussed the continent's fraught attempts to develop a working framework for collective action, even as its major players start to focus their attention on increasing their clout on the global stage.

Please join New America in a conversation with Reinhard Bütikofer and Claude Turmes about the upcoming 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. * This event will be webcast LIVE on the The Washington Note*

Following up on last year's successful Summit, we will continue to expand our network of subnational collaboration to stimulate economic growth, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, create green jobs, promote clean energy solutions, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

"Heavy with bold-faced names... fast, loose, often funny, and wholly unpredictable." San Francisco Chronicle 

As the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) continues to gather input into the National Broadband Plan it will report back to Congress in February, competition policy remains among the most contentious issues. In addition, the Chairman on Monday announced his intention to codify the FCC's existing four open Internet principles, along with two additional principles to prohibit discrimination against particular Internet applications and content and ensure that providers are transparent about network management practices.

On September 24, the US Broadband Coalition - a broad and diverse array of 160 organizations - will issue a report that identifies the key issues and a range of policy options that the U.S. should consider in determining its broadband future. The report is especially relevant and timely because the Federal Communications Commission must submit a national broadband plan to Congress by February 2010. The report builds on the Coalition's December 2008 "Call to Action for a National Broadband Plan" that not only provided a policy framework… more

From September 22 to 24, the New America Foundations Open Technology Initiative hosted Beyond Broadband Access: Data Based Information Policy for a New Administration. An experts workshop, Beyond Broadband Access created an opportunity for small group of highly skilled experts from around the world to seek breakthrough insights which can be applied to current policy challenges.

The New America Foundation, in conjunction with Penn State University, Michigan State University, Rutgers University, and the Beijing University of Posts and Telecomm hosts Beyond Broadband Access: Data Based Information Policy for a New Administration, an experts workshop discussing the future of broadband.

A three day event, Beyond Broadband Access features 10 panels with topics including:

On September 21, Dr. Jonathan Lazar discussed current issues in computer-human interaction and public policy. Dr. Lazar described how government policy impacts the work done in human-computer interaction, and will discuss the current status of policy initiatives in a number of areas.

On September 21, 2009, author and economist Pat Choate discussed his new book, Saving Capitalism: Keeping America Strong, at the New America Foundation.  In a conversation with Michael Lind, Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program at New America, Choate offered his perspective on the ongoing economic crisis and outlined his book's comprehensive policy prescription for recovery and sustainable growth. 

Over 100 million individuals in the U.S. are underbanked -- they can not access or choose not to use traditional bank accounts and financial services. Instead, they use alternative financial services, such as check cashing services, prepaid cards, small dollar loans, remittances, and other nonbank services to meet their everyday financial needs. These alternative financial services, which may or may not be more costly than those offered by a traditional bank, are often preferable for consumers who want convenient, transparent, and easily accessible financial options.

At today's launch event for the AfPak Channel, a joint project between the New America Foundation and Foreign Policy magazine, a panel of journalists who have often traveled to the region that U.S. President Barack Obama has made the focal point of his foreign policy shared their experiences reporting from Afghanistan and Pakistan.

On September 16, General Danny Rothschild (Ret.) of the Israeli Defense Forces and Major General Peal D. Eaton (Ret.) of the US army discussed Israel and the United States' shared strategic interests with an emphasis on how the two-state solution has become a matter of both Israeli and US national security. The topics discussed ranged from the potential for settlement evacuation to Israel's incursion into Gaza during December 2008 and January 2009. The event was moderated by Daniel Levy, Director… more

Please join us in a lunch discussion featuring two dynamic authors. Nicholas Schmidle, author of To Live or to Perish Forever: Two Tumultuous Years in Pakistan will discuss the most recent and turbulent period of Pakistan’s history. His observations provide a contemporary history of this country at a time when President Pervez Musharraf’s power was waning and the Taliban’s was growing, and when Americans began to realize that Pakistan’s fate is inextricably linked with our own.

On September 17, 2009 the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform hosted its first public event--Beyond PAYGO. Five panelists discussed recent proposals to gain control over mandatory spending and put the budget on a sustainable path.  (See the webcast of the event below.) 

On September 15, Nicholas Thompson discussed his new book The Hawk and the Dove: Paul Nitze, George Kennan, and the History of the Cold War. Covering the remarkable rivalry and friendship bonding two of the nation's foremost foreign policy thinkers, Paul Nitze and George Kennan, the event was moderated by Andrés Martinez, Director of Bernard L. Schwartz Fellows Program.

Second Bernard L. Schwartz Economic Symposium

The bursting of the housing and credit bubbles has left the United States with a huge debt overhang.  As a result of the buildup of private sector debt and the economic crisis, households and firms are finding it difficult to service debt and lay a foundation for a sustainable recovery. 

New America Foundation's Economic Growth Program hosted leading economists and public intellectuals to discuss the following questions:

The summer saw new spikes in drug related violence in North America.  The governmental responses ranged from President Obama's meeting with Canadian and Mexican leaders to pledge new vigilence to members of the California legislature proposing to close California's budget crisis by legalizing and taxing drugs. America has been engaging in a war on drugs for a generation now. What have been the results? What is working and what isn't working? What should America be doing and where… more

On September 9, 2009, author and journalist Sam Tanenhaus came to the New America Foundation to discuss his new book, The Death of Conservatism.  Tanenhaus, Editor of the Book Review and Week in Review at The New York Times and biographer of Whittaker Chambers and William F. Buckley, Jr., traced the intellectual history of "movement conservatism" from the philosophies of Edmund Burke to the presidency of George W. Bush.  Along the way, he argued, conservatism's goals shifted from conservation and… more

Please join Tom Gjelten as he discusses his new book Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause.

Please join General Anthony Zinni as he discusses his new book Leading the Charge: Lessons from the Battlefield to the Boardroom.

The New America Foundation and Appleseed hosted a timely roundtable discussion on a proposed policy aimed at clearing the path for opening basic bank accounts for immigrants and those who are new to the financial system. Participants included counsel and compliance officers of banks, prepaid firms and financial institution processors, representatives of nonprofits serving immigrant families, delegates from the Mexican Embassy and public policy experts.

Patrick Radden Keefe, a Fellow at The Century Foundation, discussed his new book, The Snakehead: An Epic Tale of the Chinatown Underworld and the American Dream. The book tells how "Sister Ping," the entrepreneurial human smuggler based in New York's Chinatown, built a global criminal network. The Snakehead also relates the events that led to Sister Ping's downfall, when the "Golden Venture," the ship on which some three hundred undocumented Chinese immigrants had made a four-month journey in a cramped, windowless hold, ran

In the aftermath of the bubble economy, America needs to shift resources from the debt-inflated finance and housing sectors to the productive economy.  As part of this long-term strategy, how do we revitalize manufacturing? Join the editor and several contributors to a new study, Manufacturing a Better Future for America, published by the Alliance for American Manufacturing, to discuss ways to rebuild the foundation of the American economy by means of innovation, industrial policies and trade reform.  more

On July 27, Wadah Khanfar, the director general of the Al Jazeera Network, joined Steve Clemons, the director of the New America Foundation's American Strategy Program to discuss the nature and motivations of Al Jazeera and the network's relationship with the United States.

On July 24, Christopher Preble discussed his new book The Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous, and Less Free. Dr. Preble was joined by New America's Michael Cohen, Senior Research Fellow and co-director of the Privatization of Foreign Policy Initiative, and Michael Lind, Senior Fellow and Policy Director of the Economic Growth Program, as well as Gordon Adams, a Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center, in discussing whether and how the U.S. should scale back its global military commitments.

On July 23 Seth Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, joined the New America Foundation and Peter Bergen, senior fellow and co-director of the New America Foundation's Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative, to discuss Afghanistan and Jones' recently published book, In The Graveyard of Empires.  

Does America have a flawed pattern of growth? For over two decades, growth has depended on asset bubbles and rising indebtedness.  Business cycle recoveries have been marked by jobless recoveries and stagnant wages for most Americans. 

A New America Foundation/Washington Monthly event

The New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project invites congressional education staff to join us on Monday, July 20th for an introduction to our federal education funding database. The website includes state and district level funding, achievement, and demographic data. Monday's event will include a brief demonstration on how to use the database, specific information about education in your state, and a question and answer period with New America's education experts.

The Southern California Constitutional Convention Town Hall focused on introducing and educating the community to the concept and gathering feedback from the public. Featuring panels of elected officials, issues experts, and community leaders, this event was Southern Californian residents’ first major opportunity to learn and ask questions about this powerful method to reform the state, and give input into a process that could profoundly affect California for generations to come.

 

Citizens, community groups, and experts from across the state came together to discuss a California constitutional convention. How might it come about? How could it help our cities, schools, budget and government? Video is available below.

Assemblywoman Lori Saldaña opened the Women and Wealth Asset Policy Forum event, sponsored by the New America Foundation's Asset Building Program in partnership with the California Women's Legislative Caucus, the California Commission on the Status of Women, and the California Women's Agenda.

Can the United States prosper and participate successfully in international trade with an economy based mainly on services and without manufacturing?

Ralph Gomory, one of America's leading economic thinkers, challenges the conventional wisdom about the post-industrial economy. Boldly clarifying classic economic analysis, Gomory explains why manufacturing continues to be essential to our prosperity.

Please join us for a provocative discussion on the future of the American economy.

Please join the New American Foundation and our co-sponsor, Americans for Peace Now, for a briefing by Michael Sfard, followed by an end of day wine reception.  Mr. Sfard is Israel's pre-eminent legal expert on settlements and the challenges posed by the broader infrastructure of Israeli occupation to the daily life of Palestinians, to the two-state solution, to American policy and to Israel's democracy.

Late last year, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger called California’s looming budget crisis a fiscal armageddon waiting to strike. Now, as the state faces a $24 billion budget shortfall and major cuts are inevitable, doomsday seems to have come to California, and particularly to its poorest. The one-million-plus Californians on CalWorks, the state’s main welfare program, could lose monthly income beginning in July. Support for those who care for disabled Californians is set to be slashed.

Does America need a Green Bank? 

The Green Bank would be a U.S. government corporation charged with financing a wide range of clean energy technologies. Proponents argue that a Green Bank could help America achieve greater energy efficiency and independence while creating new jobs. The Clean Energy and Security Act, recently passed by the House of Representatives, included the Green Bank in the form of the Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA).

Unlike the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) has no mechanism to ensure compliance and verification.

Given the dramatic advances in the life sciences over the past decade, the international community urgently needs to discuss strengthening the BWC.

Low-wage workers are some of America's most vulnerable workers. In addition to the problem of having low wages, many have little input into the hours that they work and many have unpredictable work schedules, with the timing and amount of work hours fluctuating from week to week. A cascade of negative consequences can flow from being unable to alter work schedules or know them in advance - including unstable child care; difficulty accessing work supports and job training;… more

Rising violence in Afghanistan paired with a Pakistani army campaign against militants in the wild badlands of Pakistan begs the question: is stability in this increasingly treacherous region possible? If so, what constitutes a ‘stability’ the United States can accept? If not, what should the United States’ involvement be, militarily, economically, and diplomatically?

Sponsored by the New America Foundation and FairVote.

On June 22, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its much-anticipated voting rights ruling in the NAMUDNO case (Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District v. Holder). Many long-time experts are sifting through the decision to understand the broad implications for the future of voting rights protections and minority representation in the United States.

Pete Wilson’s California wasn’t too different from Arnold Schwarzenegger’s. The state’s education system lagged behind the rest of the country, interest groups had a tight grip on Sacramento, healthcare costs were rising, and the economy was the worst it had been since the Great Depression. While Wilson may be best remembered for his more controversial stances—like supporting Proposition 187, which sought to refuse services to illegal immigrants—he also managed to pass budgets and break partisan stalemates, ultimately leaving his successor… more

In 1914, in defiance of his middle-class landowning family, a young white man named James Morgan Richardson married a light-skinned black woman named Edna Howell. Over more than twenty years of marriage, they formed a strong family and built a house at the end of a winding sandy road in South Alabama, a place where their safety from the hostile world around them was assured, and where they developed a unique racial and cultural identity. Jim and Edna Richardson were… more

On June 26, Sir Richard Dalton, the former UK ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran and an associate fellow with the Middle East & North Africa Program at the Chatham House, joined Steve Clemons at the New America Foundation to shed light on current events in Iran and what the long term effects of the Iranian election will be.

As the FCC begins its year-long process to recommend a National Broadband Plan, one starting point is to unlock publicly-owned assets that can facilitate ubiquitous, affordable broadband access. Wireless spectrum remains the most cost-effective and rapid means to deliver broadband access to rural and unserved urban residents. But as mobile broadband use continues to increase exponentially, demand for spectrum will rapidly outpace availability under current spectrum management policies.

This event has been postponed until further notice.  We apologize for any inconvenience. 

Please join the New America Foundation for a conversation with Gordon Silverstein on his book Law's Allure: How Law Shapes, Constrains, Saves, and Kills Politics.

On June 22, 2009 Ken Ballen, Steve Clemons, Flynt Leverett, Afshin Molavi, and Nader Mousavizadeh came together with Nicholas Schmidle at the New America Foundation to share their varied views on the current events in Iran, and how they will impact future U.S. policy toward Iran. This discussion among some of the world’s most prominent experts on the region ranged from how to interpret the riots in the streets of Tehran to the forceful debates that continue in the… more

On June 22, 2009 Yermolai Solzhenitsyn, Lenny Mendonca, Toby Gati, and Douglas Rediker gathered with Steve Clemons at the New America Foundation to discuss Russia’s economy and the newly released McKinsey Global Institute paper, Lean Russia: Sustaining Economic Growth Through Improved Productivity. This report asserts that future growth within Russia is contingent on new and increased investment and productivity.

Faced with a deepening budget crisis and a paralyzed political system, a growing number of Californians have concluded that their government needs a complete overhaul. Join us to meet the leaders of the reform movement, to explore different paths to fundamental change, and to discuss some ideas for creating “California v 2.0,” an upgraded political system that meets the challenges of the 21st century.

When President Clinton signed the welfare reform bill in 1996, he changed the moral debate over poverty by linking benefits to work. However, an opportunity was missed to create a new type of safety net that recognized not just the importance of income but having access to a stock of savings and assets as well. While much attention has been focused on income volatility, severe fluctuations in wealth and low asset holdings undermine the potential for economic mobility.

On June 17, Imran Khan, a member of the Pakistani parliament and the chairman of the Movement for Justice Party, discussed the evolution of the Taliban in Pakistan and the role the Pakistani government plays in the Taliban’s development with Patrick Doherty, co-director of the New America Foundation’s Counterterrorism Strategy Initiative.

On Wednesday, June 17, 2009, Ambassador Frank Lavin discussed U.S.-China relations under the Obama administration with Steve Clemons, director of the New America Foundation’s American Strategy Program.

Lavin explained that policy changes are occurring both in the United States and in China, partly due to the change in U.S. administration but also due to the global economic crisis.

Is our people's God jealous of your people's God? Should religion unite us or divide us? Is our view of your God driven by theology, or is it shaped by whether we want to trade with you or take your land? Why can't we all just get along, anyway?

Our nation has an obligation to make sure everyone has quality, affordable health coverage. However, coverage will not be sustainable unless we refocus our delivery system on patients, improve quality, and increase efficiency. Transforming our delivery system is good public policy and a necessary component of fiscal responsibility. Yet, we will not slow the rate of health care cost growth until we create stronger incentives for providers - the people who deliver care -… more

Join the New America Foundation and the UC Center Sacramento for a roundtable discussion regarding the financing of California's state and local governments. Special attention will be given to the implications of changes in revenue structures and flows for different levels of government.

How can a dysfunctional and unsustainable relationship between the U.S. and China be reformed?

On June 11th, 2009, San Joses city leaders joined election experts for a discussion on instant runoff voting. Currently, in order to be elected to office in San Jose, a candidate must secure a majority of the votes cast. Sounds simple enough, but if no candidate receives a majority in the initial election, then a runoff election is held in which the top candidates must compete again. This process is lengthy, results in low voter turnout, and can cost $500,000… more

Please join us on Wednesday, June 10 to officially launch the Open Technology Initiative (OTI) and to learn more about its current projects, including M-Lab, an open platform for researchers to deploy Internet measurement tools; Building the 21st Century Broadband Superhighway, an initiative to deploy middle-mile fiber infrastructure across the country; and other ways OTI promotes affordable, universal, and ubiquitous communications networks through partnerships with communities, researchers, industry, and public interest groups.

An exclusive national poll taken ahead of Iran’s presidential election is discussed by Ken Ballen, Azadeh Porzand, and Flynt Leverett. Steve Clemons moderated the discussion.

On Monday, June 8, the New America Foundation's Federal Education Budget Project released "Equitable Resources in Low Income Schools: Teacher Equity and the Federal Title I Comparability Requirement" at an event on Capitol Hill. This event featured representatives from the White House, Representative George Miller's committee staff, and the National Education Association to discuss teacher equity and the comparability requirement in the law.

Virtually all the progress made in children's well-being since 1975 - particularly the improvements of the 1990s -- will be wiped out by the current recession, according to a report released on Wed., June 3, 2009 at the New America Foundation.