Economic Growth: Media Appearances and Press Releases

Doug Rediker on BizRadio | 'The Economic Contrarian'

Communications — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 13:25:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Doug Rediker, of the Economic Growth Program, made a guest appearance on the Mike Norman Show.

Big Ideas from New America: An Economic Recovery Program for the Post-Bubble Economy

Communications — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:28:00 -0400

Washington, DC--America's economy is in serious trouble, and it will take more than the standard countercyclical measures to fix it. The nation today is mired in a post-bubble economy, and needs a bold and optimistic economic recovery plan that goes beyond conventional thinking. This new proposal from the New America Foundation offers exactly that. In "An Economic Recovery Program for the Post-Bubble Economy" -- the first proposal in New America's new Big Ideas series -- Bernard L. Schwartz and Sherle R. Schwenninger warn of the dangers of misreading the current slowdown, and map out a plan for harnessing the U.S. economy to the two most important… more

Douglas Rediker in the Financial Post | 'Merrill Woes Could Spread'

Communications — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:39:00 -0400

New America in the News:
"One of the reasons that large investment banks have gone to sovereign-wealth funds is because they are classic, long-term, buy-and-hold investors," said Douglas Rediker, a sovereign-fund expert at the New America Foundation, a research and advocacy organization. "That means they don't get spooked by short-term market volatility." LINK

Sherle Schwenninger on Infrastructure Investment and the Bloomberg, Schwarzenegger, and Rendell Call to Action

Communications — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:07:00 -0400

There is a groundswell of support across the United States for a thorough upgrade to America's infrastructure. Today, at 3 p.m CST, New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (D-CA), and Gov. Ed Rendell (D-PA) are calling on presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain to join a coalition of political leaders calling for a infrastructure overhaul. Sherle Schwenninger, director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation, can provide context to today's call for action, and can address questions about financing U.S. infrastructure investments. Based in the New York City area, Mr. Schwenninger is… more

Sherle Schwenninger in Las Vegas Sun | 'Measures Linked, Going Nowhere'

Communications — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 06:50:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...Sherle R. Scwhenninger, director of the Economic Growth Program at the New America Foundation, said the housing market urgently needs help.

“Right now, for Nevada and the country, it’s probably more important to have a package that could help stem or provide a softer landing to the housing market,” he said.

“There’s clearly real pain,” Scwhenninger said. “It’s a great moment to get some housing relief out there to stem the downward spiral and the recessionary pressure it creates...” LINK

Sherle R. Schwenninger in the National Journal | 'The Real Infrastructure Crisis'

Communications — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:28:00 -0400

New America in the News:
...Taxpayers' generosity toward the nation's infrastructure, however, took a dive during the 1980s. President Reagan's aversion to using taxes for domestic spending, exacerbated by Wall Street's obsession with quarterly earnings, encouraged a shortsightedness in assessing the public good. According to Sherle R. Schwenninger, the director of the New America Foundation's Economic Growth Program, the money that government at all levels has devoted to infrastructure, as a proportion of the nation's total economic output, slipped from 3 percent during the 1950s and 1960s to only 2 percent in recent years... LINK

Douglas Rediker in MSN Money | 'Is America in a Permanent Decline?'

Communications — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 07:02:00 -0400

New America in the News:
..."The U.S. was always No. 1 and assumed it would be No. 1 and acted accordingly," says Doug Rediker, a former investment banker and a co-director of the Global Strategic Finance Initiative at the New America Foundation, a Washington, D.C., think tank. "Now other nations are catching up. There are competitors fighting for market share in every industry. The U.S. is under pressure..." LINK

Douglas Rediker in America.gov | 'How Welcome Is Investment by Sovereign Wealth Funds?'

Communications — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:52:00 -0400

New America in the News:

...In the United States, the due diligence process is already in place, says Douglas Rediker, a researcher at the New America Foundation.

“Our country is extraordinarily well protected by existing law and regulations” against any foreign investors driven by non-commercial intents, he told America.gov.

Other experts say more needs to be done to protect U.S. interests.

Peter Navarro, a business professor at the University of California, Irvine, proposed making strategic sectors such as telecommunications, ports, energy infrastructure and defense off limits to sovereign funds. He also proposed ownership caps and strict transparency requirements on their investments. Others called for limiting investment to nonvoting equity shares, suspending voting rights, or restricting funds to reciprocal arrangements.

Rediker himself, in a 2007 paper he co-authored, urged restrictions on control by or voting rights of sovereign wealth funds that invest in U.S. public companies.

But he changed his mind when Congress and the administration moved to make the review process for foreign investments in U.S. companies more predictable and comprehensible...LINK

Financing America’s Infrastructure

Communications — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 16:48:00 -0400

Today the New America Foundation released a policy paper by Douglas Rediker and Heidi Crebo-Rediker, co-directors of the New America Foundation's Global Strategic Finance Initiative. The executive summary is pasted below. Also, see a PDF of the entire policy paper: http://www.newamerica.net/files/Financing_America_Infrastructure.PDF

Contact: Erin Drankoski, 202-997-8727, drankoski@newamerica.net. For further information on New America's Global Strategic Finance Initiative and Economic Growth Program, click here.

Executive Summary

America's basic infrastructure is outdated, worn, and in some cases, failing. Most experts agree that it is inadequate for meeting the demands of the 21st-century global economy. If we are to remain competitive, we must… more

Doug Rediker in Harvard Political Review | 'Sovereign Wealth and Private Equity Funds are Here to Stay'

Communications — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 08:27:00 -0400

New America in the News:

Full article

. . . The new kids on the block, in terms of economic might, are sovereign wealth funds. Clouding their speedy rise are questions raised by Western media and governments about their management and purposes. Do they pose a threat to political stability? “That’s the three-trillion dollar question,” said Douglas Rediker, Co-Director of the Global Strategic Finance Initiative at the New America Foundation, in an interview with HPR. Sovereign wealth funds have never been this big before, or grown at such a pace. The International Monetary Fund has estimated that sovereign wealth funds could account for $12 trillion dollars by 2012.One problem that belies handy analysis of sovereign wealth funds, however, is their sheer diversity. Countries from Norway to Botswana operate sovereign wealth funds, and generalization about their aims or activities is difficult. But uncertainties about the motives of these funds are growing. . .

“The potential to use this finance as a political tool exists,” said Rediker. . . “There have been few if any instances where you can point to political influence having been part of an investment decision,” said Rediker. And it’s difficult to single out sovereign wealth funds for reform, for an important practical reason. Rediker noted that they disclose just as much information as private equity or hedge funds, and since giving up information can mean giving up market advantages, sovereign wealth funds are not keen on it. . . .

Doug Rediker in New York Times | Financier Aims to Buy Struggling Small Banks

Communications — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 14:54:00 -0400

New America in the News:

New York Times | Financier Aims to Buy Struggling Small Banks

. . . “For Abu Dhabi to come in and try to cobble together eight different thrifts into a multibillion-dollar deal is enormously complicated,” said Douglas Rediker, co-director of the Global Strategic Finance Initiative at the New America Foundation, a research organization in Washington. “But Wilbur Ross is an active investor who knows how to do this.” . . .

Doug Rediker in National Journal | New Moves on Wealth Funds

Communications — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:46:00 -0400

New America in the News:

New Moves on Wealth Funds (National Journal, subscription only)

. . . Some analysts suggest that the likely ineffectual nature of the forthcoming IMF code of conduct and the reluctance of the Bush administration to take a tougher line reflect the impotence of the United States -- the world's largest debtor nation -- in regulating sovereign wealth funds.

"The leverage is not with us," said Doug Rediker, co-director of the New America Foundation's Global Strategic Finance Initiative. "What happens if the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority says it won't change its ways? What are we going to do? Tell them to keep their money?" . . .

New America in The New York Sun | 'Bloomberg Decries Stimulus Plans'

Communications — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:29:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Bloomberg in DC: 'The Jig Is Up': Mayor Decries the Plans for Stimulus (The New York Sun)

"When you need stimulus you cut checks. You've got to get the money out the door," a senior economic adviser to Senator Obama, Austan Goolsbee, said yesterday at a campaign panel organized by the New America Foundation. more

New America in The Hill | 'On stimulus, Sen. McCain, Bush divided'

Communications — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 00:23:00 -0500

New America in the News:

On stimulus, Sen. McCain, Bush divided (The Hill)

“Just raining cash down — which seems like what Congress wants to do—is not going to have much of an effect,” declared Kevin Hassett, a senior McCain adviser, who appeared on a panel at the New America Foundation alongside the economic advisers to the leading Democratic candidates. more

New America in US News & World Report | 'Candidates Push Economic Stimulus Plans'

Communications — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 23:59:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Presidential Candidates Push Economic Stimulus Plans (US News & World Report)

As Republicans and Democrats in Congress negotiate the exact details of an economic stimulus package, that debate was mirrored today among the chief economic advisers to several of the major presidential candidates at a forum at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C. While none of these plans will be enacted, at least not in full, each adviser claimed his plan shows the superior economic thinking of his respective candidate. more

Sherle Schwenninger in CongressDaily | 'Balance of Payments'

Communications — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 16:37:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Balance of Payments (National Journal's CongressDaily, subscription only)

Recession is looming, but, for once, President Bush and congressional leaders are moving in the same direction and have adopted the mantra that a stimulus should be timely, targeted and temporary.

But, warns Sherle R. Schwenninger, head of the economic growth program at the Washington-based New America Foundation, "if you attempt to counter the downturn with just more supply-side and demand-side initiatives, all you will get is just another bubble. You need structural change." ...

New America in Financial Times | 'Presidential rivals vie over economy'

Communications — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:08:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Presidential rivals vie over economy (Financial Times)

The Obama team claims its simpler package could be delivered and take effect more quickly – a claim most economists support. “When you need stimulus you cut checks,” Austan Goolsbee, an adviser to Mr Obama, told the New America Foundation. “You’ve got to get the money out the door.” more

Sherle Schwenninger in CQ Weekly | 'Congress' Role: Help Or Hinder'

Communications — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 16:13:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Congress' Role: Help Or Hinder (CQ Weekly)

"Giving the economy a temporary sugar high of trying to boost consumption will not sustain an economic growth path," said Sherle R. Schwenninger of the New America Foundation, a public policy think tank. "We see a longer-term program being required, which involves public infrastructure. It's more efficient and effective in stimulating both investment and demand and creating jobs." ...

Doug Rediker in AP | 'Foreign Investments Spur Concern on Hill'

Communications — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:38:00 -0500

New America in the News:

Foreign Investments Spur Concern on Hill (AP article appearing in Forbes and BusinessWeek)
The flow of funds from overseas could bolster the U.S. dollar, and sovereign wealth funds are the type of long-term investors that can stabilize the financial markets, said Doug Rediker, co-director of the international finance group at the New America Foundation. ...

Sherle Schwenninger in Las Vegas Sun | 'Fix the economy, but how?'

Communications — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:56:00 -0500

New America in the News:
Fix the economy, but how? (Las Vegas Sun)

As the partisan narratives emerge in Washington, Sherle Schwenninger at the New American Foundation, a Washington think tank, says they won’t work because the national downturn is more than a temporary blip. Schwenninger thinks the economy needs to be weaned from its dependence on consumer spending in favor of government infrastructure projects that could grow the economy. He is pushing to give cash to the states to modernize airports, fix roads or build electrical transmission lines, which Nevada needs to do to carry solar power across the region. ...