Talks

Lectures and talks, with video, slides and transcripts.

• The U.S. Fiscal Outlook: Serious, Doable, and Waiting for a Deadline Panel on U.S. fiscal deficits and debt, Peterson Institute for International Economics, September 24, 2026. The debt is on track to keep rising; the adjustment needed is doable; and the likeliest deadline is the Social Security and Medicare trust funds running out in the early 2030s.
• Misery Amidst Splendor: Why Are Americans So Negative about the Economy and What It Means 2026 Homer Jones Memorial Lecture, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, July 15, 2026. Americans are more negative about the economy than at almost any time since 1952, even as they get more for their money than ever. Economic variables explain little of the gap; the news and partisan polarization explain more.