Ideas in Action with Jim Glassman

An in-depth interview with Meg Whitman, former head of e-Bay and former gubernatorial candidate in California, on ways to strengthen the American economy. This interview stems from the 4% Economic Growth Conference held at the George W. Bush Institute in the spring of 2011. The interview is supplemented by a discussion on the effect of taxation on growth with Kevin Hassett, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

An in-depth interview with Meg Whitman, former head of e-Bay and former gubernatorial candidate in California, on ways to strengthen the American economy. This interview stems from the 4% Economic Growth Conference held at the George W. Bush Institute in the spring of 2011. The interview is supplemented by a discussion on the effect of taxation on growth with Kevin Hassett, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Since 2007, World Bank President Robert Zoellick has been working to focus the institution on its primary missions: eradicating poverty and assisting developing nations. Jim conducts a one on one interview with Zoellick on the powerful emergence of new economies, the outlook for developed nations, and the global impact of the tumultuous Middle East uprisings. How can the Bank chart a course to stabilize and elevate the global economy?

Since 2007, World Bank President Robert Zoellick has been working to focus the institution on its primary missions: eradicating poverty and assisting developing nations. Jim conducts a one on one interview with Zoellick on the powerful emergence of new economies, the outlook for developed nations, and the global impact of the tumultuous Middle East uprisings. How can the Bank chart a course to stabilize and elevate the global economy?

Is investing in women 'smart economics?' World Bank President Robert Zoellick thinks so. The Bank has programs in Afghanistan, the Middle East and elsewhere that help women become educated, gain better access to health care, and start small businesses. In this one on one interview, Jim asks Zoellick why the empowerment of women is crucial to the overall wellbeing of these regions. Will the turmoil in the Arab World help or hinder women? And how can the World Bank - and the U.S. - ensure women's rights are protected?

State and municipal government leaders across the country are coming face-to-face with a reality they - and the public employees they work with - have long sought to delay. Public pension obligations - for teachers, police officers, firefighters and other civil servants are beginning to break the bank. Pension plans that provide unlimited health care, set benefits for life and the option to retire at an early age are no longer sustainable as the work force shrinks along with budgets. How can local and state government leaders provide benefits that were promised to current retirees while cutting pension promises to current workers?

The financial crisis has been blamed on many factors: Wall Street bankers, out of control hedge fund managers, incompetent ratings agencies, weak government oversight and a collapse in the housing mortgage markets. Seemingly all of these forces played a role. Peter Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute argues, controversially, that the main culprits in the financial crisis were the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These mortgage-lending powerhouses, backed by taxpayer funds and a mandate from Congress to increase home ownership, even by people with low credit ratings, shoulder most of the blame for the economic meltdown according to Wallison. Unless they are reformed and reined in, Wallison writes, American taxpayers could well find themselves spending billions to bail them out again.

The financial crisis has been blamed on many factors: Wall Street bankers, out of control hedge fund managers, incompetent ratings agencies, weak government oversight and a collapse in the housing mortgage markets. Seemingly all of these forces played a role. Peter Wallison of the American Enterprise Institute argues, controversially, that the main culprits in the financial crisis were the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These mortgage-lending powerhouses, backed by taxpayer funds and a mandate from Congress to increase home ownership, even by people with low credit ratings, shoulder most of the blame for the economic meltdown according to Wallison. Unless they are reformed and reined in, Wallison writes, American taxpayers could well find themselves spending billions to bail them out again.

Amy Chua is the author of the best selling book “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” – a memoir relating her experience raising two daughters using strict parenting techniques similar to the ones used by her Chinese immigrant parents. Amy Chua is the John M. Duff Professor of Law at Yale Law School. She specializes in the study of international business transactions, law and development, ethnic conflict, and globalization and the law. She is the author of two other books: “World on Fire: How exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability” and “Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance – and Why They Fall.”

A new book of essays, "The Next Digital Decade: Essays on the Future of the Internet," by some of the most insightful observers of the internet age, asks what the next decade will bring in technological innovation, cultural change, regulation and the role of the government in the next phase of the evolving internet. Two guests who contributed essays to the book discuss their views about the effect of innovation and the role government will play in the evolution of the internet.

With uprisings in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen, the political landscape of the Middle East has seemingly changed overnight. Millions are marching for freedom and democratic government: some leaders are fleeing, others are fighting to stay in power. Can this unrest be traced to Iran's Green Movement of 2009 that was so violently suppressed, and will the spark of democracy find its way back to Iran?

Opinions vary about how close Mexico is to becoming a failed state. Drug cartels control the municipal workings of entire areas of the country; the police, elected officials and the judiciary, and corruption is rampant. The US and Mexico share a significant border and huge amounts of goods and people flow between them. What are the risks to the US if Mexico sinks into anarchy and what should we be doing now to prevent it?

Thomas Sowell is considered one of America's leading conservatives. He analyzes political, economic and foreign policy via his nationally syndicated column. His most recent book is titled "Dismantling America," and in it he gives a stark warning about the direction of the country. He and Jim discuss the current state of America and Sowell's view of the future.

Immigration, legal and otherwise, is a hot-button issue in America. Changing the rules about who is welcome to come to our shores – rolling out the welcome mat for more highly skilled workers, and rolling it up for the extended family members of immigrants already here – will lead to a stronger American economy, according to author Pia Orrenius. She examines this idea in her new book, Beside the Golden Door, co-authored with Madeline Zavodny.

Immigration, legal and otherwise, is a hot-button issue in America. Changing the rules about who is welcome to come to our shores – rolling out the welcome mat for more highly skilled workers, and rolling it up for the extended family members of immigrants already here – will lead to a stronger American economy, according to author Pia Orrenius. She examines this idea in her new book, Beside the Golden Door, co-authored with Madeline Zavodny.