Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Steven Weisman, and David Wessel —Interviewed by Walter Isaacson at a Roundtable Event

“How do we structure the financial regulatory system when this is all over?” asked David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, referring to the stimulus package currently being proposed by the new White House. It was the theme of a luncheon filled with mostly reluctant supporters of the stimulus bill. “We need an economic Powell Doctrine,” declared Steven Weisman, editorial director and public policy fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of DHE Consulting, LLC, and former policy director for the McCain campaign, agreed: “What’s the exit strategy?”

At a time when the country is in recession and confidence in our economic institutions is at a low, Wessel sees little alternative to the stimulus package. “The Federal Reserve has done everything it could and then some,” he said, calling the Fed a “first responder” to the financial crisis. After all, the Fed cut interest rates to “zero—that’s something you only see in textbooks in Japan,” Wessel half-joked. Still, Holtz-Eakin urged caution, saying big infrastructure projects such as those proposed by the Obama administration could “exacerbate” the problem. Exclaiming that he was in “sticker shock” at the trillion-dollar price tag, Holtz-Eakin urged the roundtable participants to separate the concept of stimulus from infrastructure. “Unfortunately, infrastructure is being sold as stimulus,” said Holtz-Eakin.

Of course, the United States isn’t the only country to feel the effects of a financial downturn. Nevertheless, we have lost “intellectual authority on this matter,” said Wessel. “This financial crisis is sort of like Iraq,” said Weisman. “It has united the rest of the world—against us.” He was quick to add that the United States would have to work in cooperation with the rest of the world to fix the situation. Holtz-Eakin was a touch less sanguine: “We have a large product recall—global banking.”

Michael Kinsley discusses his new book, Creative Capitalism.

It all started with Bill Gates. In January 2008, the Microsoft chairman made a speech in Davos calling for a new economic system, “creative capitalism—an approach where governments, businesses, and nonprofits work together to stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or gain recognition, doing work that eases the world’s inequities.” Michael Kinsley was intrigued. After all, just what kind of social responsibility did a corporation have—if any? Isn’t the mandate of a company to generate the highest possible returns for its shareholders?



To answer these and other questions, Kinsley began a dialogue with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett; he then expanded the conversation to include economists and business leaders from across the globe. The result is an organic and constantly changing blog at Creativecapitalism.com dedicated to trying to solve the problem of how to do well and still do good. It is also the basis for Kinsley’s new book, Creative Capitalism: A Conversation with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Other Economic Leaders.

“Capitalism serves society by turning individual greed into social good,” said Kinsley. Which means that whether a company is selling products at higher margins because they are linked to a specific cause (like Bono’s RED campaign) or donating to nonprofits simply to create a sense of goodwill among their customers, creative capitalism can serve the common good while serving the bottom line. Still, it is not a perfect matrix. Kinsley quoted National Economic Council head Lawrence Summers: “It is hard in this world to do well. It is hard to do good. When I hear a claim that an institution is going to do both, I reach for my wallet. You should too.”

—Sacha Zimmerman

Photos from the McCloskey Speaker Series

A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the 2009 Presidential Inauguration

Featuring Emmett S. Beliveau, Executive Director, Presidential Inaugural Committee and Thomas L. Groppel, Director of Ceremonies, Armed Forces Inaugural Committee.

Watch the video, courtesy of C-SPAN.

The Secret Service, the National Park Service, the Capitol Police, the Metropolitan Police Department, the National Guard, the Coast Guard, the Armed Forces, Congress—those are just a few of the agencies devoting a lot of time and effort into what may be the largest inaugural event this nation has ever seen. “We’re doing a peaceful transition of government here,” said Thomas L. Groppel, director of ceremonies for the Armed Forces Inaugural Committee (AFIC), “and we aren’t afraid to do it in front of the whole world and world press.”

Or, apparently, in front of the millions of Americans expected to attend the inaugural in person. With JumboTron screens lining both the National Mall and the parade route along Pennsylvania Avenue, live text alerts throughout, and a virtual “Neighborhood Ball,” President-Elect Obama’s inauguration will be difficult to miss. However, Emmett S. Beliveau, executive director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, was quick to warn the Aspen Institute audience about the realities of a massive crowd, which will include security checkpoints, restricted access throughout the city, no parking, miles of walking, long lines for everything from Port-O-Potties to the Metro, and, of course, cold weather.

“There’s been some discussion on who’s in charge of the weather,” joked Beliveau, who quickly suggested AFIC for the job. The humor was not lost on AFIC’s Groppel, who oversaw both of Ronald Reagan’s inaugurals—which set records for the hottest and coldest on record. Though Reagan’s first term was ushered in at a balmy 54 degrees, the second term saw wind-chill temperatures at -20 degrees, which had event organizers scrambling to move the ceremony indoors.

Still, if you want tickets to the hottest show in town, there’s not a lot of good news. Ticketed seats sold out in just minutes as anticipation for the historic inauguration builds. But don’t worry, according to Beliveau, “There’s no question that the best seat in the house is in front of the television.”