Speaker biograhpies

Laurence J. Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc. He is also a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the Econometric Society. Previously, Mr. Kotlikoff served on the faculties of the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale University. He was also a senior economist with the President’s Council of Economic Advisers from 1981-82. Mr. Kotlikoff has served as a consultant to numerous international organizations and major corporations, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Swedish Ministry of Finance, the Norwegian Ministry of Finance, the Bank of Italy, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of England, the Russian government, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, and AT&T. Mr. Kotlikoff is author or coauthor of thirteen books and hundreds of professional journal articles on issues of deficits, generational accounting, the tax structure, Social Security, Medicare, health reform, pensions, saving, insurance, corporate finance, and personal finance.. His most recent book, coauthored with Scott Burns, is Spend 'Til the End (Simon & Schuster, 2008).

Arthur Laffer is the founder of Laffer Associates, an economic research and consulting firm. Mr. Laffer is best known for the “Laffer Curve,” which was made famous while he was a member of President Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board from 1981-89). He also advised Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on fiscal policy in the United Kingdom during the 1980s. Mr. Laffer’s economic acumen and influence triggered a global tax-cutting movement in the 1980s. One of his earliest successes in shaping public policy was his involvement in Proposition 13, the groundbreaking California initiative that drastically cut the state property taxes in 1978. Previously, Mr. Laffer was a consultant to Secretary of the Treasury William Simon, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Secretary of the Treasury George Shultz. He was also a professor of economics at Pepperdine, University of Southern California, and University of Chicago.

Stephen Moore is a senior economics writer and editorial board member for the Wall Street Journal, where he has served since 2005. He writing focuses on economic issues, including budget, tax and monetary policy. Mr. Moore is the founder and former president of the Club for Growth, which raises money for political candidates who favor free-market economic policies. Mr. Moore left the Club for Growth in 2004 to become president of the Free Enterprise Fund. Previously, Mr. Moore has served as a senior economist on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee, as a budget expert for the Heritage Foundation, and as a senior economics fellow at the Cato Institute, where he published dozens of studies on federal and state tax and budget policy. He was a consultant to the National Economic Commission in l987 and research director for President Reagan's Commission on Privatization. Mr. Moore is the author of five books, most recently, Bullish on Bush: How the Ownership Society Is Making America Richer (Madison Books, 2004).

Robert Shapiro is the chairman of Sonecon, LLC, an economic advisory firm that works with senior executives of U.S. and foreign governments, corporations, and nonprofit organizations. He and Sonecon have advised numerous clients, including President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Tony Blair, AT&T, Google, Nasdaq, Exxon-Mobil, Fugitsu of Japan, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the American Public Transportation Associaiton. He is also a senior fellow at the Georgetown School of Business and the Progressive Policy Institute; chairman of the Globalization Initiative of NDN, the American Task Force Argentina, and the Climate Task Force; and a board member of the Axson-Johnson Foundation in Sweden. From 1997 to 2001, Mr. Shapiro was undersecretary of commerce for economic affairs, directing economic policy for the Commerce Department and overseeing the nation's major statistical agencies, including the Census Bureau while it planned and carried out the 2000 decennial census. He is the cofounder and vice president of the Progressive Policy Institute and the Progressive Foundation. He also was the principal economic adviser to Governor Bill Clinton in his 1991-1992 presidential campaign, a senior economic adviser to Vice President Al Gore and Senator John Kerry in their presidential campaigns, and is currently an adviser to Senator Barack Obama’s campaign. Previously, Mr. Shapiro served as legislative director and economic counsel for Senator Daniel P. Moynihan, associate editor of U.S. News & World Report, and economic columnist for Slate. He has been a fellow at Harvard University, the Brookings Institution, and the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Peter Tanous is president and chief executive officer of Lynx Investment Advisory, LLC. Previously, he was executive vice president of Bank Audi (USA) in New York City. Prior to joining Bank Audi, he was chairman of Petra Capital Corporation, an international investment bank which he cofounded. Mr. Tanous was also held various positions at Smith Barney, where he served for fifteen years as manager of its Paris office, director and member of the executive committee of Smith Barney International, and first vice president and international regional director. His latest book is Building a Winning Portfolio (Kiplinger's, 2008). Mr. Tanous is also the author of Investment Gurus: A Roadmap to Wealth From the World’s Best Money Managers (Prentice Hall, 1997), The Wealth Equation (Prentice Hall, 1999), and Investment Visionaries: A Roadmap to Wealth from the World’s Greatest Money Managers (Prentice Hall Press, 2003). Mr. Tanous currently serves on the investment committees for Georgetown University and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

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