Online registration is now closed for this event. To register, please contact Erin Hoekstra directly and ehoeskstra@aei.org.
NOTE: This event is co-sponsored by the J. Dennis Hastert Center and will be held in Chicago, IL.
The economic events of the past year have raised several significant questions. Is our current situation a failure of capitalism? Does a free enterprise system shortchange the poor and middle class? Is capitalism worth saving? As government decision-makers stand ready to replace private citizens and free-markets as the drivers of the economy, Americans must decide which system can best promote and ensure their values and ideals.
To answer these questions at this joint American Enterprise Institute and J. Dennis Hastert Center event, AEI president Arthur Brooks will provide an overview of the new culture war developing in America over free enterprise and describe the choice Americans must face. J Dennis Hastert Center Director, Javier Comboni will discuss the foundations for market capitalism and free entrepreneurship. The event will conclude with a panel describing how capitalism not only creates wealth for everyone, including the poor, but also inspires and requires virtue among both producers and consumers. Question and answer sessions will follow discussions.
Please register online at www.aei.org/chicago or by contacting the Hastert Center (630.752.5975; hastertcenter@wheaton.edu) or Erin Hoekstra (ehoekstra@aei.org; 202.862.7172). All seats are complimentary.
| 7:15a.m. | Registration and Breakfast | |
| 7:30 | Introduction: | |
| "The Fight for Free Enterprise" | Arthur Brooks, AEI | |
| 7:45 | Roundtable Discussion: | |
| "Capitalism: Fix the Machine or Change the Behavior?" | Arthur Brooks, AEI | |
| Javier Comboni, Hastert Center | ||
| 9:00 | Panel Discussion: | |
| "My Brother's Keeper: Why Capitalism Is Good for the Poor" | C. William Pollard, Hastert Center | |
| Kevin Hassett, AEI | ||
| Seth Norton, Hastert Center | ||
| 10:00 | Adjournment |
American Enterprise Institute
1150 Seventeenth Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-862-7172
Speaker biographies
Arthur C. Brooks became the president of AEI on January 1, 2009. Previously, he was Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy at Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and an AEI visiting scholar. Mr. Brooks is the author of Who Really Cares (2006), which examines American charitable giving; the widely acclaimed Gross National Happiness (2008); and a textbook on social entrepreneurship. His next book on the coming culture war in America over free enterprise will be published in 2010.
Javier Comboni is the Director of the J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government and Public Policy at Wheaton College. Previously, Comboni served as the minister of finance in Bolivia, where he reported directly to the President of Bolivia. He also formerly served on the Board of Governors for the Central Bank of Bolivia, and as an economic advisor to many Latin American governments. Comboni holds a PhD in Economics from Boston University. His major academic interests are in economic policy, financial markets and microfinance, international political economics, debt relief and poverty reduction.
Kevin Hassett is the director of economic policy studies and a senior fellow at AEI. His research areas include the U.S. economy, tax policy, and the stock market. Previously, Mr. Hassett was a senior economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, a professor at Columbia University, and policy consultant to the Treasury Department during the George H. W. Bush and Clinton administrations. He also served as a top economic advisor to the George W. Bush and John McCain presidential campaigns.
Seth Norton is the Norris A. Aldeen Professor of Business at Wheaton College. Norton holds a PhD in Economics and Industrial Organization and Finance from the University of Chicago. Norton's current academic interests include the study of the breadth and varieties of competition and the philosophic foundations of market institutions and the religious foundations of human behavior.
C. William Pollard is an entrepreneur and business leader. Pollard served as Chairman of ServiceMaster Inc. from 1990-2002; an organization recognized by the Financial Times as one of the most respected companies in the world. Pollard is a graduate of Wheaton College and he received a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law. He is the author of numerous books including the bestselling, The Soul of the Firm. Pollard also has been recognized for his leadership in business, ethics, and corporate governance including receiving the Hesburgh Award for Business Ethics and two honorary Doctorate degrees.
