The U.S. Economic Downturn

This webcast presented by the OSI Democracy and Power Fund looks at the recent U.S. economic downturn. It provides a snapshot of the roots of the crisis, the nuances of quick-fix policy solutions, and whether the same institutions whose policies created the economic mess are now designing its solution. 

Going beyond the bounds of Wall Street and a federal response, the conversation explores how the downturn is affecting actual working people in New York and nationwide. Participants examine where the U.S. economy is now and what steps forward should be taken, and introduce some of the people and organizations working to advance a different public policy vision.

Facilitated by Bill Vandenberg, OSI Democracy and Power Fund director, the discussion features Mark Winston Griffith, senior fellow at the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy, and Mike Gecan, a long-time organizer and national staff supervisor for the Industrial Areas Foundation.

More Information on the Economic Downturn

"In a Sea of Foreclosures, an Island of Calm," Jim Dwyer, New York Times, September 26, 2008.

"On Borrowed Time: Urban Decline Moves to the Suburbs," Michael Gecan, Boston Review, March/April 2008.

"No Bailout for Brownsville," Alex Ulam, The Real Deal (via the Drum Major Institute), May 2008.