According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Great Recession came to an end in June 2009. National output figures support this assertion, as GDP has surpassed its 2008 prerecession peak and continues to rise. Read more »
Earlier this year, the Greek parliament voted to approve austerity measures in exchange for increased foreign aid in an attempt to resuscitate the country's moribund economy. Later that day, central Athens burned. Read more »
Features Rachel Maddow, Russell Feingold, Dave Eggers, John Yoo, Dan Akerson, and much more. Commonwealth Club members receive a free copy of the magazine in the mail; nonmembers can purchase a print or digital edition through this service.
General Motors has decided to discontinue funding of the Heartland Institute, an organization that downplays the risks of climate disruption, three weeks after GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson was asked about it during a Climate One radio interview. GM spokesman Dave Barthmuss confirmed the move yesterday. Read more »
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner headlines this issue of The Commonwealth magazine. Inside, Geithner discusses the U.S. economic recovery and options for government policy. Read more »
This issue features Ayaan Hirsi Ali on her transition to the West, James A. Baker III on American foreign policy, Nancy Pelosi on Congress' post-health care agenda, Victor Davis Hanson on the importance of studying war history, Eliot Spitzer on economic regulation, and much more.
The Commonwealth Club hosted a private, off-the-record panel discussion on the U.S. and California economies, prior to the member’s-only Bank of America/Walter E. Hoadley Annual Economic Forecast luncheon on Friday, January 21, 2011. Panelists included former U.S. Representative and California State Finance Director Tom Campbell, former Semiconductor Industry Association President George Scalise, Public Policy Institute of California economist Dr. Jed Kolko, and Brian Riley, managing director of Merrill Lynch.
While Congress is focused on Bush tax cuts, former Newsweek senior White House correspondent Richard Wolffe says the government’s first priority should be addressing unemployment.
When conservative political satirist P.J. O'Rourke spoke at The Commonwealth Club of California in February 2007, he was asked who he thought was the modern equivalent of Adam Smith. O'Rourke replied, "Unfortunately, he just died. Milton Friedman was the guy."
More recently, a request for information about famed economist Milton Friedman's appearances here set us off on a mission to find all of his speeches at The Club, and we found he had spoken at The Commonwealth Club 12 times between 1977 and 1998.
