22
May 2024
Past Event
Can the US Rein in Chronic Federal Deficit Spending?

Event will also air live on this page.

 

Inquiries: press@hudson.org

Can the US Rein in Chronic Federal Deficit Spending?

Past Event
Hudson Institute
May 22, 2024
(Photo by Cris Faga/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Caption
(Photo by Cris Faga/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
22
May 2024
Past Event

Event will also air live on this page.

 

Inquiries: press@hudson.org

Speakers:
President, American Action Forum and Former Director, Congressional Budget Office
Douglas Holtz-Eakin

President, American Action Forum and Former Director, Congressional Budget Office

William Beach, Senior Fellow in Economics, Economic Policy Innovation Center, Coolidge Presidential Foundation and Former Chief Economist, US Senate Committee on the Budget
William Beach

Senior Fellow, Coolidge Presidential Foundation, Former Chief Economist, US Senate Committee on the Budget, and Former Commissioner of the US Bureau of Labor Statistics

thomas_duesterberg
Thomas J. Duesterberg

Senior Fellow

Listen to Event Audio

The United States’ total debt has ballooned to over $34 trillion. Economists Kenneth Rogoff and Carmen Reinhardt consider this level of debt relative to gross domestic product a sign of major economic trouble (see figure 1). But Washington shows little appetite for addressing the problem as policymakers approve budgets with annual deficits of 25 percent or more. Defense spending and other needed investments are severely constrained while interest on the debt now approaches $1 trillion per year. Inflation is supercharged, and chronic overspending challenges productivity and America’s sovereign credit ratings.

Join Hudson Senior Fellow Thomas Duesterberg for a discussion with Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin and Dr. William Beach to explore ways to halt the destructive budget cycle.

Figure 1

(see figure 1)

Related Events
06
May 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
A Conversation with Former METI Minister Nishimura on Prime Minister Takaichi's Policy Outlook and Solutions
Featured Speakers:
Yasutoshi Nishimura
Kenneth R. Weinstein
Getty Images
06
May 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
A Conversation with Former METI Minister Nishimura on Prime Minister Takaichi's Policy Outlook and Solutions

On May 6, Hudson Japan Chair Kenneth R. Weinstein will welcome Yasutoshi Nishimura, former head of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to Hudson. 

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Yasutoshi Nishimura
Kenneth R. Weinstein
11
May 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China
Featured Speakers:
Eyck Freymann
Jason Hsu
Getty Images
11
May 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Defending Taiwan: A Strategy to Prevent War with China

With Jason Hsu, Freymann will discuss how the United States and its partners can adapt to China’s evolving strategy and develop a coherent plan to prevent conflict while safeguarding Taiwan’s future.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Eyck Freymann
Jason Hsu
12
May 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
China’s Persecution: Assault on All Faiths
Featured Speakers:
Sam Brownback
Hon. Frank Wolf
Michael Arkush
Mihrigul Tursun
Arjia Rinpoche
Frances Hui
Wang Chunyan
Pastor Pan Yongguang
Peter Xu
Enes Freedom
Pastor Corey Jackson
Grace Jin Drexel
Moderator:
Nina Shea
This picture taken on July 19, 2023 shows a view of a watchtower of an alleged detention facility in Artux in Kizilsu Prefecture in China's northwestern Xinjiang region. Since 2017, more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been swept into internment camps where human rights abuses are commonplace, researchers, campaigners and members of the diaspora say. Beijing says the facilities were voluntary centres for teaching vocational skills, closed years ago after their inhabitants "graduated" into stab
12
May 2026
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
China’s Persecution: Assault on All Faiths

To address these concerns, former senator Sam Brownback, who served as ambassador at large for international religious freedom in the first Trump administration, will join Senior Fellow Nina Shea to propose new policies for the US government and actions for the American public. 

This picture taken on July 19, 2023 shows a view of a watchtower of an alleged detention facility in Artux in Kizilsu Prefecture in China's northwestern Xinjiang region. Since 2017, more than a million Uyghurs and other Muslims have been swept into internment camps where human rights abuses are commonplace, researchers, campaigners and members of the diaspora say. Beijing says the facilities were voluntary centres for teaching vocational skills, closed years ago after their inhabitants "graduated" into stab
Featured Speakers:
Sam Brownback
Hon. Frank Wolf
Michael Arkush
Mihrigul Tursun
Arjia Rinpoche
Frances Hui
Wang Chunyan
Pastor Pan Yongguang
Peter Xu
Enes Freedom
Pastor Corey Jackson
Grace Jin Drexel
Moderator:
Nina Shea
19
May 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Environmental Agendas, Geopolitical Ends: Climate Policy and Great Power Competition
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Zineb Riboua
Brenda Shaffer
Sam Cooper
Getty Images
19
May 2026
In-Person Event | Invite Only
Environmental Agendas, Geopolitical Ends: Climate Policy and Great Power Competition

To examine this emerging challenge, Senior Fellow Dr. Michael Doran will convene a conversation with Research Fellow Zineb Riboua, Professor Brenda Shaffer—Research Faculty Member at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council—and Sam Cooper, an award-winning investigative journalist focusing on China-Canada relations.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Michael Doran
Zineb Riboua
Brenda Shaffer
Sam Cooper