As controversy continues over the Federal Reserve's programs and policies, many questions persist as to whether the Fed is up for the challenge. In the wake of the Great Recession, how should the Fed be reformed to prevent the next crisis? Can it manage its dual objectives of full employment and inflation fighting? Can it normalize its balance sheet post-crisis?

The April 27th event in New York City was the first of two sessions co-hosted by the Roosevelt Institute and the New America Foundation on the 'Future of the Fed'. The first session in New York focused on monetary policy and global capital flows. The second session, on accountability, consumer protection, and the future of financial regulation, took place on May 9 in Washington, DC.

Speakers: Senior Fellow and Chief Economist Joseph Stiglitz, Senior Fellow Jeff Madrick, Senior Fellow Rob Johnson, Fellow Mike Konczal, Fellow Matt Stoller, and others

When: April 27, 2011

Watch video of the event and learn more.

ND20 and the Roosevelt Institute congratulate our Senior Fellow and Chief Economist on being named one of Time Magazine's most influential people in the world. Former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown observes that Stiglitz is "a brilliant intellect, a great conversationalist," and one of those "people who have changed our view of the world for good." He explains why Stiglitz's theories of economics aren't going anywhere any time soon and are likely to take on more meaning as time goes by. "[H]e has delivered to us a better understanding of economics, particularly with the crucial insight that markets aren't always efficient," Brown points out, a "worldview [that] is the essential dimension missing in economic-policy making but which has to be at the core of the next ways forward."

Joseph Stiglitz's realistic, humane approach to managing the economy is certainly influential around here as well. Check out his Roosevelt Institute paper, delivered at our November, 2010 panel, "Deficits, Democracy, and the Road to Recovery." This clear, practical roadmap for addressing the budget deficit, "Principles and Guidelines for Deficit Reduction," focuses on how to achieve growth and recovery without harming the most vulnerable.  Stiglitz's sensible recommendations are a much-needed alternative to the extreme and unworkable programs currently circulating in Washington.

You can read the full list of Time's most influential people here.

And check out ND20 editor Lynn Parramore's interview with Stiglitz, part of our "Influencers" series on people who have changed the way we think: "Joe Stiglitz: The New World Economy."

Next weekend, a group of academics, policy folks, and journalists will gather in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire to join forces in working out solutions to the most challenging economic problems we face. ND20 will be on hand to share the highlights with you.

Bretton Woods, you'll recall, was the site of a famous 1944 gathering, which, among other things, secured the dollar as the world's international reserve currency. A lot has changed since 1944 -- including globalization of production, trade, and finance -- but economic frameworks and regulatory structures have not yet evolved sufficiently to address today's risks. The conference is hosted by the Institute for New Economic Thinking and led by INET Executive Director Robert Johnson, also a Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow. Participants will study the problems that caused the global economic meltdown and discuss safeguards to prevent another disaster, including ending Too Big to Fail institutions. Further topics include the decline of the American middle class, job creation, and the foreclosure crisis.

The conference, officially titled, "CRISIS and RENEWAL: International Political Economy at the Crossroads" convenes a wide range of influential figures, including former United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown; former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker; Financial Services Authority Chairman Adair Turner, and George Soros, Chairman of Soros Fund Management and the Open Society Foundations. Historians like Harvard's Niall Ferguson and Princeton's Harold James will share their perspectives, along with well-known economists Larry Summers and Simon Johnson. Also on the roster are policy analysts from a number of think tanks and financial reporters from the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, and Reuters.

Roosevelt Institute Chief economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz is a featured speaker, as well as Roosevelt Institute Senior Fellow Thomas Ferguson and New Deal 2.0 blogger Mario Seccareccia. Robert Johnson will kick things off on Friday with a keynote address to attendees.

Last night, Johnson joined Lou Dobbs on Fox Business News to discuss the conference, the work of INET, and some conspiratorial right-wing rumors about the event. He noted that INET works not only with Keynesian scholars typically viewed as progressive, but more conservative Hayek scholars and thinkers from the Milton Friedman Institute and the University of Chicago. "My job is to have everybody in the debate. Everything that we see suggests that experts across the spectrum have failed the American people, and it's time for us all to come together and get back to work"

In discussing the need to find a balance between government regulation and private industry, Johnson noted that "we don't believe that state capitalism or what some call the Chinese model is the right thing. People are very concerned about freedoms. But we also see dysfunction in the way the United States is behaving right now."

For more information, visit INET. Videos of session will be available following the conference. Didn't catch last year's inaugural conference at King's College, Cambridge, UK? Click here.

The country may be wee-weed up about the tax cut deal making its way through Congress, but while we debate its merits foreclosure continues to ravage people's lives. At an event next Tuesday at the New America Foundation, Mike Konczal will participate in a panel discussion on how to clean up the foreclosure fraud fiasco. Panelists will face up to challenges such as whether forcing banks to buy back mortgages could lead to another systemic meltdown and what to do if banks can't prove they own their mortgages. They'll also look at some potential solutions to the problem, including loan modification, regulatory reforms, and community-based neighborhood stabilization efforts. Catch the event on December 21 from 12:15pm-1:45pm. For more details, click here.

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For background info, catch up on Mike's recent pieces about foreclosure fraud:

Foreclosure Fraud For Dummies, 1: The Chains and the Stakes

Foreclosure Fraud For Dummies, Part 2: What's a Note, Who's a Servicer, and Why They Matter

Foreclosure Fraud For Dummies, Part 3: What's the Worst and Slightly Better Case Scenario?

The Breakdown of the U.S. Mortgage Market

Breaking Foreclosure Info: Countrywide Never Sent Mortgages to Trust

And don't miss a series he organized on the topic: Foreclosure 411