Event Summary
On November 17, AEI’s Paul Ryan and Angela Rachidi launched their new volume, American Renewal: A Conservative Plan to Strengthen the Social Contract and Save the Country’s Finances (AEI, 2022). In his opening remarks, Speaker Ryan noted our unique social and political moment, contending that many Americans are suffering at the hands of fiscal irresponsibility but that these issues are not intractable or unsolvable. The reforms contained in American Renewal, drawing on insights from subject matter experts, offer policymakers concrete proposals to restore the government’s promise to Americans while ensuring those promises can be kept for generations ahead.
In the following panel, Dr. Rachidi noted that many of the book’s proposals were based on evidence of conservative policy solutions that have worked in years past, such as the welfare reforms of 1996. From there, Speaker Ryan and Dr. Rachidi fielded questions on specific proposals in the book, ranging from child welfare and education to tax policy and environmental protection.
Afterward, a response panel spoke to the political feasibility of these proposals, arguing that policymakers must do the difficult but necessary work to reform large government programs that do not serve Americans in need.
—Thomas O’Rourke
Event Description
America has reached a fiscal and social inflection point. With our mediating institutions fraying, debt soaring, and inflation rising in the post-pandemic era, now is the time for policymakers to act—to renew the social contract and place our government programs on strong fiscal footing.
American Renewal: A Conservative Plan to Strengthen the Social Contract and Save the Country’s Finances tackles these questions, offering policymakers a sweeping set of proposals to ensure long-term prosperity and fiscal health. After offering an overview of the project’s motivation, coeditors Paul Ryan and Angela Rachidi will be joined by AEI’s Robert Doar to discuss the volume’s proposals in greater depth. A panel of distinguished scholars will then offer reactions and discuss the prospects of making these proposals reality.
Event Materials
Agenda
2:00 p.m.
Opening Remarks:
Robert Doar, President, AEI
2:05 p.m.
Keynote Address:
Paul Ryan, Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Practice of Public Policy, AEI
2:25 p.m.
Panel I: Book Discussion
Panelists:
Angela Rachidi, Senior Fellow, AEI
Paul Ryan, Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Practice of Public Policy, AEI
Moderator:
Robert Doar, President, AEI
2:40 p.m.
Q&A
2:50 p.m.
Break
3:00 p.m.
Panel II: Response Panel
Ross Douthat, Nonresident Fellow, AEI
Kay Coles James, Secretary of the Commonwealth, Virginia
Maya MacGuineas, President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
Moderator:
Ryan Streeter, Director of Domestic Policy, AEI
3:40 p.m.
Q&A
3:50 p.m.
Adjournment
