Sustaining Capitalism

COVID-19 temporarily disrupted an interconnected world, leveling a global public health and economic shock that closed borders and has led some businesses to re-evaluate their supply chains. With pessimism in some quarters about the future direction of globalization, Kimberly Clausing, author of Open: The Progressive Case for Free Trade, Immigration, and Global Capital, joins to discuss the outlook for trade and immigration in the midst of the pandemic and in the run-up to the 2020 election.

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the child care industry. Rob Grunewald, an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis and Brittany Birken, a principal adviser in the community and economic development group at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta, join with CED's Cindy Cisneros, Vice President of Education Programs, and Grace Reef, Senior Early Learning Consultant, to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the child care industry and why access to child care matters for economic recovery.

Guests: Rob Grunewald and Brittany Birken.

Resources:

Financial assistance for child care providers: Key considerations during COVID-19—A framework for child care policy choices in light of the coronavirus pandemic (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Rob Grunewald, Ben Horowitz, and Ryan Nunn, September 2020)

Briefing on Childcare Funding and Policy Considerations in Response to COVID-19 (Federal Reserve System, Community and Economic Development Childcare Work Group, August 2020)

Dollars and Sense: Affordability of Childcare (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Brittany Birken, June 2020)

How a COVID-19 10-person group limit affects Minnesota's child care providers—An analysis of the impact that a pandemic-related 10-person group limit has on Minnesota child care providers' revenues and costs (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Rob Grunewald, June 2020)

COVID-19 challenges the child care market—Just as the COVID-19 pandemic reveals how critical child care is to essential workers, the crisis is creating additional stresses for child care providers (Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Rob Grunewald, April 2020)

Child Care in State Economies—2019 Update (Committee for Economic Development, January 2019)

As stark as the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been, they have not been felt uniformly in all places, and future trends are unlikely to be even. Jed Kolko, chief economist at Indeed, joins to discuss the geography and patterns of the COVID-19 economic downturn, how the pandemic is changing where some Americans work, and what it means for labor markets in the future.

The unemployment rate reached its highest level in 70+ years in April and, after a few months of sharp recovery, remains extraordinarily high. With the July expiration of enhanced benefits, a time-limited replacement coming to an end, and continued debate over additional support, Heidi Shierholz, Senior Economist and Director of Policy at the Economic Policy Institute, joins to discuss trends in unemployment, the current policy picture, and what it means for workers and our economy this fall.

Leadership in Challenging Times: A Conversation with Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin. The CED discussion series, Leadership in Challenging Times, interviews business leaders about the unprecedented challenges facing the nation and how they are helping chart a path forward for both their companies and communities in which they operate.

https://www.conference-board.org/events/CED-Distinguished-Performance-Awards-Dinner

The economic hit from COVID-19 has been widespread across many businesses and families but the hit to small businesses, and particularly minority-owned small businesses, has been unprecedented. Dr. Chris Wheat, Director of Business Research for the JPMorgan Chase Institute, joins to discuss COVID-19's effects on small businesses to date, their outlook for the months ahead, and why it matters for the economy and our eventual path to recovery.

https://conference-board.org/podcasts

"For the first time in 18 years, we had to stop growing our dividend," says Vicki Hollub, CEO of Occidental. In an interview with Lori Esposito Murray, president of the Committee of Economic Development of The Conference Board, Hollub shared how the company's quick and decisive actions have positioned Oxy for its recovery. "We were faced with a liquidity challenge. So we had to look at the long-term value of the company vs the short-term needs of making it through the crisis....not only for our shareholders but our employees, and those stakeholders in the company. We made some very fast decisions, and it was the most challenging period that I have ever faced."

The CED discussion series, Leadership in Challenging Times, interviews business leaders about the unprecedented challenges facing the nation and how they are helping chart a path forward for both their companies and communities in which they operate.

CED Distinguished Performance Awards Dinner

"When the pandemic first hit, we watched it emerge out of China, but we all thought it would be very similar to SARs or MERs where the impact was limited. And we all remember the day when the WHO deemed it a pandemic. It's been a very dramatic challenge for us in leadership on how to respond," says Gary Norcross, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of FIS. In an interview with Lori Esposito Murray, president of the Committee of Economic Development of The Conference Board, Norcross shared how FIS is putting colleague safety first, transferring critical services to home offices, and leaning in on daily communication to share best practices with its global staff.

Looking ahead, Norcross also shared that, "We are starting to see economic recovery." Norcross feels optimistic partly because he links the current disruption to increased innovation. Focusing on the business issues of customers struggling to grow and recover from this crisis, he says, is "how innovation will occur."

The CED discussion series, Leadership in Challenging Times, interviews business leaders about the unprecedented challenges facing the nation and how they are helping chart a path forward for both their companies and communities in which they operate.

"We're very focused on helping to protect our nation's seniors, and we build our business one relationship at a time, so we really needed to set our priorities based on clinical outcomes, and to get great outcomes," says Lucinda "Cindy" Baier, President and Chief Executive Officer, Brookdale Senior Living Inc. In an interview with Lori Esposito Murray, president of the Committee of Economic Development of The Conference Board, Baier discussed how Brookdale leveraged its 40-year experience with strong infection-control protocols, partnered with leading health organizations, and looked at public health departments to make sure that they learned as quickly as possible about the pandemic.

By focusing on the health and well-being of its residents, and associates, Brookdale knew that it would be able to overcome the challenges they were facing.

The CED discussion series, Leadership in Challenging Times, interviews business leaders about the unprecedented challenges facing the nation and how they are helping chart a path forward for both their companies and communities in which they operate

https://www.conference-board.org/events/CED-Distinguished-Performance-Awards-Dinner

Even prior to the pandemic, housing security was a critical challenge for many families. With the onset of COVID-19 and a rapid and widespread loss of employment and income, fears of a crisis loom. Peggy Bailey, Vice President for Housing Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, joins to discuss housing hardship in a pandemic and the unique roles housing plays in families' lives.