Underfunded public employee pensions are one of the major fiscal crises confronting American states and municipalities. It is estimated that the shortfall is as much as $1 trillion and payments to retirees increasingly are diverting funds for necessary services, including police, fire, schools, roads, and other core services.
Efforts at reform have run into increasing legal roadblocks, whether in bankruptcy court or under state law. This Public Policy Conference brought together leading scholars and commentators for a full-spectrum review of the law, economics, political economy, and public policy issues regarding public employee pensions and pension reform. The proceedings of the Conference will be published in a special symposium issue of Scalia Law’s Journal of Law, Economics & Policy.
The Political Economy of Public Pensions and Pension Reform
Panelists:
Anthony Randazzo, Director of Economic Research, Reason Foundation
Scott A. Shepard, Professor of Law
Steven Malanga, George M. Yeager Fellow, Manhattan Institute and Senior Editor, City Journal
Amy B. Monahan, The Melvin Steen and Corporate Donors Professor, University of Minnesota Law School
Moderator:
Edwin T. Burton, Professor of Economics, University of Virginia
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Public Employee Pensions In Transition – Economic And Empirical Issues
Panelists:
Richard T. Boylan, Professor of Economics, Rice University
Brigham R. Frandsen, Assistant Professor of Economics, Brigham Young University
Robert P. Inman, Richard King Mellon Professor of Finance, Professor of Business Economics & Public Policy, and Professor of Real Estate, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Mark J. Warshawsky, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Moderator:
The Honorable Thomas M. Davis, Director, Federal Government Affairs, Deloitte
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Luncheon Keynote – The Puerto Rico Challenge: A Preliminary Report from Puerto Rico Oversight Board
Keynote Speaker:
David A. Skeel, S. Samuel Arsht Professor of Corporate Law, University of Pennsylvania Law School and Member, Puerto Rico Oversight Board
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Legal Issues Regarding Pension Reform
Panelists:
Adam Marcus, Senior Grants Writer, Institute for Humane Studies
Diane Lourdes Dick, Associate Professor of Law, Seattle University School of Law
Richard M. Hynes, John Allan Love Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law
Jack M. Beermann, Professor of Law and Harry Elwood Warren Scholar, Boston University School of Law
Moderator:
The Honorable Thomas B. Bennett (RET.), Partner, Bailey Glasser LLP
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Proposals For Reform
Panelists:
Odd J. Stalebrink, Associate Professor of Public Administration, Pennsylvania State University
Eileen C. Norcross, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center at George Mason University
Sheila A. Weinberg, Founder and CEO, Truth in Accounting
Andrew G. Biggs, Resident Scholar, American Enterprise Institute and Member, Puerto Rico Oversight Board
William Glasgall, Director, State and Local Program, The Volcker Alliance
Moderator:
Pete Constant, Executive Director, Retirement Security Initiative