David Simon,
Chairman and CEO, Simon Property Group Inc.
Moderator:
Ross DeVol, Executive Director, Economic Research, Milken Institute
Michael McCallister, center, of Humana Inc. discusses the impact of the new health-care reform law. With him is David Simon, left, of Simon Property Group and Donald Marron of Marron Economics.
The U.S. government took extraordinary measures in late 2008 and early 2009 to stabilize the economy. With the benefit of hindsight, panelists in the U.S. Overview session were asked what worked and what they would have done differently.
Donald Marron of Marron Economics: The bank bailout worked well, especially in concert with the stress test for institutions that restored confidence in the financial system, he said. But better capital controls could have prevented the crisis in the first place.
David Simon of Simon Property Group: The bank bailouts stabilized the financial system, and commercial real estate saw residual benefits from that. But the effects will be short-lived if governments can′t raise more revenue, he said. Simon advocated taxing Internet sales as a way to increase government coffers while also leveling the playing field for brick-and-mortar businesses.
John Engler of the National Association of Manufacturers: He supported the stimulus package′s focus on infrastructure investment, though he′s not certain the chosen projects will have the most impact. Speaking as the former governor of Michigan, Engler said the recovery act helped stabilized state economies, but he is concerned with what will happen post-stimulus. In retrospect, he thinks more of the package should have gone to infrastructure.
Ron Bloom of the U.S. Treasury: He agreed that more infrastructure spending could have been beneficial, and that not all "shovel-ready" projects that were funded were ideal. However, he said, the economy has clearly improved since the bottom, and the administration will continue its efforts.
Global Conference 2013
Former Prime Minister Tony Blair, philanthropist Bill Gates and Strive Masiyiwa of Econet Wireless discuss advancing prosperity in Africa.
