A Public Voice | Common Ground for Action on Economic Reform After COVID

Please join us for a A Public Voice | National Week of Deliberation online deliberative forum using Common Ground for Action (CGA) on Friday April 9, 2021 at 8:00pm EST/5:00pm PST on “Back to Work: How Should We Rebuild Our Economy?” 

The A Public Voice - National Week of Deliberation CGA college forum series connects college students from across the country to discuss and make choices together about today's most pressing, wicked issues. As more campuses become ideological bubbles, this initiative hopes to give students a space to talk across geographic and ideological divides to see what common ground we have to act.

The pandemic of 2020 swiftly brought the US economy to a near standstill: more than 36 million people lost jobs by that summer. The Wall Street Journal estimated that one-quarter of all business activity shut down in a matter of weeks. For many college students and their families, the impact is still being felt. 

Among the issues to consider are the best way to get back to full employment, what kind of support should go to businesses large and small, what the most vulnerable and essential workers need, and what changes should be made in the way we live and work. Looking beyond the reopening of businesses and communities in the US, what should our priorities be over the next few years? As a society, what lessons should we learn from this experience? What can communities do to build a prosperous future?

In this 90 mintue discussion, we will deliberate about three options for moving forward, each coming from a different perspective and each reflecting a different set of ideas about what should be done. Most people will find something to agree with in all three approaches, but each also has trade-offs, risks, or drawbacks that must be taken into account and worked through: Option 1: Jumpstart the economy; Option 2: Move to a more sustainable economy; Option 3: Put local and domestic needs first.

Check out the issue guide here for more information: https://www.nifi.org/es/issue-guide/back-to-work