Like the federal government and most other states, California has struggled with increasingly difficult spending obligations and large budget deficits. But the current recession has hit the Golden State especially hard. California's crisis has made national headlines with an unemployment rate among the highest in the nation and incidents such
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as Sacramento issuing IOUs in July and August to individuals and businesses awaiting state refunds. How should California solve its crisis? Are there lessons other states can learn from California's malaise?
On September 23, Steve Poizner, California's elected Insurance Commissioner and a candidate for Governor in 2010, will share his vision for solving California's woes, as well as outline a blueprint of reform that can be used not just in Sacramento but in state capitals across the country and in Washington, D.C.
| 11:45 a.m. | Registration and Luncheon | |
| 12:00 | Introduction: | Henry Olsen, AEI |
| Speaker: | Steve Poizner, California Insurance Commissioner | |
| 1:15 p.m. | Adjournment |
Henry Olsen is vice president and director of the National Research Initiative (NRI). He disseminates and publicizes the Institute’s work to the academic community; works with AEI’s visiting, adjunct, and NRI research fellows; commissions and supervises NRI projects; and oversees the production of NRI publications. Mr. Olsen previously served as vice president for programs at the Manhattan Institute and as a judicial clerk to Danny J. Boggs, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Steve Poizner is California’s elected Insurance Commissioner and a candidate for Governor in 2010. Mr. Poizner served in the White House fellowship program where he worked in the National Security Council from 2001 to 2002. In 2006, he was elected a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations after being nominated by former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz. After a spending a year as a volunteer high school teacher at Mount Pleasant High School in East San Jose, he co-founded EdVoice and the California Charter Schools Association — the state's leading charter school organization. In addition to his public service and civic affairs experiences, Mr. Poizner is known for his entrepreneurial success in Silicon Valley.
