America’s national debt now exceeds $15 trillion, which is roughly equal to the value of all goods and services the U.S. economy produces in one year. If left unchecked, America's debt will have catastrophic consequences for the future of the nation. How did we arrive at this point?

At this conference, we will assess whether high frequency trading (HFT) has been good or bad for the securities markets and investors.

This event will address the problems and improvements needed for student loans, beginning with a keynote presentation by former secretary of education Bill Bennett.

The U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) and AEI will be launching a new HRNK report entitled, “Marked For Life: Songbun, North Korea’s Social Classification System,” which will be discussed at this event. The panel will also examine the extent to which the growing reliance on money and bribery is eroding the songbun system’s influence.

The environment has long been the undisputed territory of the political left. Philosopher Roger Scruton agrees that the environment is the most urgent political problem of our age but argues in his new book "How to Think Seriously About the Planet" that conservatism is far better suited to tackle environmental problems than either liberalism or socialism.

Is global governance fundamentally different from earlier forms of international cooperation? Is it a necessary response to the effects of globalization? Does the U.S. Constitution limit the ways the United States can engage in global governance? The AEI Project on Sovereignty will explore the effects of globalization on international law, institutions and the Constitution. 

At this event, Alan Viard will present the X tax proposal while James Mackie of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Chris Edwards of the Cato Institute will offer commentary.

This book by Alan Viard and Robert Carroll proposes to completely replace the income tax system with a progressive consumption tax.