Once again, high gasoline prices are in the news. As of this writing, the national average gasoline price per gallon price is hovering around $3.79.

If the nation truly wants to address the wild roller coaster of price swings, it's important to understand the factors that affect prices.

One of the main provisions of the 2012 Farm Bill is a “shallow-loss” program. This program is being portrayed as a safety net, but there are significant questions that must be examined before the program is enacted. At this event, Vince Smith and Barry Goodwin will discuss these questions and will release new research and analysis on the cost of shallow-loss programs.

SymphonyIRI reports that “57 percent of consumers are feeling increased financial strain when gas prices increase, and more than four in ten say high gas prices make it difficult to meet monthly expenses,” based on polls conducted in the second quarter of 2011. Furthermore, 49 percent of consumers plan to reduce grocery spending if gas prices climb another 50 cents. What can be done?

High gas prices are inducing consumers to tighten their belts and politicians to call for taxes on oil companies. This Outlook explores the true causes of oil price fluctuation and explains how policymakers can help lower gasoline prices.

There is a way to fix the Medicare program without raising taxes: use market-like arrangements to set prices for both the traditional fee-for-service (FFS) program and for private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. A fully implemented competitive pricing system for Medicare would save $550 billion over 10 years.

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