It has been good to see that my recent conversation with Niall Ferguson and Mort Zuckerman at the Aspen Ideas Festival has stirred up a debate. When I recommended to the Festival planners that we have such a conversation, I had hoped that it would spark people to think and argue about the course the United States is currently pursuing. While I do not agree with them on all particulars, I believe that both Niall and Mort are raising vital questions about the financial health of the country and the way it could imperil the U.S. as a great nation.
Conversations yesterday with the co-chairs of President Obama's deficit commission, Erskine Bowles and Alan Simpson (here in Boston for a gathering of governors), only deepened my concerns (I am writing separately today on the CNN website about where the deficit commission may be heading). Some have asked whether it would be have been better to have Paul Krugman join our Aspen panel; yes, of course. The Aspen planners told me that he was invited but was unable to attend. Perhaps next year.... But in the meantime, let the sparks fly.