Joe White, Ph.D. – Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy at Case Western Reserve University

Dear Colleagues:

When I was a scholar at the Brookings Institution, I learned that “free trade” was a matter of near-religious belief for many of my colleagues. For decades, “Serious People,” to use Paul Krugman’s term for elites, dismissed concerns about trade’s effects on Americans as selfish pleading from shortsighted special interests, such as unions and uncompetitive businesses. Outsiders like Ross Perot who criticized treaties (remember the “giant sucking sound” of jobs that were supposed to head south with NAFTA?) were dismissed as know-nothings. Both Democratic and Republican presidents pushed for more extensive “free trade” agreements; and that continues with President Obama’s advocacy for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).

Hence one of the most dramatic aspects of the 2016 presidential campaign – and one of the few with serious policy content – has been the fact that both presidential candidates have opposed the TPP, and endorsed worries about the effects of trade. But is the current skepticism simply (or only) pandering to an uninformed public? What are the cases for and against trade, and trade agreements? To begin, they’re not the same thing. Trade policy is not only about trade, or even economics; the effects of specific trade agreements on people in other countries might not be so positive either, and so the political and economic question is both broader and narrower than, “is trade good for Americans?”

All best regards,
Joe White
Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy and Director, Center for Policy Studies 

About Our Guests

As Director of the Center for Policy Studies, Joe White organizes and usually moderates the Friday Lunch discussions, as well as sponsoring 3-6 other public programs each year. His appointment as Luxenberg Family Professor of Public Policy is in the Department of Political Science, and he also has a secondary appointment as Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics. His research focuses on federal budget politics and policy; health care, especially cost control and reform; the politics of social insurance programs such as Medicare and Social Security; and differences between rich democracies’ health care systems. He is author or co-author of three books and about six dozen articles, with his most recent work being on relations between the president and Congress in federal budgeting and on budgeting for healthcare programs around the world.

Where We Meet

The Friday Public Affairs Lunch convenes each Friday when classes are in session, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Our programs are open to all and no registration is required. Mather House is located next to the old Thwing student center two buildings to the right of Kelvin Smith Library on Euclid Avenue. Please enter the front door to Mather House and turn right. Mather House Room 100 is at the end of the hall.

Parking Possibilities

The most convenient parking is the lot underneath Severance Hall. We regret that it is not free. From that lot there is an elevator up to street level labeled as Thwing Center.

Schedule of Friday Lunch Upcoming Topics and Speakers:

September 30: What Next for the British Labour Party? With Luke Reader Ph.D., SAGES Lecturer.

October 7: The Lake Erie Wind Farm and the Future of Wind Energy. With David Matthiesen, Associate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Director, Wind Energy Research and Commercialization Center.

October 14: Living Black: Social Life in an African-American Neighborhood.. With Mark S. Fleisher, Research Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences. Alternate Location: Mather House Room 100.

October 21: The DARPA Robotics Challenge and the Future of Robotics. With Wyatt S. Newman, Professor of Electrical, Computer and Systems Engineering.

October 28: Macroeconomic Challenges for the Next Administration. With Mark S. Sniderman, Executive in Residence and Adjunct Professor of Economics, Weatherhead School of Management, and former Research Director, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

November 4: Biennial Political Science Department Pre-Election Forecast Discussion.

November 11: The Unrealized Promise of Libertarianism. With Gus Dizerega, Ph.D., independent political theorist.

November 18: Can Democracy Meet the Challenge of Polarization? With Mark Chupp, Assistant Professor, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Social Sciences.

November 25: Thanksgiving Break.

December 2: Putin’s Russia. With Kelly M. McMann, Associate Professor of Political Science and Director, International Studies Program.

December 9: Health Care Report Cards – Time for Second Thoughts? With J.B. Silvers, John R. Mannix Medical Mutual of Ohio Professor of Health Care Finance.