Should We Worry About the Federal Deficit?

2 minute read
By TIME Staff

Should we worry about the size of the Federal deficit?

That’s the question at the heart of the above panel, the capstone of the FIN 6296 course at the University of Florida Hough Graduate School of Business. It’s moderated by Michael McKee, Bloomberg Radio host and Bloomberg Television Economics editor. Guest speakers include Michael D. Tanner, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and G. William Hoagland, senior vice president of the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Here’s how the course is described:

This course began in 2008 as a way to look at capitalism through the lens of capital markets.

It introduces the concept of capitalism, traces its evolution, identifies many of its institutions and examines its role in a free market economy. Emphasis is on practical applications found in securities markets and in government’s interaction with society and the business community.

Respect for the rule of law, need for transparency and full disclosure in financial transactions, enlightened regulation and the confluence of honesty, ethics and integrity are major themes.

The course begins with National Public Radio’s annual dramatic reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 4th and moves on to an overview of the Constitution of the United States. Intertwined with the many topics covered are inevitable collisions of capitalism and politics. The course ends with the playing of American Anthem sung by Norah Jones.

The capstone of the course is the Case Study, centered on a topic of current interest germane to the study of capitalism and examined during the last class. Two students selected by lottery prepare the Case; remaining class members write their term paper on the subject and visiting subject matter experts come to the UF campus for a three-hour, forum-like interactive discussion.

TIME has published the video with permission from the University of Florida.

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