Austin Beutner joins Richard Green for a discussion on what it takes to accomplish real change in Los Angeles. 

Beutner asserts that the twin forces of leadership and governance have the power to solve many of the ongoing and intensifying issues in the county like homelessness, education, and land use. As Superintendent of LAUSD during the pandemic, Beutner oversaw unprecedented responses like providing free food for the community, securing broadband internet access and devices for students in need, and providing reliable and cost-effective COVID testing for the nation’s second-largest school district. Other school districts in 40 states across the country adopted the models LAUSD pioneered to meet their own community needs.

With that crisis response as the groundwork, Green and Beutner cover such topics as the inherent limits to the Los Angeles mayoral office, what structures hold back the capacity for LA County to respond effectively, and Beutner’s latest project: a ballot initiative to bring the arts to all schools in California, Vote Arts and Minds.

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Dana Goldman joins Richard K. Green to provide a look into how the economics of health care contribute to decisions about health policy and the strides that medicine is still making to close gaps in access to care.

Pulling from a variety of case studies, Dean Goldman shows why markets don’t always work in providing the most cost-efficient care, the economic balance between encouraging innovators and ensuring affordability, and the different ways policymakers and patients determine the value of health. Green and Goldman discuss the evolution of treatments for end-of-life care and the risk of relying solely on philanthropy or intrinsically motivated actors to drive innovation. Goldman also provides potential alternatives to the current systems to increase healthcare access and keep medical science moving forward.

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Claudia Sahm joins Richard K. Green to look at the US Economy and how the Federal Reserve is responding to inflation, unemployment, and interest rates. 

Sahm cites that the big picture points to economic recovery, especially while the Fed incorporates the principle lesson of the 2008-2009 financial crisis: remove support gradually or risk a stalled recovery. With appointments incoming, Sahm forecasts that the new and historically diverse Board of Governors will continue to press the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate of stable prices and maximum employment. Crucially, Sahm emphasizes that without an end to the pandemic, the economic tides can only change so much, with or without federal intervention.

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