The Debate
As stock markets gyrate, Europe lurches from crisis to crisis, and U.S. recovery slows, the future of the North American economy is more uncertain than ever.
Can individual entrepreneurship, corporate innovation and governments create a new era of sustained economic growth? Or, will the financial crisis, U.S. political dysfunction, and the rise of emerging nations erode our living standards for the long term? Fundamentally, will the next generation of North Americans enjoy the same quality of life as its parents?
To promote a far-ranging discussion of an issue critical to every Canadian, the 8th semi-annual Munk Debate convenes four big thinkers to tackle the resolution:
Be it resolved North America faces a Japan-style era of economic stagnation.
Pro
It’s now impossible to deny the obvious, which is that we are not now and have never been on the road to recovery.
When all the stimulus is gone and the Emperor is disrobed, it is not going to be a pretty picture.
Con
The American people have not become less dedicated to hard work, and the productive potential of this economy has not declined.
North America’s long-term prospects are brighter than Europe’s or Japan’s; the "rise of the rest" does not automatically imply our decline.